Liz Kileen was sent a final demand which claimed to have cared for her husband AFTER his death (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
A grieving widow has been left furious after being slapped with an ‘intimidating’ £10.21 bill from debt collectors for her husband’s care – five months after he died.
Liz Kileen, 70, was left “angry and upset” and fearing bailiffs would come knocking on her door after receiving the letter for care given to her late husband between June 10 and 16.
However, she says the care was never given due to her husband of 34 years Paul, 73, being admitted to hospital on June 7, where he remained until his death six days later.
A full time carer for her late husband, Mrs Kileen told : “About a month after he passed, I rang the council to chase the final bill and they told me that I had £61 credit, which they refunded.”
But in October, Mrs Kileen was shocked to receive a bill for outstanding care of £10 from to be paid within 30 days. After calling to enquire, she was told that the letter had been sent by mistake due to a “computer error” and should be ignored.
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Liz and Paul on their wedding day in 1990 (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
But less than 30 days later, she was left furious after an “intimidating” letter was delivered demanding final payment, leaving her worried about incurring additional costs from debt collection agencies.
Mrs Kileen said: “It isn’t about the amount; it is the principle.”
She added: “Grief is tough enough and causes all sorts of different emotions without having to worry that a bailiff is going to appear at your door.”
Her niece Nickie Gambrell accused the council of having “no compassion” and points out that they did not contact her aunt when she was in credit but did so multiple times when they wrongly believed they were owed money.
She said: “They are contradicting themselves. One minute you’re in credit, the next minute you’re getting final demands for care that he didn’t even have.
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The second and final demand asked for payment for care that was never given (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“She has not long ago lost her husband; she is still dealing with that and now she has this to worry about.”
Mrs Kileen, who has already lost her after being 32p over the threshold, considered paying the amount out of fear of spiralling costs but decided to make a stand in the hope that it helps other people in the same position.
She said: “There will be people who just pay it because they don’t want another thing to deal with at a tough time, but it is just not right.”
When the Express put Mrs Kileen’s claims to , they apologised for the error and confirmed they would review the measures currently in place when people in their care die.
As Paul’s health declined, Liz became his full-time carer for the final years of his life (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
, which officially declared bankruptcy in 2020, issued a section 114 notice in 2022 to effectively put spending in the hands of local government due to debts of more than £1.6bn.
The council has instigated measures to sell assets and cut costs, with social and public services severely impacted.
A spokesperson for said: “We are really sorry about our error and for the distress it has caused. We have corrected the balance on the account and have been in contact with our resident directly to offer our sincere apologies.
“We acknowledge that things like this should not happen in the first place. We will investigate thoroughly and do everything to ensure that this does not happen again.”