I have copied the business's response and my rebuttal of these claims in redI have also attached the documentation requested where cited belowSince the date of my original claim, I was notified that the Area Agency on Aging as well as [redacted] ***e has terminated all contacts with this company due to multiple failed audits on billingPlease let me know if you have any questions and, again, thank you for your help."Yes, we entered into a contract on 11/16/(Please see the attached contract (08.07.13_ [redacted] ) dated in August 8th of when we entered into contract, not 11/16/2013) with Ms [redacted] for the care of her mother, [redacted] As I read this complaint I see that Ms [redacted] is disputing her unpaid invoices Our billing policy is to bill client every two weeks.(Please see the attached spreadsheet (second page of [redacted] , Statement) provided by Ms [redacted] which shows that billing periods ranged from one day to two weeksI recognize that Ms [redacted] has only been with the company for less than a year, so she may not be aware that this has been an very flexible “policy” prior to her involvementBills were received very sporadicallyMore importantly, the contract which states that invoices would be sent once a weekThis never occurred.) That policy has not changed(Per the attached contract, it has changed.)As I began working with the aging report in April, I contacted Ms [redacted] regarding these unpaid invoice(Please see the attached e-mail sent on 2/29/(Fwd_Statement_from_California_Caregivers)This was the first time my mother was notified of any past due balance was on 2/29/where an invoice was sent with no explanation stating that there was a balance forward of over $2,from some point between 8/and 2/This was the first time we were aware of the billing invoices that were not sent.) She was surprised as she thought she had been paying their invoices regularlyWhich is accurate to a point, for the most part it looks like the months in questions she paid one invoice and not the two invoices that were sent(Billing was always highly irregularEach invoice was paid as it was receivedHowever, the invoices in question were NEVER sent to usAt no point prior to 2/29/were we informed that there was any past due balance abruptly dating from 2/15/15.) I explained the situation and told her I would make a spread sheet of the dates of service, the dates of payment and the check numbers applied to those payments so she could review it This service was provided as a courtesy as our QuickBooks invoices can be hard to resolve when there are unpaid invoices(Providing dates of service for past due invoices is not considered a “courtesy”This is standard protocol when payment is being requested and usually the original invoices are sent, not bookkeeping spreadsheets from QuickbooksThe invoices were requested on three separate occasions over the phone and almost months passed before they were received on July 27th, 2016.)In an email dated July 6, Mrs [redacted] said she was able to determine that only two payments were missingHowever she never provided any of the documentation to support that claim.(Please see attached e-mail titled “Payment Received"- The e-mail sent on July 6th requested that attempts be made to resolve the issue, but that some type of explanation was needed regarding the serious year-long lapse and highly questionable documentationI could not make sense of the spreadsheet and requested detailed clarificationThree weeks passed before I received a response and the response did not address the inquiryThe documentation being requested by California Caregivers were copies of my mother’s bank statements at the suggestion of the owner, [redacted] when I spoke with him in March of At this point no invoices had been provided after almost months and we were very weary providing such personal information.)It is important to know that our care giving services were still being provided I thought once she reviewed the spreadsheet she would see these services were provided and may have been an oversight on payment(It was verbally acknowledged in March that the individual handling billing during the time in question did not keep accurate records and mishandled accountingIt was also acknowledged that we were one of many clients to experience the results of those oversights (see e-mail from [redacted] on June 29th titled “Invoices” that states "California CareGivers has had some growing pains and some turnoverI was hired to rectify the situation and I hope to work with you on gaining your confidence back.I can't go back and fix the inconsistency but I hope to move forward with youYour mom's care is first and foremost the most important issueBilling consistently is next.”It had been acknowledged up until this response to Revdex.com that the error was on behalf of California CaregiversThe billing aspect of the services provided is paramount and has caused over months of hardshipWe cancelled my mother’s care with this company due to this issue, so I consider it to be of equal importance.)In July, Ms [redacted] requested cleaning services only We are a care giving company that will include light housekeeping but we do not provide a cleaning service At that time services were cancelled(I initiated cancellation of the contract in August when we had requested light housekeeping servicesAfter waiting for weeks for a provider to be found with no success, I contacted the company to terminate the contractI elected to cancel the contract with all things considered and take on my mothers needs between my husband and I.) In August I sent a letter with a statement of unpaid charges, no response(Again, this letter was sent to my mother even after multiple requests were made to please contact me as her Power of AttorneyI felt that we were beyond resolution between the business and I and elected to pursue other avenues for assistance.) At the end of the month I sent another letter stating interest would be applied as per her signed agreement It is not our practice to enforce the interest charges on our clients We simply want to be paid for the services provided(When this letter was received, I contacted a community resources and it was determined that we should file the complaint with the Revdex.comIt should be stated again that this business has lost State contracts with the Area Agency on Aging and other organizations requiring a credible business historyI am confident that we are not the only entities to question the validity of these billing issues.)As a relatively new business (est2012) we have gone through some growing pains and had some turnover, but any new company relies heavily on accounts receivable Follow up may have been an issue, but not billing(Billing consistently was the central and primary issue encountered, even as stated by [redacted] herselfTo reference waiting a full year to bill for questionable services as “follow-up” is severely understated Not one past due notification had been produced in monthsIf AR is so critical to the success of this business, I would hope they wouldn’t have waited over a year to attempt to collect it.)That being said, it is important to note that at no time did Mrs [redacted] have any issues with the care we provided her mother.”(The reason our contract was not terminated prior to, was due to the relationship that my mother had established with her caregiver lasting three yearsFollowing my mother’s stroke, consistency was critical to her careI did not want to disrupt the relationship she had with her caregiver until we were given no choiceOver the three years, we had many issues from mishandling of information, late cancellations, billing issues and ROI contact problemsAt one point I was told that our Power of Attorney had been “lost” and a new copy was needed before I was able to discuss an urgent issue regarding my mothers care.Like many families requiring the services of caregivers, my mothers condition requires a great dealI am concerned that not all former clients of California Caregivers have an advocate to make sense of the situationAs much as California Caregivers feels we should accept the dubious situation and write a check, I am unsure of who would not have serious misgivings in complying given all that has happenedIt is important to note that California Caregivers has still not addressed why it took a full year to provide a past due invoice for the services they claim were providedIf you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenienceThank you, [redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of ArbitrationIf you wish, you may update it before sending it.]Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .11759730, and find that arbitration is necessaryPlease let me know the date of the arbitration at your earliest convenienceI am very appreciative of your assistance with this matter. Sincerely,*** ***
