Quote:
Originally Posted by Kizzy
'Clapham, who owns the property, also pays £32.50 a week to the charity, covering the cost of providing regular support and check-ups on pairings, of which there are about 30'
 what regulations are in place here?... I don't like the sound of it. |
I don't think the cost seems too unreasonable... if there are indeed 30 pairings so far then the total income is just over £50k a year, and assuming even as little as two full-time staff administrating the scheme, that's barely a salary each (in London). If it's a scam... it's sort of a **** scam.
However, I agree that it sounds wide open to other sorts of exploitation. One springs to mind straight away... as has been mentioned, this is the likely scenario for the elderly person involved:
- On their last legs. The woman in this example is 97... she's highly unlikely to have more than 5 years left to live. This is probably pretty standard. These elderly people are peeking through the pearly gates.
- Well off. By the sounds of it, it's elderly people who outright own their homes, mainly in expensive areas (where young people need cheaper rent, hence necessitating the scheme). They're likely to have a bit more than that too, in cash and assets... but, their homes alone are almost certain to be worth over £1 million.
- No family / no one close to them personally. They're inviting a stranger into their home to essentially help to care for them or, at the very least, for company.
So basically, you have a young person moving in with a lonely, well-off person who is likely to only live a few years more. A few years to become their close friend / confidant / even be thought of as family... old person starts to get ill... worries about what will become of new "adopted grandchild" after they pop... and *boom*. Young person inherits a 7-figure-value property and some cash and trinkets to go with it. Sounds like a pretty good deal for barely a few years' work (if you can call making cups of tea and watching EastEnders together "work").
Then again - if they really do have no family to leave their assets to, I'd probably rather see it go to a random youngster than be left unclaimed and eventually snapped up by the government. And even if the youngster isn't genuine... if the elderly person would otherwise be lonely and miserable in their final days and gets some life / laughter in their home... if
they believe it's all genuine right up until the end... if they feel like they've found someone to call family... even if it's an illusion, does that really matter? It's better than the alternative, surely? Withering away, alone...
Hybrid Mode
