Home care terms and conditions, what is typical?

[BeMintFatball]

Mum currently receiving the 6 weeks NHS free home care visits. The care provider can not take mum on long term as she is out of their catchment area. This means I am having to find an alternative.

Social worker given me a couple of links to lists of providers. Made a few phone calls.

Yesterday scheduled meetings with two providers. As never done this before I don’t know what is usual.

first company told me over phone there is one charge for Monday to Friday and a higher rate for weekends. National
holidays double time.

But when we met face to face with rep she asked me
did I also know there is a travel fee of £4.50 per visit. Three visits per day , 7 days a week is a substantial additional charge.

All mum’s hospital inpatient stays have been emergency. What happens when she is suddenly taken in to hospital? Answer , still charged for 3 days. Rep said most families opt to still have the carers come in even when the relative is in hospital as they are having to pay for it anyway. It’s an opportunity to do other tasks like a deep clean.

Rep said whilst on the subject after the elderly person dies they still charge for 14 days of care. As a short notice cancellation fee.

The second care provider was horrified that these charges were made and said they did not charge for any of those things. Sadly mum didn’t like the second care company and wants to go with the first.

So my question is what is typical terms and conditions?

I have sent enquiries to 3 new care providers as I don’t feel I have found the right provider for mum yet

The care co I have dealings with on behalf of a relative has the following T&Cs.

Higher charge at weekends and much higher charge on any BH (and indeed "days charged as BH, which I think would be Xmas Day if it fell on a Sunday, for example).

No additional fees on top of stated hourly rates.

Mileage the carers do during a call, eg to take customer shopping or do shopping themselves is charged, but no charge for getting to you.

Full charge for cancellations with less than (I think) 7 days notice and some % charged up to 28 days notice.

Carers not allowed in customers homes without customer present. But could visit in hospital and help with personal care, for example.

Many care companies only do personal care, not errands and definitely not cleaning. The one I am familiar with does all those things and is the most expensive in the area. I would not worry about how they split up/describe the costs, as long as you can work out how much it will actually cost. My experience is that you get what you pay for.

One thing to look out for is whether they aim to arrive at the stated/ agreed time, or whether they just go straight from one call to the next, so you have little choice about the time they actually turn up.

Care companies tend to be area-based franchises so there is little point looking at reviews from other areas. Some concentrate on council contracts (but may fit in a few private clients) and some on private clients.

Having run and part-owned one of the 10 biggest care companies in the UK, private clients subsidise those paid for by social services and often have different T&C's.
Normal to charge more for weekends and BH are usually double normal hourly rate. Some companies charge more after 6pm. For hospital emergencies we charged for the day of admission and the next morning if evening admission. Reason being is that rotas are done a week in advance and it's very difficult to replace a call last minute so carer wouldn't be paid if client not charged. In case of death we didn't charge for calls.
Travel should not be charged in addition as part of visit fee. If carer drives client to shops/bank etc. then mileage would be charged on top.
It is against CQC regs for a carer to enter a house when client not present. I think I know which company is the first one who visited.
Often when a new client starts the timings are not perfect but in time the company should work towards the ideal timings. If medication is time critical then timings will be better from the off.
You may be better with a live-in carer as could work out cheaper than 3 visits per day. The weekly fee for live-in doesn't fluctuate.

My experience. Weekends and bank holidays higher rate. 2 days notice needed to cancel/reschedule a call and 2 weeks notice to terminate service. No additional charges beyond hourly rate. My dad has household help not personal care.

@BotterMon yes the first company is a national but they stressed not a franchise. The fact you can guess who they are tells me their T&C’s are most onerous than others

I’ve been a carer for many years and never done a deep clean. A quick clean of the bathroom sink, a wipe down of kitchen worktops and a bit of washing up and that’s it.

Live in care is about £1400 per week.

DM's carers:
. One charge rate Mon-Fri, slightly higher at weekends, double on bank holidays.
. There is an effective visit charge built in as 1 hour isn't anywhere near twice the price of the 30min visit.
. Can cancel for free I think 24hrs in advance, certainly didn't have to pay for extra days when DM went unexpectedly to hospital.
. DM has a preferred time for her visit and they aim to schedule to within 15mins either side of that, but don't always manage
. DM is emailed schedule weekly and I can also see times and visit reports on an App so can see if there is a late notice carer/time change.
Recently carer was worried about something and was able to send me a picture so i could see too.