I am rejecting this response because:The business's response to my concerns outlined in the previous complaint have still not been addressedNone of the information I provided in my claim submitted on 11/has been refutedAlternate means were pursued outside of working directly with the business as transparent responses to questions have been very difficult to extractAs such, I would like California Caregivers to please respond to the following:Your contract states that billing statements would be provided weeklyHowever, the practice since has been to send them bi-weekly, correct? For clarification on the term "sporadic" billing practices, I would like to note the following: aBilling statements for 8/30/and 9/13/were both e-mailed on 10/1/bBilling statements for 12/20/and 1/3/were both e-mailed on 1/21/cThe statement ending 3/12/was e-mailed two weeks later on 3/25/dThe statement ending 12/19/was e-mailed days later on 12/31/2105 eThe statement ending on 5/21/was e-mailed two weeks later on 6/5/followed by another statement ending 6/days later on 6/10. When the original notice was sent in February requesting over $2500, I asked why we had never received a past due notice with any invoices until this timeI have continued to ask that question for over almost a year with no responsePlease provide information to address this concernThe attached spreadsheet is an Excel documentIt can be easily manipulated, is not an official document and shows the following gaps: aPayment posting - please see the examples below for paradoxical issues seen in the document
10/- 11/03/
10/- 11/08/
$
$
4/13/
11/- 11/20/
11/- 11/21/
$
$
6/22/
11/- 12/04/
11/- 12/06/
$
$
6/22/
bMs*** indicates in her last response that payments were received monthlyWhile I agree that payments were sent when bills were received, the spreadsheet she sent shows conflicting informationFor example, per her spreadsheet, no payments were received from 2/2/to 3/26/Please clarify. In reviewing the spreadsheet a second time, comparing it to invoices that were received and payments that were made, I am still only able to broadly calculate a discrepancy of $There is a total of $1,of invoices that were never sent (nor was a notification of a past due balance)All invoices were sent to my mother via e-mail, so I am happy to provide copies of all invoices sent to her from 7/3/to 7/8/There is also a discrepancy of $of payments that were sent and funds withdrawn but not posted to the spreadsheet beginning 1/05/and ending 7/1/In spite of my complete lack of confidence in the information provided by this company, I am willing to pay the $in good faith to resolve the issue with California Caregivers and move on from this awful experience. Ms*** herself indicated that their billing practices were flawed and that "I can't go back and fix the inconsistency but I hope to move forward with you. Your mom's care is first and foremost the most important issueBilling consistently is next." I would like to know why that sentiment is now being withdrawnWhen talks began, California Caregivers had taken full accountability for the fact that statements were not being sent and that that was the cause of the balance dueNow they claim that bills were sent? Please clarify your opposing positions. Please address why the Area Agency on Aging has terminated their contract with your company. While I appreciate the delicate way Ms*** expressed her appreciation of the challenges that caregivers face, this is not the reason for the situation we are in nowI pay all of my mother's bills (cable, phone, SMUD, PGE, secondary insurance plan, etc.) and not a single one has been delinquentIf Ms*** feels that the workload of a caregiver is to blame, I am curious why California Caregivers is the only company we have had any issues with.Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information.Thank you,*** ***
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me this afternoonAs I stated in our conversation, I still have many concerns related to California Caregivers and the current complaint.I stated in my last response that I am willing to pay the $in good will to have the situation resolvedI ask that the remaining balance be removed from our accountI am very concerned that the position of the company has changed so drastically since my mother and I first received a past due statement in MarchAt that time, per an e-mail attachment in a previous response, *** *** stated that the billing error was on behalf of California CaregiversThey now state that this is an “oversight” on my part.There has still been no explanation as to why they did not send any past due invoices or any indication that we owed any funds to them until March of The discrepancies that have taken place are numerous and unresolved.The Reasonable Person Standard should apply to this situation, as I know any “reasonable person” would not give $to a company after such egregious billing practicesPlease review my last response on November 16th which outlines many areas of concern that have yet to be addressedI feel all of these issues to be relevant to the integrity of this company.I am also aware that we are not the only customers that faced this issueNot only have organizations relying on state funds terminated contracts with this organization, but private pay clients as well.You asked earlier that I put myself in the business’s positionWhile I understand that this is a challenging situation for CC, I do not feel my mother and I should be held accountable for their errors in billing practices, lapses in sending invoices in a timely manner or neglect to send past due notificationsFor example, if a cable company forgot to bill customers for HBO for a year, they wouldn’t send the customer a notice a year later with a $past due balance and expect to recover the fundsThere is risk in owning a business and hiring accountable people to perform the workMy mother and I did our part as responsible customers and paid the invoices that were sent to us.Please let me know if there is any other information, billing statements, e-mails, etcthat I can provide.Thank you for your help,*** ***
I am finding it very difficult to respond to Ms***'s list of questions as I cannot confirm or deny these allegation as I was not employed with the company at the time this took place. I have provided Ms*** all of the documentation requested that I have to substantiate our case. Although Ms*** has claimed to only owe a few remaining invoices Ms*** has not provided me with any paperwork to refute our claim as to why she is not paying for services that were provided. Services were provided and accepted. While I sympathize with Ms*** situation, we stand by our billing system.I have two options to propose: Option A: We will accept $payments due on the 5th of every month until the principal balance is paid in full. We will waive any and all interest accrued. Option B: I can turn this over to collections.I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused Ms*** I hope to come to a mutual decision and put this behind us. Thank you, *** ***
In response to ID 11759730Yes, we entered into a contract on 11/16/2013 with Ms. [redacted] for the care of her mother, [redacted] As I read this complaint I see that Ms. [redacted] is disputing her unpaid invoices. Our billing policy is to bill client every two weeks. ...
