CARE HOME residents are being duped into signing unfair and unclear contracts which can charge fees for a month after their deaths, a new investigation has found.

Consumer rights group Which? said care homes could be breaking the law by failing to inform residents and their families about dodgy clauses, such as a right to terminate a contract with just 24 hours’ notice for undefined “detrimental behaviour.”

In one case reported to the consumer watchdog, a manager placed a resident with dementia on round-the-clock one-to-one care at £15 per hour, causing their monthly bills to skyrocket from £4,000 to more than £15,000. The family were told that they had signed an agreement that this could be done.