Careline Terms and Conditions
Powys Careline is a 24-hour alarm monitoring service. Operators are trained to respond to calls placed to them via the Careline alarm, they will contact emergency services or nominated responders based on the situation presented to them.
Equipment
All equipment provided is rented from Powys Careline and must be made available for return when no longer required. Reasonable care must be taken by the user to ensure that the equipment is kept safe and free from misuse / damage. Otherwise charges may apply.
Powys Careline will monitor all equipment and respond to alarms according to their protocol and / or information provided by the user. Equipment provided will be maintained or replaced by Powys Careline.
Home Installation Disclosure
If you have chosen to have the alarm pre-programmed and sent to your home in the post for you to connect yourself, please ensure that you connect the alarm on the same wall as your plug socket to reduce trip hazards. The alarm may affect other systems that use the phone line.
If you have any issues with fitting your alarm, please contact us and we can arrange for our installer to visit to rectify the issue, however this will incur an installation cost.
After setting up the alarm you MUST do an initial test call as per the instructions to ensure that the alarm has been correctly installed. If the alarm is no longer required, please return the alarm to us, but the home installation charge will still apply.
If you do not complete the initial test call, the home installation, rental and monitoring charges will be applied 21 days following delivery. Powys Careline will not be liable for any issues if the test call is not completed.
You are required to test your Careline alarm unit and pendant every month.
Charges
The charges for this service are displayed on the Careline Charges web page
A first invoice will be raised at the time of installation. This will be for the installation costs and the rental and monitoring costs for the remainder of the quarter period. If you decide to cancel the alarm during this period, the installation costs will still stand.
You will also be charged for the rental and monitoring costs from the installation date to the date we are informed of cancellation. Please refer to the Termination of Service section for further information.
The user agrees to pay the agreed charges per quarter or per month in arrears thereafter. Following the first invoice, payment via direct debit is available and encouraged.
Please note that your rental and monitoring charge is a standard rate and will not be reduced for the following reasons: you are away on holiday, you have an issue with your phone line or if you have been in short stay respite. There may be certain instances where we can temporarily put the account on hold, such as if the customer is in hospital and waiting on a care package to facilitate discharge; or if the customer is taken into hospital and it is likely to be long term.
You will need to contact us directly on 01597 827639 to inform us of this, as failure to do so will mean the charges stand.
Rental and Monitoring charges will be subject to an annual review from 1st April each year. Users will be notified of any change at least one month in advance of the new charge.
Users who are disabled or who have a chronic disability may receive the service free of VAT and are required to complete the VAT exemption section on the Careline application form. If this section is not completed and we are later advised of your eligibility, the exemption will not be backdated and will come into effect from the charging period we are notified.
What does 'chronically sick or disabled' mean?
A person is 'chronically sick or disabled' if he/she is a person:
- with a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect upon his/her ability to carry out everyday activities;
- with a condition which the medical profession treats as a chronic sickness, such as diabetes; or
- with a terminal illness
A chronic condition is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects. The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include arthritis, asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes and AIDS.
It does not include a frail elderly person who is otherwise able-bodied or any person who is only temporarily disabled or incapacitated, such as with a broken limb.
Powys Careline Responsibility
Powys Careline will:
Provide the user with a 24-hour monitoring service 365 days a year. Without prejudice, the Council shall not be held responsible for any breakdown of service deemed after investigation to be caused by circumstances beyond its control.
Respond positively to all calls whether real emergencies or false alarms and to speak to the user to establish whether help is needed.
In the event of an alarm being raised, and no contact made with the user, Careline will contact others nominated by the user or the emergency services to provide assistance. All alarm calls received will be recorded for quality assurance and in some rare instances for evidential purposes.
Service User Responsibility
The user understands that they will be responsible for the rental of a telephone landline through which the community alarm service is connected to the Powys Careline monitoring service. Without a working telephone landline service, the Careline alarm service cannot be provided.
The user also understands that they are responsible for the cost of running the alarm (minimal electricity cost) and the cost of the local telephone call each time an alarm is called. The user will provide a suitable mains electrical supply within 2 metres of the telephone box to which the community alarm will connect. A 2-metre extension cable can be provided by the user, but the extension cable must not cross doorways or any walkway.
The user will, by prior arrangement, give access to Powys, or contractor employed on their behalf, for the installation, maintenance, and removal of all equipment as appropriate.
You are required to test your Careline alarm unit and pendant every month. To test your pendant, press the red button on the pendant and when the call centre answers, please say 'test call'. The call centre will then close that call down. In addition to this, press the red button on your Careline alarm unit to also test that it connects through to the call centre. Again, please say 'test call'. If there are any issues when your press your pendant/alarm unit or you don't have an answer from the call centre, please telephone us immediately on 01597 827639.
The user will be asked if at all possible, to nominate two emergency contacts who will hold a key to gain access to the user's home in an emergency or will know where a key is available. Any persons nominated as emergency contacts (keyholders) should have agreed to be contacted in an emergency.
If the user has no nominated keyholders, then they are encouraged to install a Key Safe containing a key for the use of emergency services.
The user agrees to inform Powys Careline of any changes in their circumstances or those of their emergency contacts (keyholders) as soon as possible.
The Powys Careline monitoring service makes a judgement based on the alarm call and communication with the user. Referral to any emergency service will be made in good faith and in the best interests of the user based on a judgement of the information available at the time. The user will therefore agree to be responsible for any cost incurred as a result of an emergency response to an alarm activation (including what may retrospectively be determined a false alarm) where Powys Careline have followed agreed protocols and duty of care in good faith.
The minimum contract period of service is three months.
Termination of Service
If you cancel the alarm request after the application has been submitted and you reject the alarm installation a cancellation cost of £20.00 will apply. If you cancel at the time of an engineer's visit, the cancellation cost will be the installation and programming charge shown on the Careline Rental and Monitoring Charges sheet.
Once your alarm has been installed the minimum agreed contract period is three months, the user may terminate the agreement at any time after this and will be charged to the date of termination.
Powys Careline as Powys County Council reserves the right to terminate the service at any time subject to 4 weeks' notice as a result of any breach of this agreement or change in service conditions.
If the user fails to pay an account due within 30 days, Powys Careline as Powys County Council reserves the right to terminate the monitoring service subject to negotiation.