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Email template to complain about a home care service

Something has gone wrong with the care your parent is getting at home. The caregiver is arriving late or leaving early, skipping tasks that are in the care plan (the written list of what the agency agreed to do), spending shifts on their phone, or the agency keeps sending a different person with no notice. You are not ready to fire the agency, but you need it fixed. Putting the complaint in writing does three things: it creates a record with dates, it reaches the office rather than just the caregiver, and it forces a specific answer. Keep the tone factual. The goal is a better caregiver next week, not an argument.

Before you send

  • Dates, times, and what happened, from the visit log if the agency keeps one, or your own notes. Three specific examples are stronger than "constantly."
  • The care plan or service agreement. Quote the lines that were not followed.
  • What you want: a different caregiver, a supervisor visit, a credit for missed hours, or a change in the schedule. Ask for one clear thing.
  • The name of the care manager or supervisor assigned to your parent. Send it to them and copy the office's general address.
  • Whether your parent is safe today. If there is any sign of neglect or abuse, call the agency now and your state's adult protective services; do not wait for an email reply.
Subject Concerns about care for [parent's name], client since [month and year] 
Hi [supervisor name],

I'm writing about the care my [mother / father], [parent's name], has been receiving from your agency. I'd like to keep working with you, but I need a few things to change.

Over the past [two weeks], I've noted the following:

- [Date]: caregiver arrived at [time] for a shift scheduled at [time] and left [number of minutes] early
- [Date]: [task in the care plan, for example the morning shower] was not done
- [Date]: a substitute caregiver came with no notice and had not been told about [medication schedule or other essential]

The care plan we signed on [date] lists [the specific tasks]. Those are the tasks we are paying for.

Could you [assign a different regular caregiver / have a supervisor visit and review the plan with the caregiver / credit the missed hours on the next invoice] by [date]? Please also confirm how you'll let me know in advance if the regular caregiver cannot make a shift.

I'm happy to talk by phone at [number], but I'd like the plan in writing as well.

Thank you,
[Your name]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good agency calls the same day and follows up in writing with what it will do. If you get only "we'll look into it," reply and ask for a date by which you'll hear the outcome.
  • Watch the next two or three shifts closely and keep notes. If the same problems return, send a second email quoting the first and stating that you'll end service on a set date if it is not fixed.
  • Check your agreement for the notice period to cancel, usually one to two weeks. You will need it if you switch agencies.
  • If you believe your parent was neglected or harmed, report it to your state's adult protective services and to the state agency that licenses home care, in addition to the company.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get a home care agency to fix a caregiver problem 
Hi StandIn,

Please raise a complaint with my parent's home care agency and get them to commit to a fix in writing.

The agency and contact: [name, supervisor, email or phone].
My parent: [name, client since when].
What has gone wrong: [dated examples].
What the care plan says: [the tasks that were missed].
What I want: [new caregiver / supervisor visit / credit / schedule change] by [date].

Send the complaint, follow up if they do not respond within two business days, get their plan in writing, and check back with me after the next few shifts to see whether it actually improved.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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