Hello Yorky, so sorry it's working out this way for you and your family, like Honeybee I'd like to send a virtual hug to you too. In terms of funding, do take a look at the attached: Where you can be cared for - NHS WWW.NHS.UK If you are approaching the end of life, you may be offered care in a variety of settings. The palliative care team will organise for you to be cared for... Particularly the part about NHS Continuing Healthcare. I think in many cases, NHS CHC will cover the first weeks of care in any case, though I would always advise checking. Regarding the social worker, as well as chasing the hospital, would it be worth contacting your dad's local council/adult social services to find out more (think you said Durham previously)? They must know how it all works even if they don't know exact details of who your dad's social worker is... they may also be able to advise on the funding situation. My thoughts are with you x

Just had a thought, do you have a copy of a blank COP3 saved on your computer, from when you were downloading all the forms? You can type your part of the form and save it and then forward on that version. Might be slightly more work for yourself if you've already handwritten a version, but would save on scanning if that's going to be messy for you.

I think you will be waiting even longer for COP to reply to your email. Do you have access to a scanner that you can scan the form over? You don't have to video call if you don't have the means, I just put that as an option. I don't know how to video call either.

I would be inclined to send the ward matron a copy of the form to the email address she gave you along with an accompanying message along the lines of: Dear Ward Matron, Thank you for contacting me on 14.06.21 to discuss my father's mental capacity assessment form. You mentioned over the phone that I need to physically hand this form into the ward. However, I pointed out that I live 4 hours away in Northampton and do not have access to private transport to get me to your hospital. I feel that this would require a disproportionate effort to get a form across to yourselves given the current Covid-19 restrictions. Furthermore, I note that your hospital is not accepting visitors at present due to the Covid restrictions so I presume I would need an appointment to see the right person to fill in and sign this important form. Therefore, I do not feel it is unreasonable to ask for a telephone/video call to discuss the form. I have attached a copy of the form ready in anticipation of this virtual meeting. Please contact me by replying to this email or on xxxxx xxxxxx so that a mutually agreed time can be arranged. Kind Regards, Yorky55. As well as sending it to the Ward Matron, I would also cc PALS and any other relevant email addresses for the hospital you've gathered. I'm sorry that your dad is still in a bad way x

Oh Yorky, I'm so sorry you're still having trouble with your dad's hospital. I can't believe they are still being so awkward, I sometimes think they (companies in general, not just hospitals) forget that we put ourselves through this stress and worry not because we want to, or even because we have to, but because we want what's best for our loved ones. Their advice for you to deliver the form in person is at odds with the advice on their own website stating that visits have been suspended due to Covid. I mean, I would understand if someone wanted you to drop off clothes for your dad, but a piece of paper? Which could end up anywhere? That's... crazy. I don't know if the following link is worth a try or whether you've been down this road, but the hospital website has details of all the consultants Consultants | North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust WWW.NTH.NHS.UK If you want to find out details of our hospital consultants and contact information you can search for them in our A-Z. obviously you'll know your dad's consultant name, but the phone numbers on there, are they ward ones that you've tried before or do they look different? That said, even if you are more successful with that, definitely still get PALS and as much senior management on board as you can with a formal complaint. You shouldn't have to go to such lengths to get hold of the right people and for the right information, especially at such a stressful time. You point out that you remember you're doing this for your brother and your dad, which is the best approach. I'm sure they, in their own way, know that you are pushing yourself and pushing the hospital for an outcome as you are is because of them. I know it's easy for someone on the internet to say "look after yourself", "do this to help with stress" etc, but if you do feel you need extra help with dealing with your stress/worry, please don't be afraid to seek help from a doctor yourself. A "well" you is the best sort of support for your dad and brother. I wish I could offer more support and I'm sure that if anyone else of the CAG community has any other suggestions, I'm sure they will come here and let you know.

Thanks for the update Yorky, hope you get the ball rolling really quickly now. For what it's worth, for the appointee form, I used the Wolverhampton address to send them my deputyship order and everything was processed fine. Unless you are advised differently when you call them, I would think this address would be the one you need.

