"Fees"

I found out today what a Reserve Fee is. My parent had been in care for many years. They were diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's several years ago and required care.

Recently, I noticed on the monthly bill that it was lower than normal. I looked closely at my statements and discovered that the last few bills were lower. The Reserve Fee was missing. So I rang the facility and asked what is a Reserve fee? I recall that they divulged that as I understand, it's much like a body corporate fee...it provides the resident with TV, access to computer, phone, haircuts. It seemed to me my parent had not taken advantage of any of these services as their mental capacity is not there.   

Apparently, if I had asked them to move my parent to another wing where these services are not provided, I would have saved approximately $550 per month. So it seems at no stage did this Reserve Fee get assessed based on my parent's condition. I would guess that since the Commission into aged care came about, the facility decided to review their staff's needs. That's when I believe the fee disappeared.   

So now I shall see if they decide to refund what I feel is the exorbitant fee for my parent's monthly haircut. I am disgusted to say the very least. In my opinion, what a blatant cash grab. I was emailed a copy of the Residential Agreement and referred to the page that outlines their right to charge a Reserve Fee. 

My lesson: make sure I understand fully what I am signing, do not overlook any detail, in my opinion.