If you or your elderly relative has paid care home fees in excess of £1,000 per week, let us review your contract to see whether you are entitled to a refund by reclaiming them.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently tightened up its guidance to care home operators in an attempt to make the process fairer to residents. A brief guide to consumer rights for residents and their families is available here.
As well as the CMA rules, protection is also offered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Where the terms of a care home contract are found to be unfair, you may be entitled to a refund of fees paid. At Steene Law, we can review your care home contract and if we believe you should be given a refund, we will work on your behalf to obtain this.
Recent clients were delighted when we recovered £24,000 for them, saying, ‘You are both worth your weight in gold!’
We have also obtained refunds for the estates of residents who have died, but who were formerly paying care home fees during the past six years.
Can we help you too?
Simply call us now 0203 653 0625, email reception@steenelaw.co.uk or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
We are available from 8am to 7pm, 365 days of the year and will explain your options.
Have you paid more than £20,000 in care fees
With the number of people over 65 needing care on the increase, a number of new residential or nursing homes have opened for business.
Residents with assets of more than £23,250 are known as ‘self-funders’. They can usually expect to pay in excess of £1,000 per week and often far more.
There are strict regulations governing the care industry. These do not just cover standards of care, but they extend to the information given to residents and the contents of care home contracts.
Provision of information to residents and fair contract terms
Residents and their representatives must be provided with detailed information before any contract is signed. The information must be clear, accurate, accessible and easy to understand and should be easily available.
As well as providing key information at the time of the first contact with a potential resident, the care home must also provide additional information in good time and before offering a place.
The payment of substantial non-refundable administration fees before a resident can move in has been criticised by the CMA, who have made it clear that these costs should be repaid to residents or their representatives or estates.
The contract itself should be fair, with information about fees being clear and transparent. There must also be a fair complaints procedure that is easy to find and use and that is effective.
Any subsequent changes in terms during the resident’s occupancy of the home must be agreed upon and cannot simply be imposed.
In the event that the resident dies, the care home is not entitled to simply keep charging full fees for an indefinite period.
Seeking refund of care home fees
At Steene Law we have extensive experience of care home contracts and advising clients whether they contain unfair terms.
As well as acting for care home residents and their representatives, we act for those representing the estate of residents who have died. If care home fees in excess of £1,000 per week have been paid during the last six years, we recommend checking the contract terms to see whether a refund may be possible.
Steene Law can review the contract on your behalf and may be able to secure a refund of monies paid under its terms.
This service is at no cost to you in the event that a refund is not achieved.
If you would like to take up our no-obligation offer, all you need to do is to send us a copy of the care home contract and evidence of the fees paid.
Please note that the above does not relate to Continuing Health Care (CHC). For questions concerning CHC, see our CHC information page.
Contact us about your care home fees contract now.
All initial enquiries to us are free of charge and without obligation.
At Steene Law we specialise in elderly care law and nothing else. Our knowledge is extensive and we have in-depth experience in every aspect of care and funding.
We will not make a charge for reviewing a care home contract to assess whether its terms are fair.
Call us now 0203 653 0625, email reception@steenelaw.co.uk or complete a Free Online Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
We are available from 8am to 7pm, 365 days of the year and will explain your options.
*The only cost to you is the phone call at standard call rates but the initial conversation with us is free and you will not be billed for our time.
“I cannot thank David and Dianne enough for the effort and knowledge they displayed helping me deal with my Grandfather’s care and the subsequent legal battle that came with it.
I had a complicated and, to me, bizarre yet worrying situation that David and Dianne both worked tirelessly on.
My Grandfather was a WWII veteran and was neglected and treated as a statistic by a care home and a rather unforgiving council.
I’m grateful that David and Dianne not only got the result I needed, but made it simple to understand and took away a lot of stress. I have recommended them to many others and will continue to do so. Forever grateful!”
C.W