Hi again, I'm sorry that you don't seem to be further along with your application and that it's being held up because of the mental capacity assessment. Agree with Stu007 about getting the ward staff to get your dad's consultant on board as a matter of urgency. I also wonder whether the hospital PALS department might be worth a shot? Cannot be the first time they've ever dealt with a patient (or their next of kin) who is having trouble communicating with the right people for their care. In terms of your dad's general bills mounting up... they will have to wait. You are not personally liable for your father's bills, so they can't make you pay them from your own pocket. The issue with Appointeeism is that it only covers DWP benefits, so whilst it might help you access some money to tide you all over for the next few months, it's not a 'way of life' for dealing with the long-term finances of someone who cannot handle their own finances. The banks might accept the appointee order so an account can be set up but you won't be able to discuss with his other finances with them, let alone anyone else. I get why it seems like the easy option though and it is certainly a way forward in getting any new benefits your dad is entitled through sooner. I completely relate to witnessing a lot of professionals dealing with these things at a leisurely pace at a time when you are already suffering with your dad's changing needs whilst grieving for the dad you knew. I'm appalled on your behalf. I wish I could say it will get easier, but you will most likely end up arguing with the Court of Protection at some point and/or arguing with your dad's various finance firms who might seem clueless on how to handle your deputyship paperwork. This is why it's important to look after yourself as best you can, as you're going to need all your strength over the next few months. I also wish your dad all the best in his latest setback - strokes are funny things and it's amazing (in a sad sense) how so many processes we take for granted like eating and speaking can be affected by a stroke, and also how suspectible stroke patients get to infections. Please keep us updated on how you get on with your dad's hospital and social workers over the coming days and we'll help as best we can if these still prove to be an issue. GS x

Hi Yorky55, I'm reading your comments as though your dad has been confirmed to not have capacity, given that you were against going through the Court of Protection route at first, but please correct me if I'm wrong. It can take a few weeks for the written confirmation to come through, as someone will need to go through your dad's case and confirm that your dad is very unlikely to regain mental capacity. You can also chat to your social worker or your father's care home about getting written confirmation, at the risk of coming across as a bit cynical, it is in their interests that you get deputyship so the care fees get paid. Whoever you ask for a written statement, make sure they fill out their part of form COP3 - this is the assessment of mental capacity form that the Court of Protection use and from experience, COP get a bit funny if something that is sent through deviates from their exact requirements. Speaking of the forms, when you say 'understanding all the COP application forms', have you worked out which ones you need for your situation at least, or do you need some guidance here? Agree that their forms are quite a faff. The best advice I can give you at this stage is to take your time with the forms. You are better off spending a week or two understanding the forms and your dad's financial info so you can put together the application as best as you can first time rather than rush it and have COP come back to you in a few months and say "we don't have this" or similar. I know that it seems like time is of the essence because care home bills will stack up, but you will need to be patient here. I know it's easier said than done though. GS x

Hello freddiem, welcome to CAG! Reading between the lines, whoever took over your previous property has not been so forthcoming about taking over the home. Given reference to a solicitor and completing sale forms, it looks like you sold the home rather than was renting? At present, the council most likely view your old home as "empty". Most empty homes are actually subjected to normal council tax charges save for a few circumstances (e.g. person liable is in a care home, house is derelict). Councils don't like empty homes, and they need to know who is ultimately liable for all houses in their area so they can make sure the right people are charged the right amount of council tax. Any particular reason you don't wish to tell them the name of the new owner? It might also help other Caggers who come along if you stated whereabouts in the UK you're based, as council tax rules can vary depending on where you are.

Hello again Yorky55, Thanks for the update. Regarding whether your brother can stay in the home, please take a look at the following link and check whether any of these circumstances apply to your brother: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/do-i-have-to-sell-my-home-to-pay-for-care/ It all sounds messy and complicated, but we will do our best to help you with advice and steps to take once you are ready/able to update us. Take care in the meantime. GS x

Yes, it would be the Court of Protection if OP's friend needs to get hold of mother's finances and be able to sell the house. It is long-winded, expensive and not what OP's friend needs at this time, but then again, no-one goes to the Court of Protection unless they have to and it's never at a good time. That said, as part of the process of applying for deputyship, OP's friend would need to declare as much knowledge of what's in their mother's bank accounts and what they have in terms of assets, so knowing what the equity release plan covers would come under that anyway. Chances are, OP's friend may have to go down the COP route anyway, but one step at a time, find out what's in those T&Cs before deciding what needs to be done next.

