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Nelu's Home Care Reviews
My Vietnam Veteran father with dementia that I believe was primarily caused by Agent Orange exposure had
become extremely difficult and dangerous to deal with. After a few unsuccessful attempts to place him in care
homes, he was back at home while my Mother tried to find a solution to caring for him while at the same time
trying to keep herself safe from serious harm. It was at this time that my Dad wandered and ended up going to
the hospital due to significant injury to his feet during this episode where he wandered through a creek and
through brush out in the country where they live. Once in the hospital it was determined that living at home
was no longer a safe option for my Dad but due to his difficult behavior we were having trouble finding a
place to accept him where they live in Shasta County.
Enter Nelu's Home Care in Sacramento, CA. Through one of the various agencies their name came up and they were
willing to take my Dad as they apparently specialized in care for dementia and Alzheimer's patients. My Dad
had been at the hospital nearly three weeks and my Mom was juggling work and trying to find a place for him
since there was pressure to free up hospital space. He was then transported the 2 and 1/2 hours to Sacramento
and my Mom had to take care of many of the details, including the admission agreement, via phone and fax. She
was presented with an older revision of the admission form and due to the urgent nature of the situation,
signed it and faxed it back. This form and the surrounding laws have since been changed and per CA AB261
requires care homes to refund prorated monies upon termination of the contract (i.e. death of the patient).
They now owe us (my Mom and me as her representative taking care of all the paperwork) $5,250.00 because a
refund is due for the prorated amount after the termination of the contract upon the death of my father on
August 10, 2014 who was the patient. Nelu's Home Care received payment in full for the month of August 2014 in
the amount of $7,750.00. At $250.00 per day (per the admissions contract) for 10 days, they were due $2,500.00
and for the remaining 21 days were to refund the prorated amount of $5,250.00 within 30 days of the
termination date (per the old contract though the most recent laws require 15 days). Per AB261 they are
required by California law to refund any monies following the termination of contract. This business possibly
deliberately uses the old revision of the admissions form in order to try and claim they had no requirement to
provide a refund and stood by that claim when advised of the new legal requirements per AB261. When we
initially requested a refund, they cited the language on the old form under the section regarding evictions
that states, "No refund will be given to those who leave the facility for any reasons, including death,
without a thirty day (30) written notice." Three sections down from this same form (State of CA form Lic 604A
(5/00)) there is also the following language:
"9. Refund/Proration Policy: [...] Permanent discharge from the facility during the month the remaining
balance will be mailed to the Resident or their representative in 30 days.
10. Termination of Agreement: The agreement will be automatically terminated by the death of the resident. The
resident's relatives and/or responsible persons will not be liable for any payment beyond that due at the date
of death unless agreed to in writing or ordered by the court."
Despite this and the fact that there is a new form with the current requirements based on updated law, they
continue to refuse to issue a refund.
The California Community Care Licensing Division visited their business and determined they were required to
refund monies by January 13, 2015 and provide proof to the agency which has not been done. This business also
uses shady tactics to be able to avoid refunding monies as evidenced by actions when my Mother went to remove
all of my deceased Father's personal effects the morning he died. She asked the staff for his suitcase and at
first they acted like they didn't know he had one. We now believe this was an attempt to keep some of his
belongings in order to claim we had not removed everything and therfore they would not have to refund monies
as long as personal belongings were still being held.
Furthermore, I have not been able to locate a Fictitious Business Name filing that would validate they are a
legally operating business in either Sacramento County or any neighboring county. Per the CCLD, they are
operating as sole proprietors with two partners but again, I have not been able to verify any type of legal
business filing or verify any business connection to the care license # 347000008 they have listed on their
web site.
They come across as very nice and caring in speaking to you all the while scheming to take your money. They
take advantage of people in vulnerable situations and use feigned ignorance to skirt the laws.