Terms and Conditions - Kim Bloomhill

These are my trading terms and conditions

This page summarises and contains the full terms and conditions of how I provide services to you or your loved ones, particularly in a caring role.

In the spirit of openness and transparency, I have highlighted on the following pages what we see as the key terms and how they directly affect you (along with a few frequently asked questions).

There may be other issues which are important to you so please read this document in full.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me so that I explain what they mean in more detail.

Once again, I sincerely thank you for choosing me for your coaching, mentoring and caring services.

Kindest Regards Kim

Why do I need to understand these trading terms?

I want you to know how I work so that there are “no surprises.”

This document puts in writing how we will work together. Please note that if you are contracting on behalf of the Client then you will become responsible for paying the fees for Services.

I am a funded customer so why do I need to understand this?

If public funding for your care needs is withdrawn or reduced, you then become responsible for paying the fees for services in full. It is therefore vital that you tell me if your funding is changing or ending. By giving us advance warning that your funding may be about to change, we may be able to help you defend the proposed reduction in funded care and/or we can review your care needs to ensure it meets your new budget.

Some Care Services Specifics

Fees and Days of care

Live-in Care Fees will vary dependent on the complexity of your care needs and the number of Hours

Days of Care provided to you. Live-In care is provided for a minimum 3-day period. Services provided on public or bank holidays are charged at twice the standard hourly rate unless otherwise agreed.

What other charges might you incur

£100 Setup fee – a one-off fee payable by all Hourly Care customers where our Service will be provided for 3 weeks or less. This covers the costs of the initial assessment, compiling the support plan and preparing the services for you.
Cancellation fee – I require 14 days’ notice to cancel care or change the rate, for either HOURLY or LIVE IN care. I schedule bookings carefully and incur an opportunity cost for services cancelled at short notice. So if care is cancelled without the required notice being given the remainder of the contracted period remaining, or 14 days of care (whichever duration is smaller) will still be invoiced. In the event of a Client passing away, the cancellation fee will still apply.
Planned breaks and hospitals – I need 48 hours notice if you want to take a planned break – e.g. for a holiday or hospital appointment. If I do not receive 48 hours prior notice, I will charge for the Services planned to be delivered during the first 48 hours. It is expected that the Services will recommence on your return. If you wish to cancel the Services permanently, you must give me at least 14 days’ notice.
Late payment fee – £25 per invoice may be charged each time you fail to pay our invoice on time, and this represents the stress and administrative costs of recovering your late payment. In addition, we may also charge late payment interest. If there is going to be a problem with payment please let me know in good time so alternate arrangements can be made and costs avoided.
Carers’ costs – If I accompany you on excursions, you will need to pay my expenses.
Night calls – Unless otherwise agreed night calls are charged at £10 a call.
Food – Please note that I am vegetarian and the grocery order will need to account for this.

Live-in Care – What else do you need to provide

For live-in care, the following is required

Own bedroom for exclusive use so I have appropriate rest and personal time.
2 hours break time during each day during which I will be free to leave the property. Please note that my standard live in fees do not include the cost of providing another carer during this period. We often find that either friends or family are willing to assist.

Car insurance

If you wish me to drive, you or your loved one around in your vehicle you must ensure they are adequately insured and hold the appropriate licences. In the event of an accident, the costs of any claim will be for you and your insurer to settle.

Detailed T’s and C’s – The Services Agreement

The Services Agreement is made up of the terms and conditions on which we supply the Services to you. Please ensure that you read these Terms carefully as they contain important information about our Services.

