Can anyone explain what this term means on a Care Home Contract please

[Smiler1973]

By signing this agreement i warrant to the (name of home) that i am dully authorised to sign it as the service users representative on behalf of the service user and undertake to discharge
all sums due to the (name of home) under this agreement, if for any reasons the agreement is subsequently found to be void of unenforceable against the service user...?

[R0b]

A warranty is a a written guarantee and a breach of a warranty entitled to injured party to claim compensation, but does not give a right to terminate unless something else in the contract allows them.

In this case, what it is saying is that you are confirming that you are are authorised to sign the contract on behalf of the service user (whomever that may be, presumably a company). It also says that you agree to pay any monies owed under the contract to the service provider.

Essentially, it is seeking to impose personal liability on you if anything goes wrong with the contract. If you are signing this on behalf of a company or your employer then this is not a standard provision I would expect to see so I suggest you think carefully as to whether you want to give yourself that burden and if you can personally afford to pay out in the event of a breach of contract.

[Smiler1973]

A warranty is a a written guarantee and a breach of a warranty entitled to injured party to claim compensation, but does not give a right to terminate unless something else in the contract allows them.

In this case, what it is saying is that you are confirming that you are are authorised to sign the contract on behalf of the service user (whomever that may be, presumably a company). It also says that you agree to pay any monies owed under the contract to the service provider.

Essentially, it is seeking to impose personal liability on you if anything goes wrong with the contract. If you are signing this on behalf of a company or your employer then this is not a standard provision I would expect to see so I suggest you think carefully as to whether you want to give yourself that burden and if you can personally afford to pay out in the event of a breach of contract.

Thanks Rob, its a POA who is the daughter of a Care home resident with Dementia, she is the Service Rep the Service user is her father,
So in effect are they making her a guarantor of some kind ????

[atticus]

Yes. That is exactly the intention - to guarantee payment.

[Smiler1973]

Took it to a Solicitor who specialises in Contract readings for Care Homes and Power of Attorneys today, he confirmed its a guarantee to the Home
that you have permission to be the Service Users Representative and if the contract is found to be unenforceable or void against the Service User then
the Service Representative will discharge the payments from the Service Users fund to facilitate payment for the home.

It does make the Service Rep responsible for fees in anyway but responsible for the fund of the person they represent.

For it to be a Guarantor a credit check would be needed against the Service user, and it would need to be plainly written as it is for a member of the public
that you are individually responsible for any unpaid fees for it to stand up in court.

[atticus]

There is no requirement for a credit check - the lack of one does not render a guarantee invalid.

[Smiler1973]

No your right, but as the Solicitor said it would be a waste of a contract unless one was done.

He also pointed out that Nurses and Carers also are quite often the Service Rep for people who are not capable of representing themselves
and the wording is quite common on these agreements and should everyone who signs one as a Rep be held responsible for fees out of there
own pocket then no one would ever sign one and no one would therefore ever receive any care.

Also when contracts are aimed at the general public (people like me who have limited knowledge of the terms) it has to be written clear
and concise that you will pay from your own funds should the Service User fail to pay, the term Guarantor is advised to be used as it is
generally understood across by everyone what one is and the dangers it can possess.
He had seen plenty where they tried to hide the meanings with smoke and mirrors and when it came to legal proceedings it was thrown out
in the first 5 minutes.

[R0b]

Well at least you got some advice on it and as long as you are happy with that advice. I don't understand why a carer would take on the responsibility personally rather than the service user but hey ho.

You are right that consumer contracts (not the general public as these could include sole traders and the courts deal with businesses differently) should be in plain and intelligible language such that it should be reasonably understood as to what the term means. Other than the use of the word 'warranty' the clause doesn't use particularly difficult words and in my view would probably pass the fairness test but only a court would be able to determine that.

Anyway, all academic.

[Smiler1973]

The service user is often someone with Dementia who cannot sign or understand what signing involves so they use a Service Rep for the User, and
quite often the elderly person with Dementia has no family so a Carer or Nurse who has been dealing with the patient with Dementia will often become
there Service Rep and sign all relevant forms so that the Care process can begin...Quite sad really when you think about it to be so old and ill and have no
one around such as Friends of Family to help and to rely on some kind soul such as the great Nurses and Carers of this country.