That policy has not changed. As I began working with the aging report in April, I contacted Ms. [redacted] regarding these unpaid invoice. She was surprised as she thought she had been paying their invoices regularly. Which is accurate to a point, for the most part it looks like the months in questions she paid one invoice and not the two invoices that were sent.I explained the situation and told her I would make a spread sheet of the dates of service, the dates of payment and the check numbers applied to those payments so she could review it. This service was provided as a courtesy as our QuickBooks invoices can be hard to resolve when there are unpaid invoices.In an email dated July 6, 2016 Mrs. [redacted] said she was able to determine that only two payments were missing. However she never provided any of the documentation to support that claim.It is important to know that our care giving services were still being provided. I thought once she reviewed the spreadsheet she would see these services were provided and may have been an oversight on payment.In July, Ms. [redacted] requested cleaning services only. We are a care giving company that will include light housekeeping but we do not provide a cleaning service. At that time services were cancelled.In August I sent a letter with a statement of unpaid charges, no response. At the end of the month I sent another letter stating interest would be applied as per her signed agreement. It is not our practice to enforce the interest charges on our clients. We simply want to be paid for the services provided.As a relatively new business (est. 2012) we have gone through some growing pains and had some turnover, but any new company relies heavily on accounts receivable. Follow up may have been an issue, but not billing.That being said, it is important to note that at no time did Mrs. [redacted] have any issues with the care we provided her mother. Thank you, [redacted]Business Manager
I have copied the business's response and my rebuttal of these claims in red. I have also attached the documentation requested where cited below. Since the date of my original claim, I was notified that the Area 4 Agency on Aging as well as [redacted]e has terminated all contacts with this company due to multiple failed audits on billing. Please let me know if you have any questions and, again, thank you for your help."Yes, we entered into a contract on 11/16/2013 (Please see the attached contract (08.07.13_[redacted]) dated in August 8th of 2013 when we entered into contract, not 11/16/2013) with Ms. [redacted] for the care of her mother, [redacted] As I read this complaint I see that Ms. [redacted] is disputing her unpaid invoices. Our billing policy is to bill client every two weeks.(Please see the attached spreadsheet (second page of [redacted], Statement) provided by Ms. [redacted] which shows that billing periods ranged from one day to two weeks. I recognize that Ms. [redacted] has only been with the company for less than a year, so she may not be aware that this has been an very flexible “policy” prior to her involvement. Bills were received very sporadically. More importantly, the contract which states that invoices would be sent once a week. This never occurred.) That policy has not changed. (Per the attached contract, it has changed.)As I began working with the aging report in April, I contacted Ms. [redacted] regarding these unpaid invoice. (Please see the attached e-mail sent on 2/29/15 (Fwd_Statement_from_California_Caregivers). This was the first time my mother was notified of any past due balance was on 2/29/16 where an invoice was sent with no explanation stating that there was a balance forward of over $2,500 from some point between 8/13 and 2/15. This was the first time we were aware of the billing invoices that were not sent.) She was surprised as she thought she had been paying their invoices regularly. Which is accurate to a point, for the most part it looks like the months in questions she paid one invoice and not the two invoices that were sent. (Billing was always highly irregular. Each invoice was paid as it was received. However, the invoices in question were NEVER sent to us. At no point prior to 2/29/16 were we informed that there was any past due balance abruptly dating from 2/15/15.) I explained the situation and told her I would make a spread sheet of the dates of service, the dates of payment and the check numbers applied to those payments so she could review it. This service was provided as a courtesy as our QuickBooks invoices can be hard to resolve when there are unpaid invoices. (Providing dates of service for past due invoices is not considered a “courtesy”. This is standard protocol when payment is being requested and usually the original invoices are sent, not bookkeeping spreadsheets from Quickbooks. The invoices were requested on three separate occasions over the phone and almost 5 months passed before they were received on July 27th, 2016.)In an email dated July 6, 2016 Mrs. [redacted] said she was able to determine that only two payments were missing. However she never provided any of the documentation to support that claim.