Debt with Disability News Articles

[Riz]

[url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jun/30/disabled-people-debt-difficulties"]Disabled people 'face additional debt difficulties' | Money | guardian.co.uk [/url]

[5corpio]

Re: Disabled people 'face additional debt difficulties' say CAB

[CENTER]
[B]Debt services need to do more for the disabled[/B] [/CENTER]
[I]Date: June 30, 2011[/I]

Charities feel that creditors need to recognise the additional needs of disabled customers.

20 per cent of Citizens Advice applicants throughout England and Wales suffer from physical disabilities or another long-term health problem. Last year, the organisation found over [B]72,000 disabled people with debt complications[/B].

"Being in debt can be very disempowering for consumers,” said Gillian Guy, the charity’s chief executive, “but our research shows that disabled people in debt face a double disadvantage. They are disempowered by both their financial difficulties and the failure of creditors to take account of their needs through reasonable adjustments.”

[CENTER] [I]One complaint came from a blind man who only received some of his statements in Braille, while others - such as those telling him he was overdrawn - were delivered in print. [/I]
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Guy argued that regulators have a responsibility to protect all their clients from such practices, which they were not fulfilling...More from QCK : [URL="http://www.qck.com/debt-services-need-to-do-more-for-the-disabled-175893.html"]Debt services need to do more for the disabled[/URL]

[B]From the CAB June 2011:[/B]
Inconsistent treatment preventing disabled people address their debts says Citizens Advice.....More info with regarding the Above story: [URL="http://www.financialskillsforlife.org.uk/index/pressoffice/press_index/press_20110630.htm"]Inconsistent treatment preventing disabled people address their debts says Citizens Advice[/URL]

[U][B]Baines and Ernst[/B][/U]

[URL="http://www.bainesandernst.co.uk/news/charity-says-disabled-face-debt-discrimination/"]Charity says disabled face debt discrimination | Baines Ernst[/URL]

[CENTER][I]Hope some of these been helped the forum page [/I]
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[5corpio]

Re: Disabled people 'face additional debt difficulties' say CAB

[B]Legal action threatened over cuts[/B]

Campaigners for disabled people are considering legal action against the Government over proposed cuts to Disability Living Allowance. Neil Coyle, director of policy at the Disability Alliance, said that the Government may be in breach of both domestic and European legislation if it fails to consider the impact on disabled people of plans to cut DLA expenditure by more that....[I]Read more [URL="http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=87914&postcount=533"][COLOR=DarkOrange][B]HERE[/B][/COLOR][/URL][/I]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt and Disability News Articles

[CENTER][B]Social care funding plan revealed[/B][/CENTER]

Social care costs in England should be capped so people do not face losing their assets, a review has said. Council-funded home help and care home places for the elderly and adults with disabilities are currently only offered to those with under £23,250 of assets.

The independent Dilnot report says the threshold should rise to £100,000 and suggests a £35,000 lifetime cap on costs would be "fair". But the Treasury is known to have doubts about the expense of the plans.

The changes would cost the government around £1.7bn a year if they were implemented....[I]Read more [B][URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13980493"]HERE[/URL][/B][/I]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt and Disability News Articles

[CENTER][B]Elderly care proposals: all you need to know about the Dilnot report[/B]
[/CENTER]

The Dilnot report is looking into paying for elderly care, but what do its proposals mean for you?

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Older and disabled people could have to pay up to up to £50,000 towards their own care costs, [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2011/jul/04/politics-live-blog"]a government review is expected to recommend[/URL].[/FONT]

The Dilnot commission, an independent body chaired by the economist Andrew Dilnot, has published its recommendations on the funding of [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/social-care"]social care[/URL] and support in England. Here's what you need to know.

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][B]What is social care?[/B][/FONT]

It is the care and support services that help frail and disabled people remain independent, active and safe. This might include helping someone bathe and preparing cooked meals. Support services can be provided in someone's home, in a community centre or in a care home.
The costs of such care are either paid for by individuals or on a means-tested basis by local authorities in the form of specific services or cash payments that enable people to make their own care and support arrangements.