Definitions

Bank Holiday: means a public bank holiday in either England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales;
Services Agreement: the agreement between us and you for the provision of the Services
Heart and Soul: Kim Alison Bloomhill and any of our employees who provide the Services to the Customer;
Customer: the individual receiving the Services (rather than any applicable Attorney, Deputy or Guarantor);
GDPR: means the General Data Protection Regulations (EU 2016/679);
Guarantor: means a person other than the Customer (for example a friend or relative) who accepts personal liability for paying the fees;
Hourly Care: means home care services, visiting care or nursing care that is provided other than on a live-in basis.
Live-in Care: means home care services provided by a Carer living with the Customer in their own home;
Setup Fee: means a non-refundable fee of £100 (only charged to Hourly Care Service customers where our Services will be provided for 3 weeks or less), which represents our reasonable costs incurred in carrying out the initial assessment, compiling the Support Plan and preparing the services for you even if the Services are not actually delivered;

Support Plan: the support plan, risk and care need assessment which details the type of services we have agreed to deliver, and the time and duration of the services by which you can calculate the anticipated cost.
Terms: the terms and conditions of business set out in this document, which forms part of the Services Agreement; and
Us, the Carer, we and our: Kim Alison Bloomhill whose registered office is 120 Whatton Road Kegworth Derbyshire DE74 2 DT, trading as “Heart and Soul Care”.
You, your: means the Customer unless the Terms refer to a duty to pay our fees and the Guarantor has accepted liability to pay our fees for the Services, in which case references to ‘you’ or ‘your’ will refer to the Guarantor as the context requires (see clause 1.3 below).
When we use the words “writing” or “written” in these Terms, this will include e-mail unless we say otherwise.

General Terms and Conditions

Where you are not the Customer (or their Attorney or Deputy), it is important to understand that, in consideration for us providing the services to the Customer, you acknowledge and agree to pay our fees in accordance with the payment terms in these terms and conditions. You agree that your obligation to pay our fees is a primary obligation (not a guarantee if the person receiving the Services does not agree to pay the fees) and therefore you will be obliged to pay the fees without us first having to recover the fees from the customer.
We shall not be entitled to recover the same fees twice and therefore we shall not be entitled to recover any fees from you under this contract, which have already been paid by the Customer; or from the Customer which has already been paid by you.
These Terms will become binding on you and us, and the Services Agreement will come into existence when you explicitly request that we begin to supply the Services to you.
The advertising and marketing materials in our catalogues or brochures or on our website are produced for the sole purpose of giving an approximate idea of the general services we can make available, listed by category type. These are provided for illustrative purposes only and do not form part of the Services Agreement we have with you.
The Services Agreement will come to an automatic end in the event of your death and we will charge for those Services which were due to be delivered up to 3 days after your death.
We will provide the Services to you with reasonable care and skill and in accordance with the dates set out. The minimum period for the provision of Live-in Care is 3 days unless otherwise agreed in writing with us. If no end date is set out in your Support Plan, the Services Agreement will continue until it is terminated in accordance with these Terms.
If you ask us to leave early, you will still be charged for the whole of the planned visit up to a maximum of 14 days. If this happens, we will discuss with you whether the Support Plan needs to be changed, to better reflect your needs and requirements and how this will impact your fees. Please note, that if you do not pay our invoice within 3 days, we may suspend the services with immediate effect until you have paid us the outstanding amount. We will contact you in advance if we intend to suspend the Services. This does not affect our right to charge you interest.
Carers should be treated with respect and dignity. Any failure to do so will be a significant breach by you of the Services Agreement and allow me to terminate.

You are responsible for the cost of providing adequate cleaning products and protective clothing to allow a Carer to provide the Services.
You must provide us with access to any existing internet connection you have at your Home. If you ask the Carer to use your telephone or internet connection or agree to such use, or the Carer must use them in an emergency, we will not be responsible for any
costs incurred.
A Carer is not permitted to: use your car, (unless you have agreed in advance and the car is insured for the Carer to drive); smoke, take prohibited drugs or drink alcohol while in your home