(Please see attached e-mail titled “Payment Received"- The e-mail sent on July 6th requested that attempts be made to resolve the issue, but that some type of explanation was needed regarding the serious year-long lapse and highly questionable documentation. I could not make sense of the spreadsheet and requested detailed clarification. Three weeks passed before I received a response and the response did not address the inquiry. The documentation being requested by California Caregivers were copies of my mother’s bank statements at the suggestion of the owner, [redacted] when I spoke with him in March of 2016. At this point no invoices had been provided after almost 5 months and we were very weary providing such personal information.)It is important to know that our care giving services were still being provided. I thought once she reviewed the spreadsheet she would see these services were provided and may have been an oversight on payment. (It was verbally acknowledged in March that the individual handling billing during the time in question did not keep accurate records and mishandled accounting. It was also acknowledged that we were one of many clients to experience the results of those oversights (see e-mail from [redacted] on June 29th titled “Invoices” that states "California CareGivers has had some growing pains and some turnover. I was hired to rectify the situation and I hope to work with you on gaining your confidence back.I can't go back and fix the inconsistency but I hope to move forward with you. Your mom's care is first and foremost the most important issue. Billing consistently is next.”It had been acknowledged up until this response to Revdex.com that the error was on behalf of California Caregivers. The billing aspect of the services provided is paramount and has caused over 8 months of hardship. We cancelled my mother’s care with this company due to this issue, so I consider it to be of equal importance.)In July, Ms. [redacted] requested cleaning services only. We are a care giving company that will include light housekeeping but we do not provide a cleaning service. At that time services were cancelled. (I initiated cancellation of the contract in August when we had requested light housekeeping services. After waiting for 2 weeks for a provider to be found with no success, I contacted the company to terminate the contract. I elected to cancel the contract with all things considered and take on my mothers needs between my husband and I.) In August I sent a letter with a statement of unpaid charges, no response. (Again, this letter was sent to my mother even after multiple requests were made to please contact me as her Power of Attorney. I felt that we were beyond resolution between the business and I and elected to pursue other avenues for assistance.) At the end of the month I sent another letter stating interest would be applied as per her signed agreement. It is not our practice to enforce the interest charges on our clients. We simply want to be paid for the services provided. (When this letter was received, I contacted a community resources and it was determined that we should file the complaint with the Revdex.com. It should be stated again that this business has lost State contracts with the Area 4 Agency on Aging and other organizations requiring a credible business history. I am confident that we are not the only entities to question the validity of these billing issues.)As a relatively new business (est. 2012) we have gone through some growing pains and had some turnover, but any new company relies heavily on accounts receivable. Follow up may have been an issue, but not billing. (Billing consistently was the central and primary issue encountered, even as stated by [redacted] herself. To reference waiting a full year to bill for questionable services as “follow-up” is severely understated . Not one past due notification had been produced in 15 months. If AR is so critical to the success of this business, I would hope they wouldn’t have waited over a year to attempt to collect it.)That being said, it is important to note that at no time did Mrs. [redacted] have any issues with the care we provided her mother.”(The reason our contract was not terminated prior to, was due to the relationship that my mother had established with her caregiver lasting three years. Following my mother’s stroke, consistency was critical to her care. I did not want to disrupt the relationship she had with her caregiver until we were given no choice. Over the three years, we had many issues from mishandling of information, late cancellations, billing issues and ROI contact problems. At one point I was told that our Power of Attorney had been “lost” and a new copy was needed before I was able to discuss an urgent issue regarding my mothers care.Like many families requiring the services of caregivers, my mothers condition requires a great deal. I am concerned that not all former clients of California Caregivers have an advocate to make sense of the situation. As much as California Caregivers feels we should accept the dubious situation and write a check, I am unsure of who would not have serious misgivings in complying given all that has happened. It is important to note that California Caregivers has still not addressed why it took a full year to provide a past due invoice for the services they claim were provided. If you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience. Thank you,[redacted]
November 11, 2016 Complaint ID 11759730 In response to Ms. [redacted]'s complaint regarding "sporadic" invoicing, I took the liberty of adding a billing period column to the spreadsheet I previously supplied Ms. [redacted] (see attached). The column reflects our billing periods, next to the dates of service Ms. [redacted]'s mother received care. Ms. [redacted] is under the impression that we billed for "one day to two weeks" at one time. This column should give her some clarity. Also, given the fact that payments were received monthly, that claim is unsubstantiated. We have implemented sending statements along with invoices to rectify this in the future. We believe this may have been an oversight on Ms. [redacted]'s part. We understand that it is difficult balancing work, caring for an elderly parent and everyday life. We are more than willing to establish a payment plan, just as we were when these talks began. While we sympathize with Ms. [redacted] current situation, we did provide care and have not been paid for services rendered. We are a family owned business, we are not a large corporate company that can absorb these charges when a client decides they don't want to pay. If you have any other questions I'd be more than happy to discuss them.
