The Better Business Bureau radar screen lit up because of a company contacting people and offering what appears to be discounted in-home assistance.
We’ll use “Don” as an example. He called the BBB to report receiving a marketing packet in the mail from US Homecare. He responded, asking for more information. Don then received a phone call from a representative who goes by the name Woody. The two agreed on a time for Woody to make an in-home presentation. Don told us, after hearing Woody’s presentation, he wrote a check for $4,000 for the in-home services promised.
The BBB has heard the above scenario a number of times from unrelated people. They all report being asked to buy the $4,000 package, which is apparently valued at $60,000.
Don and his wife thought about the purchase, and decided they had acted too quickly. They cited the contract language providing a three-day window to cancel the service and are working to get a refund.
The BBB has tried to contact the company, with no luck. We have identified five names connected to the company: Mike Woodward, Melissa Woodward, Mike Bennett, Melissa Bennett and Woody Bennett.
We’ve also identified three names under which the business appears to be operating: Americare, US Home Care and Home Health America.
The company claims a variety of addresses throughout the western United States. As the BBB looks into each address — including a “company headquarters,” we find that all are a UPS drop box.
BBB research also turned up a 2009 lawsuit filed by the Minnesota attorney general. According to the AG’s office, the lawsuit against Home Health America, LLC, and its owner, Michael Woodward, alleges that the company sold elderly Minnesota residents long-term and home-care coverage for fees of up to $4,000, even though it was not licensed as an insurance company.
The lawsuit alleges that Home Health America sent elderly Minnesotans mailings describing the high cost of home care. The mailings invited the senior citizens to return a postcard for more information on home-care benefits. People who returned the postcard were called by defendant Michael Woodward, using the alias “Mike Woods,” who requested to meet with the seniors in their homes. When he did so, Woodward told seniors that Home Health America would provide home care and other long-term care services in exchange for a lump sum payment of $3,000 to $4,000.
In some instances, Woodward told seniors that the payment covered one year of home-care services. In other instances, he told seniors that their lump sum payment was not limited to any term.
The BBB contacted the Idaho Department of Insurance, and it doesn’t appear the salespeople are breaking the law by offering discounted in-home care. Woodward’s insurance agent’s license was revoked by Oregon in 2001 and Washington in 2002.
The company is on our radar screen — and should be on yours — because of the multiple names, drop boxes, variety of phone numbers and history.
Do your homework before writing a check to anyone promising in-home care. Research the company for free at bbb.org.
Dale Dixon is president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau, a not-for-profit organization serving Southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon. Reach him at 342-4649 or ddixon@boise.bbb.org.
