– I am shaken and shocked that Bjørnafjorden municipality has taken liens on my father’s property for not having paid a bill that should have been sent to him by post.
This is how Hans Martin Rundberg Austestad begins the Facebook post that he posted on Thursday 13 July.
Bjørnafjorden municipality has taken liens on his father’s property due to an unpaid bill.
The father, Geir Austestad, is demented. He therefore does not have the opportunity to pay bills himself.
Hans Martin Rundberg Austestad shared his frustration on Facebook on Thursday.
Photo: Screenshot
Nursing home bill
The bill in question is payment for a nursing home stay, where Geir Austestad now lives due to dementia.
– We have not been told that anything is wrong. The system has gone over our heads, says the son, Hans Martin to NRK.
According to the family, no one has seen this bill, or the reminders that have come afterwards.
Therefore, the case has automatically gone to the bailiff, who took a lien on the father’s property – without notifying any of the next of kin.
– The fact that the municipality can send the case to the bailiff without us being told about it is completely shocking, says Hans Martin.
Hans Martin and his siblings have tried to become guardians for their father, but due to various circumstances this has taken a long time.
That the municipality had taken a mortgage on the property was only discovered after the family had contacted a broker to try to sell the house to the father.
– It is an additional burden for us. We want to have as much time as possible to be there for him when possible. These extras, as a result of the municipality’s failure to stand up, add to the burden, says Hans Martin.
Hans Martin tries to visit his sick father as often as possible.
Photo: private
– A national problem
The municipality must have sent the bill to the house where Geir Austestad used to live. According to Hans Martin, the Austestad family has not seen anything of this letter.
– No one is there. It is a lot to ask that we commute to his house, he says.
Municipal director in Bjørnafjorden, Christian Fredrik Fotland, thinks it is a shame that the bill has not been caught. Nevertheless, he explains that this is how the routines in the municipality are.
– It costs money to live in a nursing home, and when the invoices are sent out it is either via direct debit or e-invoice. If you do not choose this, you will receive a paper bill in the post.
If the bill is not paid, a reminder will be issued. Then you get a new deadline, and then another deadline with a debt collection notice. If this is not paid, it will come in digipost, or a paper notice about bailiffs or encumbrances, explains the municipal director.
– I actually don’t know why this has happened. I understand that it is demanding for relatives to constantly catch up on everything, says Fotland.
Municipal director in Bjørnafjorden municipality, Christian Fredrik Fotland.
Photo: Even Norheim Johansen / NRK
The municipal director calls it all a national problem.
– Especially when you are in a nursing home and cannot account for everything in this digital world. It is a sad matter, and it should be looked at more nationally on how to secure communication with hospital residents, so that it does not go as far as it did here, believes Fotland.
– I understand very well that it is an unpleasant situation to be in. We cannot call everyone who does not pay. I think it is demanding. What we need to get better at is explaining the problem in a good way to all relatives of patients. I will see if we can do something about that.
Was asked to complain to the bailiff
The family decided to lodge a complaint with the municipality. On Thursday, they received an answer. There they are asked to address the complaint to the bailiff.
– The municipality should take responsibility for cleaning this up itself. We can go to the bailiff, but I’m worried about others who don’t have relatives. The municipality should go through the routines and find out if they have done something similar with others, says Hans Martin.
Geir Austestad has lived at Fusa residential and treatment center in Bjørnafjorden since last year.
Photo: private
In the response to the complaint, the municipality also asks for a cooperation meeting with the family in August.
– It’s nice and we should have it, but it’s a shame that it only comes after we submitted a complaint, writes Hans Martin in a message to NRK on Friday afternoon.
He hopes that this will contribute to more people getting help.
– I am enraged to think that this could also have happened to someone who has no relatives to help. It cannot possibly only apply to our family, says Hans Martin.
NRK has received consent from the father, Geir Austestad, and the rest of the family to retell the story.
2023-07-14 16:56:09
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