I have just read the response and have documentation to support that some of their assertions are false. I have further information that the Area 4 Agency on Aging has terminated their contract with this company due to failed audits on billing. It appears that after realizing they were not going to be recouping cost from state and federal contracts, they elected to attempt to recoup costs from invoices that were never sent from private pay clients. I have met with a Social Worker with the Asian Community Center who has indicated that we are not the only customers that have encountered this serious problem. Please reopen this claim, so I may formally respond. Thank you for your help![redacted]
I have copied the business's response and my rebuttal of these claims in redI have also attached the documentation requested where cited belowSince the date of my original claim, I was notified that the Area Agency on Aging as well as [redacted] ***e has terminated all contacts with this company due to multiple failed audits on billingPlease let me know if you have any questions and, again, thank you for your help."Yes, we entered into a contract on 11/16/(Please see the attached contract (08.07.13_ [redacted] ) dated in August 8th of when we entered into contract, not 11/16/2013) with Ms [redacted] for the care of her mother, [redacted] As I read this complaint I see that Ms [redacted] is disputing her unpaid invoices Our billing policy is to bill client every two weeks.(Please see the attached spreadsheet (second page of [redacted] , Statement) provided by Ms [redacted] which shows that billing periods ranged from one day to two weeksI recognize that Ms [redacted] has only been with the company for less than a year, so she may not be aware that this has been an very flexible “policy” prior to her involvementBills were received very sporadicallyMore importantly, the contract which states that invoices would be sent once a weekThis never occurred.) That policy has not changed(Per the attached contract, it has changed.)As I began working with the aging report in April, I contacted Ms [redacted] regarding these unpaid invoice(Please see the attached e-mail sent on 2/29/(Fwd_Statement_from_California_Caregivers)This was the first time my mother was notified of any past due balance was on 2/29/where an invoice was sent with no explanation stating that there was a balance forward of over $2,from some point between 8/and 2/This was the first time we were aware of the billing invoices that were not sent.) She was surprised as she thought she had been paying their invoices regularlyWhich is accurate to a point, for the most part it looks like the months in questions she paid one invoice and not the two invoices that were sent(Billing was always highly irregularEach invoice was paid as it was receivedHowever, the invoices in question were NEVER sent to usAt no point prior to 2/29/were we informed that there was any past due balance abruptly dating from 2/15/15.) I explained the situation and told her I would make a spread sheet of the dates of service, the dates of payment and the check numbers applied to those payments so she could review it This service was provided as a courtesy as our QuickBooks invoices can be hard to resolve when there are unpaid invoices(Providing dates of service for past due invoices is not considered a “courtesy”This is standard protocol when payment is being requested and usually the original invoices are sent, not bookkeeping spreadsheets from QuickbooksThe invoices were requested on three separate occasions over the phone and almost months passed before they were received on July 27th, 2016.)In an email dated July 6, Mrs [redacted] said she was able to determine that only two payments were missingHowever she never provided any of the documentation to support that claim.(Please see attached e-mail titled “Payment Received"- The e-mail sent on July 6th requested that attempts be made to resolve the issue, but that some type of explanation was needed regarding the serious year-long lapse and highly questionable documentationI could not make sense of the spreadsheet and requested detailed clarificationThree weeks passed before I received a response and the response did not address the inquiryThe documentation being requested by California Caregivers were copies of my mother’s bank statements at the suggestion of the owner, [redacted] when I spoke with him in March of At this point no invoices had been provided after almost months and we were very weary providing such personal information.)It is important to know that our care giving services were still being provided I thought once she reviewed the spreadsheet she would see these services were provided and may have been an oversight on payment(It was verbally acknowledged in March that the individual handling billing during the time in question did not keep accurate records and mishandled accountingIt was also acknowledged that we were one of many clients to experience the results of those oversights (see e-mail from [redacted] on June 29th titled “Invoices” that states "California CareGivers has had some growing pains and some turnoverI was hired to rectify the situation and I hope to work with you on gaining your confidence back.I can't go back and fix the inconsistency but I hope to move forward with youYour mom's care is first and foremost the most important issueBilling consistently is next.”It had been acknowledged up until this response to Revdex.com that the error was on behalf of California CaregiversThe billing aspect of the services provided is paramount and has caused over months of hardshipWe cancelled my mother’s care with this company due to this issue, so I consider it to be of equal importance.)In July, Ms [redacted] requested cleaning services only We are a care giving company that will include light housekeeping but we do not provide a cleaning service At that time services were cancelled(I initiated cancellation of the contract in August when we had requested light housekeeping servicesAfter waiting for weeks for a provider to be found with no success, I contacted the company to terminate the contractI elected to cancel the contract with all things considered and take on my mothers needs between my husband and I.) In August I sent a letter with a statement of unpaid charges, no response(Again, this letter was sent to my mother even after multiple requests were made to please contact me as her Power of AttorneyI felt that we were beyond resolution between the business and I and elected to pursue other avenues for assistance.) At the end of the month I sent another letter stating interest would be applied as per her signed agreement It is not our practice to enforce the interest charges on our clients We simply want to be paid for the services provided(When this letter was received, I contacted a community resources and it was determined that we should file the complaint with the Revdex.comIt should be stated again that this business has lost State contracts with the Area Agency on Aging and other organizations requiring a credible business historyI am confident that we are not the only entities to question the validity of these billing issues.)As a relatively new business (est2012) we have gone through some growing pains and had some turnover, but any new company relies heavily on accounts receivable Follow up may have been an issue, but not billing(Billing consistently was the central and primary issue encountered, even as stated by [redacted] herselfTo reference waiting a full year to bill for questionable services as “follow-up” is severely understated Not one past due notification had been produced in monthsIf AR is so critical to the success of this business, I would hope they wouldn’t have waited over a year to attempt to collect it.)That being said, it is important to note that at no time did Mrs [redacted] have any issues with the care we provided her mother.”(The reason our contract was not terminated prior to, was due to the relationship that my mother had established with her caregiver lasting three yearsFollowing my mother’s stroke, consistency was critical to her careI did not want to disrupt the relationship she had with her caregiver until we were given no choiceOver the three years, we had many issues from mishandling of information, late cancellations, billing issues and ROI contact problemsAt one point I was told that our Power of Attorney had been “lost” and a new copy was needed before I was able to discuss an urgent issue regarding my mothers care.Like many families requiring the services of caregivers, my mothers condition requires a great dealI am concerned that not all former clients of California Caregivers have an advocate to make sense of the situationAs much as California Caregivers feels we should accept the dubious situation and write a check, I am unsure of who would not have serious misgivings in complying given all that has happenedIt is important to note that California Caregivers has still not addressed why it took a full year to provide a past due invoice for the services they claim were providedIf you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenienceThank you, [redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of ArbitrationIf you wish, you may update it before sending it.]Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .11759730, and find that arbitration is necessaryPlease let me know the date of the arbitration at your earliest convenienceI am very appreciative of your assistance with this matter. Sincerely,*** ***