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][B]How do you qualify for means-tested help?[/B][/FONT]

If social services assess someone as needing residential care in England, and they have less than £14,250 in financial assets, he or she will qualify for local authority [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/longtermcare"]long-term care[/URL]. Those with savings or assets (including their home if they live alone) of between £14,250 and £23,250 will get some help towards costs, but those with assets or savings of more than £23,250 will have to pay for the full cost of their care.

If they are assessed as needing care at home, they are entitled to help from the local authority but can be charged for it up to the full cost of the help required. The value of their savings is assessed, as is their income, but the value of their house is not taken into account. Charging for care at home is done under local rules, so varies between local authorities.

Charges made by a council should only be as high as the actual cost of providing the care – the council is not able to make a profit through the charges – and should not leave anyone below the current level of pension guarantee credit plus a buffer of 25%.

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][B]Why do we need a review of funding arrangements?[/B][/FONT]

Older people make up the largest group of social care users and although the number of people over the age of 85 has risen by two-thirds since 2004, local authority budgets for social care have stood still and are now being cut. Demand far outstrips supply.
The charity [URL="http://www.ageuk.org.uk/"]AgeUK[/URL] says councils are rationing services by offering support only to people with very high levels of.....Read more on this story: [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/04/elderly-care-proposals-dinot-report"]Elderly care proposals: all you need to know about the Dilnot report | Money | guardian.co.uk [/URL]

[garlok]

Re: Debt and Disability News Articles

Hi 5corpio,

I liked the post. As you are aware we have issues in dealing with Alzheimers in our own family which i have been banging on about on another thread. However, this new report without statutory legislation unfortunately is going nowhere. Birmingham City Council were very recently taken to court on 4 specimen cases where they were attempting to withdraw support from cases where the person had not yet been declared "critical". This approach was declared unlawful by the High Court and B'ham have not risked an appeal. They have at least one other case pending and I have heard of another specific on the Wirral this last weekend where they also have backed down rather than risk a court case going against them.

These cretins should realise and understand what dear old Hippocrates had to say:

"future generations will judge your civilisation on the way you have treated your elderly and vulnerable people"

(rough translation-- never good at the classics at school)

regards
Garlok

[pompeyfaith]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[B][SIZE=4]Ex-ballerina Elaine McDonald loses night carer appeal[/SIZE][/B]


A former ballerina from west London left disabled by a stroke has lost her Supreme Court case to get an overnight carer to help her use a commode.
Elaine McDonald, 67, had challenged Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea after she lost her case at the Court of Appeal in London last October.
Since the stroke in 1999 Ms McDonald needs to use a wheelchair outside.
Michelle Mitchell, charity director at Age UK, which took the case to court, said the ruling was "shameful".


More Here:


[URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14042078[/URL]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][SIZE=4][B]Banks and solicitors 'overcharge for probate'[/B][/SIZE]
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[B]Many banks and high street solicitors are overcharging for probate services – leaving grieving relatives thousands of pounds worse off, according to new research. [/B]

[B]S[/B]aga, the company that provides a range of services for older people, found that 90pc of the those it surveyed said they had used a solicitor or financial adviser for will-writing and probate services.

[B]H[/B]owever, the costs charged for arranging probate – which is a legal document, giving the executor the right to deal with the deceased's assets – vary hugely.

[B]W[/B]hen drafting a will many banks and advisers will include themselves as the executor and then charge up to 5pc of the value of the estate in probate charges. Even if a solicitor isn't named as the executor, they often offer probate services to the family – although they may not be doing so at a competitive price. A spokeswoman for Saga said: "Although this is a difficult time for families we would urge them to look at what they are being charged for probate services, particularly if it is simply a case of a property and a few bank accounts being passed down to the next generation.

[B]"F[/B]amilies are not obliged to use the solicitor who has drafted the will to arrange probate, and often substantial savings can be made if they shop around."

