Assisted Living denying refund after 1 night stay
consumer protection attorney Tennessee Aug 11, 2026
Location: Tennessee I have a close family friend who is seeking a refund from a national assisted-living company in Tennessee. At the end of June 2026, she moved her disabled mother into the facility. Her mother stayed one night before the facility contacted my friend and instructed her to pick her up and have her transported to a mental health facility after an incident involving staff and threats of self-harm. The facility attributed the situation to her medications not being stabilized. Because my friend lives out of state and was only in Tennessee for a few days, she asked the facility whether her mother would still have a place there after being stabilized or whether she needed to find another facility. She was told that her mother would retain her apartment and could return once stabilized, so my friend returned home. Approximately two weeks later, her mother was cleared for discharge and was scheduled to return to the assisted-living facility. While transportation was waiting to pick her up, my friend was notified that the facility had reversed its decision and would no longer accept her mother back. The reason given was information in the hospital discharge paperwork stating that her mother required a “secured” facility. The assisted-living facility was not secured. The facility acknowledged that similar information had been included in paperwork from her mother’s previous facility but had not been identified during the admission process. The facility stated that if it had seen the information before admission, it would not have accepted her mother. This left her mother without a permanent placement. After several weeks of trying to find another facility, my friend found someone willing to house her mother temporarily. She then made an emergency trip to Tennessee to move her mother and remove her belongings from the assisted-living facility. My friend subsequently contacted the facility’s billing department to request a refund. She also disputed approximately $1,000 in additional charges that she believes were not authorized or disclosed in the contract. The facility has denied wrongdoing and offered only a partial refund, which my friend believes is insufficient. My friend and her mother are now out of pocked thousands of dollars and she has had to miss work due to their negligence. The matter has now been escalated to the company’s corporate office, but she has not yet received a response. She is trying to determine whether and when she should involve an attorney or other regulatory agencies. Since there are so many other variables and inconsistencies that I’m not able to cohesively put together in this text, I am open to answer any questions to the best of my knowledge. Thanks in advance.