Please see attached
I am rejecting this response because:The business's response to my concerns outlined in the previous complaint have still not been addressedNone of the information I provided in my claim submitted on 11/has been refutedAlternate means were pursued outside of working directly with the business as transparent responses to questions have been very difficult to extractAs such, I would like California Caregivers to please respond to the following:Your contract states that billing statements would be provided weeklyHowever, the practice since has been to send them bi-weekly, correct? For clarification on the term "sporadic" billing practices, I would like to note the following: aBilling statements for 8/30/and 9/13/were both e-mailed on 10/1/bBilling statements for 12/20/and 1/3/were both e-mailed on 1/21/cThe statement ending 3/12/was e-mailed two weeks later on 3/25/dThe statement ending 12/19/was e-mailed days later on 12/31/2105 eThe statement ending on 5/21/was e-mailed two weeks later on 6/5/followed by another statement ending 6/days later on 6/10. When the original notice was sent in February requesting over $2500, I asked why we had never received a past due notice with any invoices until this timeI have continued to ask that question for over almost a year with no responsePlease provide information to address this concernThe attached spreadsheet is an Excel documentIt can be easily manipulated, is not an official document and shows the following gaps: aPayment posting - please see the examples below for paradoxical issues seen in the document
10/- 11/03/
10/- 11/08/
$
$
4/13/
11/- 11/20/
11/- 11/21/
$
$
6/22/
11/- 12/04/
11/- 12/06/
$
$
6/22/
bMs*** indicates in her last response that payments were received monthlyWhile I agree that payments were sent when bills were received, the spreadsheet she sent shows conflicting informationFor example, per her spreadsheet, no payments were received from 2/2/to 3/26/Please clarify. In reviewing the spreadsheet a second time, comparing it to invoices that were received and payments that were made, I am still only able to broadly calculate a discrepancy of $There is a total of $1,of invoices that were never sent (nor was a notification of a past due balance)All invoices were sent to my mother via e-mail, so I am happy to provide copies of all invoices sent to her from 7/3/to 7/8/There is also a discrepancy of $of payments that were sent and funds withdrawn but not posted to the spreadsheet beginning 1/05/and ending 7/1/In spite of my complete lack of confidence in the information provided by this company, I am willing to pay the $in good faith to resolve the issue with California Caregivers and move on from this awful experience. Ms*** herself indicated that their billing practices were flawed and that "I can't go back and fix the inconsistency but I hope to move forward with you. Your mom's care is first and foremost the most important issueBilling consistently is next." I would like to know why that sentiment is now being withdrawnWhen talks began, California Caregivers had taken full accountability for the fact that statements were not being sent and that that was the cause of the balance dueNow they claim that bills were sent? Please clarify your opposing positions. Please address why the Area Agency on Aging has terminated their contract with your company. While I appreciate the delicate way Ms*** expressed her appreciation of the challenges that caregivers face, this is not the reason for the situation we are in nowI pay all of my mother's bills (cable, phone, SMUD, PGE, secondary insurance plan, etc.) and not a single one has been delinquentIf Ms*** feels that the workload of a caregiver is to blame, I am curious why California Caregivers is the only company we have had any issues with.Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information.Thank you,*** ***
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me this afternoonAs I stated in our conversation, I still have many concerns related to California Caregivers and the current complaint.I stated in my last response that I am willing to pay the $in good will to have the situation resolvedI ask that the remaining balance be removed from our accountI am very concerned that the position of the company has changed so drastically since my mother and I first received a past due statement in MarchAt that time, per an e-mail attachment in a previous response, *** *** stated that the billing error was on behalf of California CaregiversThey now state that this is an “oversight” on my part.There has still been no explanation as to why they did not send any past due invoices or any indication that we owed any funds to them until March of The discrepancies that have taken place are numerous and unresolved.The Reasonable Person Standard should apply to this situation, as I know any “reasonable person” would not give $to a company after such egregious billing practicesPlease review my last response on November 16th which outlines many areas of concern that have yet to be addressedI feel all of these issues to be relevant to the integrity of this company.I am also aware that we are not the only customers that faced this issueNot only have organizations relying on state funds terminated contracts with this organization, but private pay clients as well.You asked earlier that I put myself in the business’s positionWhile I understand that this is a challenging situation for CC, I do not feel my mother and I should be held accountable for their errors in billing practices, lapses in sending invoices in a timely manner or neglect to send past due notificationsFor example, if a cable company forgot to bill customers for HBO for a year, they wouldn’t send the customer a notice a year later with a $past due balance and expect to recover the fundsThere is risk in owning a business and hiring accountable people to perform the workMy mother and I did our part as responsible customers and paid the invoices that were sent to us.Please let me know if there is any other information, billing statements, e-mails, etcthat I can provide.Thank you for your help,*** ***
I am finding it very difficult to respond to Ms***'s list of questions as I cannot confirm or deny these allegation as I was not employed with the company at the time this took place. I have provided Ms*** all of the documentation requested that I have to substantiate our case. Although Ms*** has claimed to only owe a few remaining invoices Ms*** has not provided me with any paperwork to refute our claim as to why she is not paying for services that were provided. Services were provided and accepted. While I sympathize with Ms*** situation, we stand by our billing system.I have two options to propose: Option A: We will accept $payments due on the 5th of every month until the principal balance is paid in full. We will waive any and all interest accrued. Option B: I can turn this over to collections.I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused Ms*** I hope to come to a mutual decision and put this behind us. Thank you, *** ***
In response to ID 11759730Yes, we entered into a contract on 11/16/2013 with Ms. [redacted] for the care of her mother, [redacted] As I read this complaint I see that Ms. [redacted] is disputing her unpaid invoices. Our billing policy is to bill client every two weeks. ...