Hello Yorky55, Firstly I am so sorry for your situation, it is a lot to cope to with and it is very overwhelming. Sadly, having been through the same with my dad since late 2019 and having no Power of Attorney in place, this is what I can offer in terms of advice (warning: long post alert): Firstly, whatever happens with having to cover care fees, his bills etc... that will all have to wait. That will be the standard response you will need to give to anyone who asks for money - "I'm sorry, my father is in hospital, I am applying to be his attorney/deputy, I don't have access to his funds." This will definitely not be the first time that the care home or your father's social workers have heard it and they should try to find as many ways to be as accommodating as possible. As for bills, if there's direct debits in place for utilities and such, these should continue to go out of his bank as normal. IF you wanted to pay off some accuring debts or sort out urgent repairs on his home, you should be able to claim that money back once you are approved as attorney/deputy. Your social worker may mention something called NHS Continuing Healthcare, where the NHS will cover some or all of his care funds depending on his needs. It is perhaps unlikely that they will cover everything, but they may pay for a few weeks complete care whilst assessments are taking place and they may then pay towards part of his care if it's determined that he needs full time nursing care. Next, I notice that your father has an assessment to see whether he has the mental capacity to do a POA. As you quite rightly point out, it is quicker cheaper and easier to do a POA, but if it is decided that he can't complete it, then you will need to go down the Court of Protection route. Of course, it is more expensive, but I'll break it down for you so you can see who should pay what: The initial £365 application fee - that will need to come from yourself (or whoever is applying to be deputy) when you send the initial application. Hearing costs - may not be applicable. Only if someone comes out of the woodwork and disputes you becoming a deputy will there be a proper hearing. Otherwise it is conducted without you being present. £320 annual supervision fee - this will come out of your father's money, it will be pro-rotaed in the first year, and is not usually payable until late March/early April. £100 new deputy fee - this will come out of your father's money at the point shortly you are appointed deputy. Security bond fee - the total amount is dependant on the size of your father's estate, but is payable over 5 years. As a guide, I'm paying just £50 a year (just over £250 total) so my father's estate is insured to the tune of £75k. Of course, if you get solicitors involved, then yes, it will cost significantly more, but you can do the paperwork yourself and deal with all matters yourself. More stressful doing it yourself?: yes. Worth it?: yes. If you apply to the COP, you will note that it's £365 to apply for financial/property deputy and £365 for health/welfare deputy. I would suggest that if you, your family, your dad's carers are all on the same page regarding his health needs, not to apply for this particular court order. COP only really tend to award those where there are disputes over someone's care and there is an urgent care need, so that could be wasted money - focus on the finances so you can get your father's affairs in best order you can. Now, you can apply to the COP to fast-track a specific request e.g. to pay care fees. However I find that this can get messy and the Court tend to ignore this if you also want to make a general application to take over your father's finances. A straight-forward case where there's no objections from your family for you to be the deputy takes about 3-4 months. Now, even during these Covid times, I applied in April 2020 and was approved in August 2020, so the COP are still working. My order did come with the string attached that I would need to get a separate order to sell his home, which I'm still waiting on but otherwise I've got his day-to-day finances in order. For now, please use this time to perhaps gather your father's financial info - bank statements, pension provider(s), utility firms, local council details etc - to get an idea of what your father's estate is worth and who he deals with. I don't know about POA applications, but on a COP application, you will need to declare as much knowledge of your father's financial background as you can, plus you will need to know who to send out your shiny attorney/deputyship order to once you've gotten that far. Hopefully, that provides if not some comfort to you, then at least some help on what might happen. I wish you and your father best of luck, I will try to keep an eye on this thread though. Please also try to look after youself as well. GS x

You could always send a SAR to Barclays as well, see how they've been recording details of your complaint on their systems and see what they've forwarded to FOS. You can then see if the case files match up and flag up any discrepancies. There are no fees attached to sending SARs these days and the timeline for response is shorter than it used to be too (within a month now). That timeline is set by the GDPR and there is little room or excuse to go beyond that. For those reasons, sending your request for your case file via a SAR gives you some more protection.

Are you saying that your breaks appear as deductions on your payslip? As in, 2.5 hours per week are automatically deducted from your wages? I think it would help people if you could do the following please: - Post up the wording on your contract as to your work hours, your breaks and any overtime. - How these are shown on your payslip. How long have you worked there and are you in a union?

