Read on to find out why you ignore the small print of care home contracts at your peril!
Most of us hate boring contracts – especially ones filled with jargon and endless terms and conditions that make our eyes glaze over!
If you’ve ever signed a contract without reading the terms and conditions, you’re not alone. For example, did you read every last word of the small print when you signed up for your new mobile phone contract? Our point, exactly!
Of course, there is one collective group of oddballs who love the nitty gritty of contracts – they’re called “solicitors”! And at Steene Law, our particular passion is care home contracts.
Consider this: the average cost of a care home is £40,000 per annum. Typically, residents occupy care homes for a minimum of two and a half years. Why then, would anyone consider spending £100,000 without having an expert review the contract?
Recently, Steene Law received a call from a lady who was about to place her mum into a residential care home.
She told us how impressed she was with the wonderful facilities and then added: “by the way they’ve suggested I should take legal advice before signing the care home contract”.
So, we took a look at the contract she was being asked to sign….
Our client did not understand the significance of the word ‘guarantor. ’We explained that it meant if her mother’s assets ran out she would have to use her own money – which she did not have – to pay the £4,700 per month for her mum’s care.
Our client also failed to comprehend that when her mother’s money ran out (at £6,500 per month it would be less than two years) there was no guarantee she could continue to stay.
When we asked our client about this, she said that the manager had told her: “don’t worry, we don’t throw anyone out”.
We advised our client to insist that the care home put in writing its policy regarding individuals who cease to be self-funders and who are not in receipt of Continuing Health Care (CHC).
Lo and behold, the care home confirmed that when our client’s mother’s £300,000 had been used up, it would accept the much lower Local Authority rate BUT it would require a third party top-up fee of nearly £2,000 per month to keep mum there.
Our client was distraught that she had nearly been tricked into signing a care home contract that, after two and a half years, would have resulted in her mother being forced to move, as the family did not have £2,000 a month to keep her in this care home.
The moral of the story is: at a time when your family member needs to go into care, it is very easy to be impressed by the fabulous facilities, the fancy décor and the wonderful daily activities they offer.
But, ignore the care home contract at your peril. Contracts need careful, expert review so that questions such as “what happens if the money runs out” are properly addressed.