Terms applicable to Live-in Care only

You will provide food (minimum value of £35 per week) and cooking facilities for the Carer whilst they are providing the Services in your home. You must take into consideration any reasonable dietary requirements of the Carer, of which we will notify you.
You must provide and maintain any equipment necessary to deliver the Services.
You must provide a suitably furnished bedroom for the Carer and access to a bathroom and toilet facilities. You must also provide enough clean bedding for the Carer. The Carer’s bedroom must be for the Carer’s sole use, and you must respect the Carer’s privacy and the personal nature of the Carer’s property.
We must receive proper rest between providing the Services. You must allow the Carer to take at least 2 hours to break each day during which they may spend time away from your home. The Carer will keep a record of the tasks they perform during the day.
The Carer can take their breaks at times to suit both of you, provided they are able to take at least 14 hours break during each week. We often find that friends and family are willing to assist during these break periods. Please note my fees do not include the cost of providing another Carer to deliver the Services to you whilst your primary Carer is taking their break. If you request Services during the Carer’s break(s), or we reasonably believe that you require a second Carer to deliver the Services during any break period, you will be required to arrange additional support. Whilst we may assist you in arranging suitable cover, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide another Carer. We will discuss this with you in advance and charge the normal hourly rate for any additional Carer in attendance.
The Carer should be able to achieve enough rest during each 24-hour period which will be documented in the Support Plan. Where a Carer is unable to get this rest period.
You are responsible for paying the Carer’s costs of accompanying you on any excursions (such as public transport, taxis, cinema, theatre or meals out). These are not included in the fees.
Services provided on a Bank Holiday (which are charged at twice the standard hourly rate); and

Where the Carer delivers the Services for longer than originally planned (at your request or in the event of an emergency), we will charge the additional time at the standard hourly rate.

Payment

For Services due to be delivered for 1 week or less, we will invoice you in advance and the sum must be paid before we can begin the Services. These Fees (but not the £100 Set-Up Fee) are refundable if you cancel this Services Agreement, provided you give us at least 14 days’ notice of your wish to cancel.
For Services due to be delivered for more than 1 week, we will invoice you weekly in arrears. You must pay each invoice on receipt. If you believe there is an error in your invoice, you must contact us without delay.
You can choose to pay by other payment methods (other than bank transfer), but this may incur an administration fee of £5 per invoice to cover our reasonable costs of processing the payment.
If you do not pay our invoice within 2 days, we may notify you of the sums outstanding and confirm that payment is due immediately or the Services Agreement will be terminated. This notice incurs an administration fee of £25. We may also charge interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 5% a year above the Bank of England’s base rate from time to time but at 5% a year for any period when that base rate is below 0% (unless there is an error in our invoice); suspend the Services until the outstanding sum is paid; terminate the Services Agreement on immediate notice; engage the services of a debt factoring company to collect the fees on our behalf, and take legal action to recover the fees.
As caregivers, our livelihood relies on pre-booking work so Booked time must be paid for in full even if services are no longer required for reasons beyond our control, for example on the passing of the client. The amount due on early termination of services in these instances shall be the lesser of booked time remaining or 14 days.

We will compensate you for loss or damage you may suffer if we fail to carry out duties imposed by us on law, but not where that failure is attributable to your own fault; a third party unconnected with the provision of Services under this contract; any deliberate act or omission by the Carer; or an event which we would not have foreseen or prevented even if we had taken all reasonable care.

We accept no liability for any losses, costs, damages, claims or expenses in relation to your personal property, including your home or vehicle.

We do not exclude, or limit in any way, our liability for:(a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other liability which cannot be limited or excluded by law.

Holiday or Hospitalisation

If you wish to suspend the Services temporarily due to a planned holiday, you must give us at least 48 hours’ notice.
Where you provide us with at least 48 hours’ notice of any planned holiday or other absence (up to a maximum of 4 weeks) we will not charge for those Services which were due to be delivered during that holiday or period of absence, after which period the Services are expected to recommence.
If you are admitted to hospital due to unforeseen circumstances and you do not want the Carer to attend you in hospital, we will charge for the Services planned to be delivered during the first 48 hours of your hospitalisation.
If you do not want the Services to start again after your planned holiday or hospital admission, you must provide us with at least 14 days’ notice to cancel. Where you have already provided us with 48 hours’ notice of any planned holiday or other absence (in accordance with clause 8.2) or you have been admitted to hospital due to unforeseen circumstances, you will only need to provide us with 5 days’ notice to cancel.
If you do not give us the required notice set, you must continue to pay for the Services which would have normally been delivered during your notice period

