How can I deal with problems about charges?

You may have problems around the charges you face or the way you have been treated through the process and you have the choice to deal with problems informally or formally. Your local authority should make sure you know how to appeal decisions or complain if you want to. They should also be able to provide you with their complaints policy.

Informal options: it’s best to try and deal with the problem informally first. You can talk about your concerns with the professional who is in charge of your care plan and if you do not have a care plan, you should contact the person who carried out your assessment – you can ask them to explain their decision or discuss your concerns.

If you speak to someone, keep a note of who you spoke to, when you spoke to them and what you discussed.

If you have a trusted mental health professional supporting you, such as your Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN), a Support Worker or Advocacy Worker, you could ask them to help you to express your concerns.

Formal options: complaints and legal action. If you want to complain, you have to use the local authority’s (LA) complaints procedure and you can find out more information about how to complain by phoning Change Mental Health on 0808 8010 515. 

You should be able to deal with most problems informally or through the complaints procedure but if you feel that they are not following the law and you decide to take legal action, you would need to speak to a community care solicitor to get legal advice.

You may be entitled to advice and representation depending on your situation, and you may be entitled to legal aid but there are rules around this. You can contact the following agencies to find out more about how to find legal advice: Legal Services Agency, or the Law Society for Scotland.