Hi there, Perfectly normal for your contract to only stipulate actual hours to be worked and for breaks to be unpaid. As you are not paid for your breaks, you are presumably free to leave site during your break time? You're not losing out here - you are working 39 hours a week, your holiday is being based on 39 hours a week.

Hi dtlew1984, sorry for being late to the party and I hope your gas is now back up and running. I had this issue myself a few years back, two years on the trot in fact, should be a long interesting thread on this board about it last dated July/August 2015 hopefully. To summarise, there was no legal requirement to cap off gas for non-access. Having a look on the legislation for The Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998, this still appears to be the case. Link attached for your perusal http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2451/regulation/36/made Some HA policies will state that they 'may' cap off gas if it has been passed 12 months since last inspection and the tenant has been un-cooperative, but this does not apply in your case. Once your gas is sorted out, you should make a formal written complaint to your HA, outlining the problem, the impact it caused and assurances it will not happen again. Make sure you mention that your current certificate was still in date and remember to state that there is no legal requirement to cap gas under The Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulation 1998 - they are no doubt relying on you not to know the relevant legislation. I'm not sure if you can name your HA on here, I'm no longer with the HA I had this issue with, but phrases like "legal requirement" and "three attempts" sound very familiar and are quite troubling... All the best, GS.

Have you considered Access To Work? https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work They do have links to organisations which specifically deal with mental health conditions in the workplace (Remploy is one that immediately springs to mind) and may be able to help in getting you a new job or may be able to give advice or support for a job interview. We all have to start somewhere and most decent employers will look favourably on someone who wants to better themselves, even if 'bettering yourself' is having a reason to get out of bed in the morning to start with. I'm also sure your voluntary experience will come in handy. Good luck in your job venture.

Thank you so much for that link BankFodder - my dad and I did take a look online this afternoon to take a look at cameras. Haven't purchased one yet, as it's working out where best it can go, but good to see some options that look reasonable. Will keep everyone posted with news and updates in due course.

OK, thank you, BankFodder. I'll hold off the visits tomorrow, which is something I think secretly my father will be pleased about. We will do as much as we can in getting as much evidence as we can over the next few weeks. I will see in the meantime what we can get camera-wise and also see what information is available online about council procedures etc. Thank you so much for your input.

Thank you both stu007 and BankFodder so much for all of this info and your time in typing it all up. I am sure this is all going to be very beneficial. I agree that we should be getting as much evidence as possible, so I will be emphasising to my father the need for keeping the log up-to-date and taking photos in the meantime. I know that his initial enthusiasm for going to the HA on Monday has waned since he first made the suggestion - I guess that a noise complaint could have come from anyone in the area but adding fly-tipping to the complaint would now make it very obvious. I would love to get CCTV fitted up, but the cost will be a barrier. I am hoping that a cheaper idea might be to look at the access point which connects my father's front and back gardens and look into making that more secure - we probably can't do anything about the gate between my father's back garden and the neighbour's back garden without council's co-operation but it might be a way of demonstrating that any further fly-tipping could only have come from the neighbours. Hopefully, the business I need to attend to tomorrow will be sorted quickly, so I can do the rounds at HA / police / council and try and get names of who we will need to speak to down the line and find out the procedures we need to go through. I do expect the local council to be the worse one to tackle, as it is complicated by the fact that our county council was well-publicised recently as being 'effectively bust'. I do know that it is a Conservative-run council, for what it's worth. Whilst my father is still very much capable, I would like him to do as much of the complaining etc as he can, but he does need a shove every now and then to get things moving. He's in his late 60's, but looks a lot younger and keeps himself to himself, so I wonder if the neighbours have mistaken him for being rude and/or lazy. In some ways this might work to his advantage as he can build up evidence under the radar, but I won't lie, I do worry about things getting personal down the line. Of course, I will keep you updated throughout.

Thank you HB. Good idea about photos, will get some photos taken tomorrow.

