A former RAF pilot has battled with HCC and now they will change their charging system. KATE THOMPSON reports...

A PILE of paperwork on the table represents the correspondence Donald Wright has had with Hampshire County for the past four and a half years.

What started as a minor irritation has become a major problem for the former RAF pilot as he tries to get the local authority to bill him correctly for the care he receives.

Hampshire County Council has admitted there are problems with their system and a new way of charging will be introduced from April 2005.

Mr Wright, 75, has emphysema and once a week a carer comes to his home. This is a service arranged by Hampshire County Council and delivered by an outside agency.

Mr Wright is delighted with the quality of care he receives - his problem lies with paying for the service.

Every month he is billed for the service that Hampshire County Council anticipate he should receive but the actual number of visits may vary if Mr Wright has, for example, been in hospital.

"I realised right from the start what was happening and I pointed it out to Hampshire County Council but they have been unable to do anything about the discrepancy.

"They told me the system worked like the payment of electricity bills and it would even out over the year. But I know it doesn't and I am worried that other vulnerable people may be paying more than they should do," he said.

When Mr Wright first noticed the discrepancy in his bill, he alerted the local authority. They thanked him for bringing it to their attention and sent an amended account.

And so it went on, Mr Wright would inform the council when the sum was incorrect and they would change it.

"Then I decided, I would keep my own accounts in just the same way as the council did.

"I would send them the correct amount each month and I would see if they realised there was a discrepancy," he said.

This went on for 16 months and at the end of that time Mr Wright received another bill for the amount the council said he owed - but he could prove he had paid the correct amount for the care he received.

In a letter from Group Finance manager Jenny Roud she admitted the system of charging involved guesswork on their part.

"We have contacted the care provider in the past to try and ascertain exactly which dates they have provided care on but they are unable to furnish us with this information.

"This means we can only guess which weeks you did or did not have care," she said.

But Mr Wright has learned that the care provider was never originally asked to provide dates, just the total number of care visits within a four-week period.

Concerned about the inadequacy of the council's accounting system, Mr Wright took his case to the local ombudsman.

He agreed Mr Wright had experienced difficulties with his bills but said the council had offered to prepare an individual account for him and this should solve the problem.

"The county council has offered to provide me with an individual account but what if there are other people in my position who are being overcharged and have no idea they are paying too much?" he said.

Winchester MP Mark Oaten took up Mr Wright's case and, in response, director of social services Terry Butler said: "Although we do not believe that our current systems lead to overcharging clients, we do accept that they could be improved and made more understandable for clients."

Hampshire Social Services' Assistant Director for Older People Andrew Brooker said:

"We have looked in considerable detail at the unique circumstances of Mr Wright's case and are quite satisfied that he is being charged correctly for the home care services he receives through us from an independent care agency.

"The billing period over which the care agency operates is different to the period covered by Social Services, and this has meant estimated billings have sometimes to be sent to Mr Wright. These have then been corrected on his subsequent bill to make allowance for the times when Mr Wright cancels his carer visits at short notice - with the system operating in a similar way to utility bills.

"By way of further explaining how the system works Mr Wright has been invited to meet with one of our finance managers, however he has not taken up this offer.

"From April this system will be simplified as we have asked all agencies who we contract for social care services to sychronise their billing cycle with that of our own, and I am hopeful that this will simplify matters for Mr Wright."

If you have a query with your HCC care bill contact 01962 845662.