[B]A[/B]round 500,000 people die each year. Even assuming only 10pc have homes of average value – around £180,000 – and ignoring other assets, then commission or charges on probate matters involving the house alone could add up to £225m for the legal and financial services sector, even if they take just 2.5pc, and could be as much as £450m if they charged the higher rate of up to 5pc of the estate.

[B]F[/B]or the individual with an average-value home this could mean paying commission and legal charges totalling £9,000 – money that instead could go to their relatives, friends or............Read more on this story: [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/8637476/Banks-and-solicitors-overcharge-for-probate.html"]Banks and solicitors 'overcharge for probate' - Telegraph[/URL]

[garlok]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Hi Guys and Girls,

This is a disgrace and has been known for a number of years. I, as you all know have come to see most things in black and white through experience. Hence I would advise that NEVER use a bank or financial institution as an executor regardless of the charm offensive often put forward. Your normal High Street solicitor will normally deal with a will quite reasonably and the really reputable ones will advise on executors etc and if there is no significant money involved i.e.inheritance tax issues then they will suggest just a "family" executor such as a surviving spouse. It is no longer necessary to engross a will, and again if there is no real issue or complexity with the will, then probate is not entirely necessary either.

An executor can now be a benfeciary under the terms of the will but they must not be a witness to the signature of the deceased.

regards
Garlok

[pompeyfaith]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Update on the winterbourne view/castlebeck care shambles.

[B]Winterbourne View 'failed to protect people'

[/B] A care watchdog has reported a "systemic failure to protect people" at a hospital where alleged abuse was secretly filmed by the BBC.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its findings after an inspection of Winterbourne View near Bristol.

The review was ordered after BBC Panorama filmed patients being pinned down, slapped and taunted.
Police said they had arrested a 12th person in connection with the inquiry.
The Panorama programme was contacted by whistleblower Terry Bryan who alerted the BBC with his concerns about some staff.

[COLOR=DimGray][B]'Injuries to patients'
[/B][/COLOR]
Mr Bryan, a senior nurse, acted after his concerns were not followed up by the home's management or the CQC.

The CQC report on Winterbourne View found owners Castlebeck Care had failed to ensure residents living at the unit were adequately protected from risk, including the risks of unsafe practices by its own staff.


More:

[URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-14181646[/URL]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][B]A guide to paying for care for the elderly[/B]
[/CENTER]

Working out how much you might have to pay if you, or a relative, needs to go into care is daunting.

The current position on social care fees - the cost of care outside free NHS provision - is complex and it varies depending on where you live in the UK. The government has recently published an independent review of social care funding and support in England, drawn up by Andrew Dilnot.

The headline suggestion of the Dilnot recommendations is that care fees to be paid by an individual in their lifetime will be capped at £35,000. Currently, fees paid by individuals are potentially unlimited.

[B]Dilnot's plan[/B]
This £35,000 limit is, however, still a suggestion which could be increased by the government. This figure also only relates to care fees and there is an additional amount recommended, of £7,000 to £10,000 per annum, to be charged for what are sometimes called the

[CENTER][SIZE=2][COLOR=DarkOrange][B]Read more on this story: [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14051916"]BBC News - A guide to paying for care for the elderly[/url][/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]
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[pompeyfaith]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[B][SIZE=4]Benefits assessment firm causing 'fear and loathing' among claimants, says MP[/SIZE][/B]


People who are fit and healthy are unlikely to have heard of the company [URL="http://atos.net/en-us/"]Atos[/URL]. But anyone who has had to apply for sickness benefits may find that the name triggers – according to one MP – a sense of "fear and loathing".
Atos is responsible for carrying out the government's drive to assess everyone claiming incapacity benefit, to decide whether they may actually be well enough to work. Atos staff are testing around 11,000 benefit claimants a week, to determine how ill they really are and whether they are eligible for benefit payments.
Since the last government launched a campaign to cut the number of sickness benefits claimants, the process has been controversial, with [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/02/charities-legal-action-benefit-cuts-disabled"]charities and politicians warning that vulnerable people have wrongly had vital payments removed[/URL].
On Tuesday a select committee will [URL="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/news/ib-reassessment/"]publish a detailed and critical report[/URL] on the way the [URL="http://www.dwp.gov.uk/"]Department for Work and Pensions[/URL] policy has been implemented, looking in part at the way Atos has carried out its contract to assess claimants. The work and pensions committee launched [URL="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/inquiries/migration-from-incapacity-benefits-to-employment-support-allowance/"]its investigation[/URL] this year after many complaints about the testing process.