Good evening Caggers, I am asking for some advice on behalf of my father, who has been dealing with a nuisance neighbour for a while but issues have been esculating in the last couple of weeks or so. My retired father has owned his end-of-terrace house since the mid 00s, though it is an ex-council property. However the neighbouring property (mid-terrace) is council-owned, although it is looked after by a local HA appointed by the council to look after all their homes. These particular tenants (a couple with a child) have been living next door to my dad for about a year. There have been issues with noise throughout - loud banging of doors and shouting at all hours (yes, we are often talking 2-3-4am, but can be any time of the day so goodness knows when they sleep!). The bloke can often be heard playing loud music in his car at midnight or 6am. All very annoying but now things have stepped up a notch. A couple of weeks ago, my dad was woken up by the neighbours burning rubbish in their back garden at midnight. It was only in the morning when my dad noticed that a old metal bin he kept in his back garden had gone missing. There is a gate between his back garden and the neighbours' - though there's no trace of the bin, it would be very difficult for anyone else to have known of its existence. On Weds this week, my dad had had his brown 'garden waste' bin stolen from the front of the house. We can't prove it is the dodgy neighbours, but they do now have a brown bin at the front of their house and one round the back. Now today, my dad has noticed some large items appear in his back garden, including a fridge unit and a buggy. They are now using my dad's garden as a dumping ground for their large waste! There is access to the back garden from the front of the property so in theory it could be anyone, but the property is a little bit off the road, with some large grass areas between the road and the houses - it would have taken some effort to identify my dad's back garden as a good place to dump their large waste, let alone take it down there! My father was only telling me yesterday that he is looking to go to the council's HA on Monday to discuss the neighbours' behaviours, this being before the discovery of the fridge and buggy in his garden. He hates confrontation and hates the idea that the neighbours will work out that it would be him who's reported them, so I know that looking to take steps on this is a big deal for him. He won't admit it out loud, but I know he is getting quite upset by all this and I hate seeing him like that. I am going to see him tomorrow with a notebook and help him write up a proper log of events for him to use and refer to when he sees HA. I do already have Monday booked off work for other reasons, so I will try and be at the HA with him if I can. Please can I have some advice about whether this is a good starting approach or whether we should be doing things differently? Also, how best to get rid of the waste if HA won't co-operate there? Many thanks in advance, GS.

Right, first things first, unless you are recording your calls, get off the phone. As you can see with N-Power, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, which is putting it politely. Whenever you speak to someone, it is very easy for them to deny all knowledge of previous conversations and it is only when you get the SAR that you can start to see where the discrepencies are. Next thing - your SAR should be in writing. If there's no specific address on their website to send SARs to, I would advise to send it to head office (unless another Cagger knows where to send it to?). Ask for everything they have on you and everything that is on your account. The stuff about their implied logic in their decisions will possibly be on their internal notes fixed to your account number but having never had to send a SAR to N-Power, I don't know how this would appear. Make sure your account number, address, name etc are clear on your SAR. Having looked on a few recent threads regarding N-Power, it appears that they will ask you to complete a form in order for your SAR to be processed. This is codswallop - a written SAR which is clear and has been paid for is perfectly valid and the ICO don't like anyone insisting that it must be done on a form. State at the end of your SAR that the ICO do not require that a special form must be used and therefore you expect your SAR response within 40 calendar days. Send your SAR by recorded delivery and check when it gets signed for - this is when you can start counting your 40 days. Cheque is the preferred method of payment as it is easier to chech when/if it has been cashed in. It is definitely £10 for a SAR, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at their sheer audacity in requesting £10.50. In the meantime, keep your notes about your telephone calls. It's not the same as recording them, but may well be very helpful when trying to match up your notes to the SAR results. Also work under the assumption that you will not get any calls back - keep a paper trial if they get back in touch. Good luck.

Well, you can file proceedings and it is good that you would be prepared to go the distance. However, at this stage, your strongest claim would be for data protection breaches regarding not processing your SAR. Which won't get you much compo. I think you would be better off waiting for an actual SAR to come through, going through it with a fine tooth comb and finding as much ammunition as you can to throw back at them. Perhaps with your health as it is at the moment, waiting on SAR/ICO responses might not be a bad thing? You are still persuing available avenues but giving yourself some breathing space to get your health in better shape before the big battle.

When you say you've asked 3 times for SAR information... when? were these requests in writing? did you make any payment for their 'efforts' in processing a SAR? Or did you just ask them 3 times how to go about sending them a SAR and they just decided not to bother answering? I would give you some tips on sending out SARs, but just want to be clear what actions you've already taken. Thanks.