Your Rights

You have the right to cancel the Services Agreement immediately, within the first 5 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period ends at the end of 5 days after the day on which you contract with us.
To exercise that right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel the Services Agreement by a clear statement, such as a letter sent by post, phone, fax or email.
In all circumstances, we will provide you with a final invoice detailing any refund that is due to you or, if no refund is due to you, the costs which remain payable.
Changing your mind and cancelling within the first 5 days – If you cancel the Services Agreement within the first 5 days (where we have already begun carrying out the Services at your request), we will reimburse you all payments received from you in advance, apart from a non-refundable fee: the Set-up Fee of £150. These sums represent the reasonable cost of setting up the Services and starting as a Carer to you.
We will reimburse you without undue delay, and no later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel the Agreement. We will make the reimbursement using the same payment method as you used to pay us unless you have expressly agreed with us that we can reimburse you using a different payment method. In any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
Cancelling after the first 14 days – If you wish to cancel the Services Agreement after the first 14 days, you must provide us with at least 14 days’ notice in writing. You must continue to pay for the Services which were due to be delivered during your 14-day notice period. We will refund you any payments made in advance for Services due to being delivered after the end of your 14-day notice period. In respect of Live-in Care, we will not refund any Set-up Fee.
You may cancel the Services Agreement with immediate effect by giving us written notice if: we breach the Services Agreement in any material way and we do not correct or fix the situation within 14 days of you asking us to in writing; we go into liquidation or a receiver or an administrator is appointed over our assets; We attempt to change these Terms without giving you at least 1-month notice; We are unable to provide the Services because of an event outside our reasonable control.

Our Rights

We may suspend the Services if you fail to pay our invoice in full within 4 days.
We may cancel the Services Agreement (for any reason) by providing you with at least 5 days’ notice in writing. If you have made any payment in advance for Services that have not been carried out, we will refund these amounts to you.
We may cancel the Services Agreement at any time with immediate effect by giving you written notice if we reasonably believe there a significant risk of harm to us, physical or mental.
You have failed to settle any outstanding invoice within 2 days of our written reminder.
You breach the Services Agreement in any other material way and, if the breach can be corrected or fixed, you do not correct or fix it within 4 days of us asking you in writing to do so. Such circumstances would include; refusing us and/or the Carer access to your property to deliver the Services; failure to provide us with accurate and sufficiently detailed information about your needs, requirements or health; physically or verbally abusing the Carer; or sexual or racial harassment, extreme alcohol consumption, unreasonable behaviour or requests that the Carer undertakes unreasonable or illegal activities.

Vis-Major

This section applies to any act or event beyond our reasonable control. If an event outside our control affects our provision of the Services: we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to notify you; our provision of the Services will be suspended for the duration of the event outside our control. We will restart the Services as soon as reasonably possible after the event outside our control is over.
We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under the Agreement that is caused by an event outside our control
You must not rely on us r or other members of our staff to perform medical services, even in an emergency. Your Carer and other members of our staff can perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation only under the direct guidance of the emergency services and provided that the member of staff feels comfortable and confident to do so.

Privacy

We will need certain information from you to provide the Services. If you do not, after being asked by us, provide us with this information, or you provide us with incomplete or incorrect
information, we may not be able to provide the Services to you. In such circumstances, we may suspend the Services or terminate the Services Agreement in accordance with clause 10.
We will hold information about your contact details, health, and physical or mental wellbeing in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR. We will never sell your personal data.
We will respect your privacy and confidentiality and will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how and why we use that data,
as well as letting you know whether we will need to share your data with other parties (for example doctors or social workers). You can find our Privacy Policy at Privacy Policy
You agree that we may disclose personal data (including sensitive personal data) about the Carer to you and that such information is strictly confidential. You also agree that you will not share, either directly or indirectly, such information to any other person, company or firm for any reason unless such disclosure is required by law, the CQC or Care Inspectorate Wales or any relevant local authority.

Other Important Things

You must ensure that your home is a safe environment and free from any hazards or illness which may put us at risk.
We cannot give you advice on personal finances
For information on assistance with paying for the Services, please contact your Local Authority, the Citizens Advice Bureau or an independent financial advisor.
We may transfer our rights and obligations under the Services Agreement to another organisation, and we will always notify you in writing if this happens. You may not transfer your rights or obligations under the Services Agreement without our prior, written consent.