That policy has not changed. As I began working with the aging report in April, I contacted Ms. [redacted] regarding these unpaid invoice. She was surprised as she thought she had been paying their invoices regularly. Which is accurate to a point, for the most part it looks like the months in questions she paid one invoice and not the two invoices that were sent.I explained the situation and told her I would make a spread sheet of the dates of service, the dates of payment and the check numbers applied to those payments so she could review it. This service was provided as a courtesy as our QuickBooks invoices can be hard to resolve when there are unpaid invoices.In an email dated July 6, 2016 Mrs. [redacted] said she was able to determine that only two payments were missing. However she never provided any of the documentation to support that claim.It is important to know that our care giving services were still being provided. I thought once she reviewed the spreadsheet she would see these services were provided and may have been an oversight on payment.In July, Ms. [redacted] requested cleaning services only. We are a care giving company that will include light housekeeping but we do not provide a cleaning service. At that time services were cancelled.In August I sent a letter with a statement of unpaid charges, no response. At the end of the month I sent another letter stating interest would be applied as per her signed agreement. It is not our practice to enforce the interest charges on our clients. We simply want to be paid for the services provided.As a relatively new business (est. 2012) we have gone through some growing pains and had some turnover, but any new company relies heavily on accounts receivable. Follow up may have been an issue, but not billing.That being said, it is important to note that at no time did Mrs. [redacted] have any issues with the care we provided her mother. Thank you, [redacted]Business Manager
I have copied the business's response and my rebuttal of these claims in red. I have also attached the documentation requested where cited below. Since the date of my original claim, I was notified that the Area 4 Agency on Aging as well as [redacted]e has terminated all contacts with this company due to multiple failed audits on billing. Please let me know if you have any questions and, again, thank you for your help."Yes, we entered into a contract on 11/16/2013 (Please see the attached contract (08.07.13_[redacted]) dated in August 8th of 2013 when we entered into contract, not 11/16/2013) with Ms. [redacted] for the care of her mother, [redacted] As I read this complaint I see that Ms. [redacted] is disputing her unpaid invoices. Our billing policy is to bill client every two weeks.(Please see the attached spreadsheet (second page of [redacted], Statement) provided by Ms. [redacted] which shows that billing periods ranged from one day to two weeks. I recognize that Ms. [redacted] has only been with the company for less than a year, so she may not be aware that this has been an very flexible “policy” prior to her involvement. Bills were received very sporadically. More importantly, the contract which states that invoices would be sent once a week. This never occurred.) That policy has not changed. (Per the attached contract, it has changed.)As I began working with the aging report in April, I contacted Ms. [redacted] regarding these unpaid invoice. (Please see the attached e-mail sent on 2/29/15 (Fwd_Statement_from_California_Caregivers). This was the first time my mother was notified of any past due balance was on 2/29/16 where an invoice was sent with no explanation stating that there was a balance forward of over $2,500 from some point between 8/13 and 2/15. This was the first time we were aware of the billing invoices that were not sent.) She was surprised as she thought she had been paying their invoices regularly. Which is accurate to a point, for the most part it looks like the months in questions she paid one invoice and not the two invoices that were sent. (Billing was always highly irregular. Each invoice was paid as it was received. However, the invoices in question were NEVER sent to us. At no point prior to 2/29/16 were we informed that there was any past due balance abruptly dating from 2/15/15.) I explained the situation and told her I would make a spread sheet of the dates of service, the dates of payment and the check numbers applied to those payments so she could review it. This service was provided as a courtesy as our QuickBooks invoices can be hard to resolve when there are unpaid invoices. (Providing dates of service for past due invoices is not considered a “courtesy”. This is standard protocol when payment is being requested and usually the original invoices are sent, not bookkeeping spreadsheets from Quickbooks. The invoices were requested on three separate occasions over the phone and almost 5 months passed before they were received on July 27th, 2016.)In an email dated July 6, 2016 Mrs. [redacted] said she was able to determine that only two payments were missing. However she never provided any of the documentation to support that claim.(Please see attached e-mail titled “Payment Received"- The e-mail sent on July 6th requested that attempts be made to resolve the issue, but that some type of explanation was needed regarding the serious year-long lapse and highly questionable documentation. I could not make sense of the spreadsheet and requested detailed clarification. Three weeks passed before I received a response and the response did not address the inquiry. The documentation being requested by California Caregivers were copies of my mother’s bank statements at the suggestion of the owner, [redacted] when I spoke with him in March of 2016. At this point no invoices had been provided after almost 5 months and we were very weary providing such personal information.)It is important to know that our care giving services were still being provided. I thought once she reviewed the spreadsheet she would see these services were provided and may have been an oversight on payment. (It was verbally acknowledged in March that the individual handling billing during the time in question did not keep accurate records and mishandled accounting. It was also acknowledged that we were