Relatives of residents in Avery Healthcare homes are being billed for up to a fortnight after the resident has died – a practice that contradicts official guidance and which campaigners say is designed to maximise revenue while families are grieving.
The company’s new contracts include a clause requiring payment for 14 days following a death, as well as an upfront “dilapidations” fee of £595 to cover damage or wear and tear. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has been investigating care-home charging practices for years, advises that fees after a death should generally not exceed three days, or ten days if possessions have not yet been cleared. Avery’s 14-day rule falls well outside that boundary.
How Avery justifies the 14-day charge
Avery Healthcare argues the fortnight-long billing period gives relatives “time and space to prepare appropriately” after a bereavement. But the detail of its own terms and conditions undermines that claim. Under the previous contract, charges stopped as soon as the deceased’s room was cleared. Now, the fee is only waived if Avery manages to relet the room within those 14 days – in which case the family must keep paying until the new resident moves in. If relatives remove possessions promptly, they still pay the full fortnight. The real rationale, the contract makes clear, is income, not wellbeing.
The CMA’s 2018 ruling required care providers to amend such terms immediately or face enforcement action. Eight years later, Avery – a company whose majority stakeholders are the multibillionaire Reuben brothers (who increased their stake after the 2022 joint ownership with REIT Welltower) – has not only failed to comply but has introduced even more onerous terms in new contracts. The company operates more than 100 care homes across the UK.
When challenged, Avery remained unabashed, pointing out that the old contract predated its acquisition of the home in question and insisting its charging policy is longstanding. Yet the CMA’s stance has been consistently firm: care homes should not automatically charge for more than three days after death, and should not demand payment for “normal wear and tear”. The CMA has previously taken action against other providers: in 2018 Maria Mallaband Care Group stopped charging post-death fees after an investigation, and Care UK faced legal proceedings for compulsory upfront administration fees.
The dilapidations charge is similarly problematic. Avery demands £595 upfront when a resident moves in, long before the length of the stay or the condition of the room can be known. The CMA has expressed concern that residents are being charged separately for services already covered by ongoing residential fees, and advises against upfront payments unless there is clear justification. Such clauses are potentially unfair and may be unenforceable under consumer protection law.
The ombudsman’s position
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) does receive complaints about these fees but does not record how many cases. The ombudsman – the final stage for complaints about councils, adult social care providers and other local public services – has investigated a similar complaint against Avery. It dropped the investigation only after the company offered to refund the family of a deceased resident as a “goodwill gesture”. The same offer was made to another relative who complained, but the clauses remain in the contract.
The LGSCO states: “We expect providers to follow the law and consider the CMA advice when drawing up contracts.” It can recommend remedies such as apologies, financial compensation or improvements to procedures after investigating maladministration and service failure.
The CMA itself has powers to enforce consumer protection law under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, including seeking compensation for consumers or securing undertakings from businesses. But when asked whether it takes action when care homes ignore the rules, the CMA refused to comment. The regulator updated its consumer law advice in December 2021, making clear that:
– Fixed fees after death should be calculated pro rata up to a maximum of three days.
– Fees charged until possessions are cleared can be pro rated up to ten days, with extensions only at the explicit request of relatives.
– Top-up fees should not be charged for longer than the local authority would have paid.
– Shortfalls in funded nursing care must not be made up by relatives.
– Any sums charged after death should be refunded if the room is reoccupied.
Avery’s contract meets none of these criteria. The 14-day charge is not pro rated; it is a flat fortnight. The fees cease only if the room is relet – and if it is, the family keeps paying until the new occupant arrives, meaning the company could collect from two families for the same room on the same days.
The company knows these charges are vulnerable, as shown by the goodwill-offer pattern: it refunds only when challenged. But for every person who complains, many more – likely dealing with the emotional and financial strain of a death – simply pay up. Anyone with a relative in a care home is advised to check the contract and to complain to the ombudsman if such fees appear.