More here:


[URL]http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/24/atos-faces-critical-report-by-mps?INTCMP=SRCH[/URL]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][B][FONT=Comic Sans MS]CARE HOMES? GREAT SCOTT![/FONT][/B]

[LEFT]CARE homes, profit, private equity and poor financial and care regulation make a toxic cocktail that puts the elderly at risk. But as 31,000 vulnerable old people, their families and carers face an uncertain future following the collapse of Southern Cross, is the sorry story in danger of repeating itself?

One person who doesn’t appear to have suffered in the saga is Philip Scott, the former Southern Cross chief executive who was in charge during the years of boom care home acquisition but himself bailed out, selling his personal stake for £11m just before the shares started to plunge. Scott has since been personally involved in “sale-and-leaseback” deals with his new employer – he is a shareholder of Zest and Sistine Properties, both of which receive substantial rent for properties from the Priory Group, where Scott is now the CEO.

The Priory Group, which is steadily adding care homes to its better known mental health, addiction, complex care and education portfolio, now has 12 care homes on its books, with another three in the pipeline. The group is owned by another American private equity firm, Advent International, in the same way that Southern Cross used to be owned by Blackstone. Advent has already acquired Craegmoor, another sizable care home provider, and few doubt that it is hoping to snap up at a knock-down price any of the 720 troubled Southern Cross homes.

[B] A leaseback comeback[/B]
Sitting alongside Scott on the Priory board is his former financial controller at Southern Cross, Jason Lock. Priory boasts that Lock’s key achievements at Southern Cross were the implementation of a “new financial accounting system” and, with his boss, the “successful integration of a number of substantial acquisitions” ahead of flotation. Could this possibly mean the ultimately disastrous sale and leaseback scheme, which in the property boom years made a fortune for [COLOR=Red]Blackstone [/COLOR]as the property assets – the bricks and mortar – were sold off at a profit and then leased back? The system unravelled when the credit

[CENTER][URL="http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=in_the_back&"]Private Eye | Official Site[/URL]
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[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][SIZE=4][B]Amputee ‘must lose more limbs’ to get payout[/B][/SIZE]
[/CENTER]

[B]A man who lost one of his legs has been told that he will not receive an insurance payout unless he loses the other one as well.[/B]

Martin Wells, 47, believed that his Scottish Widows critical illness cover would qualify him for a £500,000 payout after a number of infections resulted in the above-the-knee amputation of his left leg.

However, the father-of-three was told that he did not qualify for the sum as he was only covered for the "permanent physical severance of any combination of two or more hands or feet at or above the wrist or ankle joints". Wells had paid £4,500 over 12 years for the cover.

"We know that the customer asked whether we were able to pay out for the condition and when we explained the conditions that were covered, he realised there was no way he could get a payout under this product," a Scottish Widows spokesman told Yahoo! Finance.

"He understood 100% when he made a claim that the [terms and] conditions of the product he took out state quite clearly that … it has to be a loss of more than one limb.

"This is standard across the industry, this policy was taken out 12 years ago and those were the conditions at the time." Wells, of Allenton, Derby, complained to Scottish Widows before seeking advice from the Financial Ombudsman Service. The service were hit with 528 similar cases last.......[URL="http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/Amputee-must-lose-limbs-get-yahoofinanceuk-2137548431.html"]Amputee ‘must lose more limbs’ to get payout - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance[/URL]

[garlok]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Remember Scottish Widows was or is owned by Lloyds TSB. That should tell you everyting you need to know about these despicable people.