one of many clients to experience the results of those oversights (see e-mail from [redacted] on June 29th titled “Invoices” that states "California CareGivers has had some growing pains and some turnover. I was hired to rectify the situation and I hope to work with you on gaining your confidence back.I can't go back and fix the inconsistency but I hope to move forward with you. Your mom's care is first and foremost the most important issue. Billing consistently is next.”It had been acknowledged up until this response to Revdex.com that the error was on behalf of California Caregivers. The billing aspect of the services provided is paramount and has caused over 8 months of hardship. We cancelled my mother’s care with this company due to this issue, so I consider it to be of equal importance.)In July, Ms. [redacted] requested cleaning services only. We are a care giving company that will include light housekeeping but we do not provide a cleaning service. At that time services were cancelled. (I initiated cancellation of the contract in August when we had requested light housekeeping services. After waiting for 2 weeks for a provider to be found with no success, I contacted the company to terminate the contract. I elected to cancel the contract with all things considered and take on my mothers needs between my husband and I.) In August I sent a letter with a statement of unpaid charges, no response. (Again, this letter was sent to my mother even after multiple requests were made to please contact me as her Power of Attorney. I felt that we were beyond resolution between the business and I and elected to pursue other avenues for assistance.) At the end of the month I sent another letter stating interest would be applied as per her signed agreement. It is not our practice to enforce the interest charges on our clients. We simply want to be paid for the services provided. (When this letter was received, I contacted a community resources and it was determined that we should file the complaint with the Revdex.com. It should be stated again that this business has lost State contracts with the Area 4 Agency on Aging and other organizations requiring a credible business history. I am confident that we are not the only entities to question the validity of these billing issues.)As a relatively new business (est. 2012) we have gone through some growing pains and had some turnover, but any new company relies heavily on accounts receivable. Follow up may have been an issue, but not billing. (Billing consistently was the central and primary issue encountered, even as stated by [redacted] herself. To reference waiting a full year to bill for questionable services as “follow-up” is severely understated . Not one past due notification had been produced in 15 months. If AR is so critical to the success of this business, I would hope they wouldn’t have waited over a year to attempt to collect it.)That being said, it is important to note that at no time did Mrs. [redacted] have any issues with the care we provided her mother.”(The reason our contract was not terminated prior to, was due to the relationship that my mother had established with her caregiver lasting three years. Following my mother’s stroke, consistency was critical to her care. I did not want to disrupt the relationship she had with her caregiver until we were given no choice. Over the three years, we had many issues from mishandling of information, late cancellations, billing issues and ROI contact problems. At one point I was told that our Power of Attorney had been “lost” and a new copy was needed before I was able to discuss an urgent issue regarding my mothers care.Like many families requiring the services of caregivers, my mothers condition requires a great deal. I am concerned that not all former clients of California Caregivers have an advocate to make sense of the situation. As much as California Caregivers feels we should accept the dubious situation and write a check, I am unsure of who would not have serious misgivings in complying given all that has happened. It is important to note that California Caregivers has still not addressed why it took a full year to provide a past due invoice for the services they claim were provided. If you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at your earliest convenience. Thank you,[redacted]
November 11, 2016 Complaint ID 11759730 In response to Ms. [redacted]'s complaint regarding "sporadic" invoicing, I took the liberty of adding a billing period column to the spreadsheet I previously supplied Ms. [redacted] (see attached). The column reflects our billing periods, next to the dates of service Ms. [redacted]'s mother received care. Ms. [redacted] is under the impression that we billed for "one day to two weeks" at one time. This column should give her some clarity. Also, given the fact that payments were received monthly, that claim is unsubstantiated. We have implemented sending statements along with invoices to rectify this in the future. We believe this may have been an oversight on Ms. [redacted]'s part. We understand that it is difficult balancing work, caring for an elderly parent and everyday life. We are more than willing to establish a payment plan, just as we were when these talks began. While we sympathize with Ms. [redacted] current situation, we did provide care and have not been paid for services rendered. We are a family owned business, we are not a large corporate company that can absorb these charges when a client decides they don't want to pay. If you have any other questions I'd be more than happy to discuss them.
I have just read the response and have documentation to support that some of their assertions are false. I have further information that the Area 4 Agency on Aging has terminated their contract with this company due to failed audits on billing. It appears that after realizing they were not going to be recouping cost from state and federal contracts, they elected to attempt to recoup costs from invoices that were never sent from private pay clients. I have met with a Social Worker with the Asian Community Center who has indicated that we are not the only customers that have encountered this serious problem. Please reopen this claim, so I may formally respond. Thank you for your help![redacted]