can a mentally impaired person enter into a (mobile phone) contract?

[car]

A relative of mine is mentally impaired, mid 30s.

Some time ago she signed up to a contract with a mobile provider in one of those well known high street phone shops. All she needed was a bank statement (which shows nothing but disability benefit payments) and her passport. Credit rating was blank so they gave her the phone.

She doesn't have a bad credit rating as shell never be able to take a loan/credit card/mortgage out. She has been told by family she's not supposed to do this as she has no money management capabilities but the temptation is there and we cant stop her doing it. She has done things like this in the past, we go to whoever it was she signed with and explain and there's never been a problem.

But this time when her parents found out, it was several weeks in, they approached the provider to explain the situation and get the contract cancelled but they didn't want to know and said the contract had to run for the 2 years it was signed up for.

I got authorized to act on her behalf, rang and spoke to customer care and credit management 3-4 times over the duration of the contract but nothing they can do. The contract has now finished, bill is over €600

Does anyone know if there a capacity to contract in Irish law, as in, if the person who is signing has mental impairment, then the contract is void?

 

[ajapale]

Hi Car, Ive expanded your title somewhat to more accurately reflect your question.

Short of contacting your own solicitor have you considered talking to citizensadvice? They may be able to point you in the right direction.

aj

 

[Northie]

Car I feel for you and your family. Its a tough situation.

I have a sister in her late thirties who is also intellectually disabled, and for the last number of years has been living on her own following the death of our parents.

The situation you are facing is exactly the kind of thing I worry about. Thankfully my sister would still run things by me before committing to something but she has also been known to run the idea of buying something by someone else who she figures will agree with her because she knows I'll probably dissuade her.

I had inquired into guardianship and discovered that this only applies to minors (under 18). The are only two other options left 1. is enduring power of attorney or 2. having her made a ward of court.

Option 1 has problems in that your relative (my sister) would have to set it up, which means she has to show she is a capable person. You would then have to show at a later date that her mental state has deteriorated and she is no longer capable. Obviously this is problematic if the family feel she currently isn't capable of managing financial tasks

Options 2 is a very drastic option and would mean that all decisions would have to be made by the courts, not really a workable solution.

I find that I fall back on the hope that my sister on the whole interacts with moral, sensible people who would know very quickly that she isn't the usual customer and wouldn't try and exploit her. You will find a lot of advocacy groups online who would suggest that people like my sister have the same right to "waste" money on a phone as any other person, there are plenty of "normal" people who sign contracts with phone companies that they shouldn't.

But at the end of the day I know its me my sister will come to, to fix any problems that arise. So on the whole I try to keep the lines of communication good, try not to say no outright and get her to justify what she wants to do. I also try and stay knowledgeable about the people in her life who she might be turning to for advice.

I think the phone company have taken a bit of a hard line but maybe its a chance to teach her a lesson if you can figure out a way of doing it that will get the message across in a positive way.

Is she involved with any support groups ie. Enable Ireland, John of Gods, Step, Cheeverstown House, St Michaels House? They might be able to give you some guidance on how to approach all this.

As I said at the start I know where you coming from and unfortunately the worry never goes away

 

[car]

I find that I fall back on the hope that my sister on the whole interacts with moral, sensible people who would know very quickly that she isn't the usual customer and wouldn't try and exploit her. You will find a lot of advocacy groups online who would suggest that people like my sister have the same right to "waste" money on a phone as any other person, there are plenty of "normal" people who sign contracts with phone companies that they shouldn't.

She's bought lots of stuff with cash in her pocket that we'd question but leave her at it. The contract is different though, her obligations to the contract aren't full realised. I've spoken with her, explained best I could about what a contract is but the eyes glaze over.
I don't know here what's the done thing.
I Don't blame the phone company, there's no way they can do anything with it unless it went to someone in their legal dept who said the contract is not enforceable.
I'd have the most problem with the phone shop, 30 seconds after you talk to her you'd know. The bank statements have the disability allowance as only income so they must have known.

I'll follow up with citizens advice. Maybe get legal advice, was hoping if someone knew if there was some precedence for this kind of thing.

 

[car]

Found a great link on the uk citizens advice site.

[broken link removed]

Citizens advice. Thanks Aja.