Country Cousins

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Reviews

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  Minnie McBride

  My father dealt with Country Cousins directly until he got ill and then I had to get involved. He had a new carer every couple of weeks for many months and in general he was quite happy. Country Cousins were very responsive getting him the carers he needed, however a few weeks ago when he became ill he ended up with 3 live-in carers which was ridiculous and expensive. This was because he apparently needed 2 in the daytime (he needed hoisting) and one at night. The situation was completely over the top. One carer kept complaining that she was overtired (there were 3 of them) and rather than easing the load it was instead incredibly stressful. The carers were falling out with eachother and complaining to me about the others and the situation became untenable. (So we moved him to respite care and then to a permanent nursing home). No care review was made by the agency to properly assess his needs and they were happy to just keep billing my father for hundreds of pounds every week and send in more help when demanded by the carers in situ. When I emailed asking for clarification on the fees charged, I never received a reply. I am still waiting. All is fine with Country Cousins unless you have an issue then I would say crisis-management and responding to queries is very poor.

  28-03-2023
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  Vaughan Snook

  Charged an initial registration fee of £220, which other similar agencies do not. After a few weeks I was given a "new" contact name and email address (but no telephone number) to deal with regarding ongoing care needs. I was told she would make contact with me, but received none. My emails TO her went into her "junk" mailbox for FIVE WEEKS until I started investigating why I wasn't getting any replies. The staff I have dealt with at Country Cousins are a little on the "pushy" side, and they get contractual regarding complaints. Not recommended.

  28-05-2022
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  Ed Pithie

  A brilliant company to work. It is clear they really care about the carers and their clients.

  28-05-2022
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  jongleave1

  Superb care company, really go the extra mile and care about those they're helping!

  28-05-2021
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  A J

  I joined my father as he was in need of a live in carer and it was a big step, being fiercely independent. I had heard good things about the company. My experience was upsetting and only added to the stressful time. I concluded that the company used to be exactly what it said it was, but with the vast need for carers and an aging population, it has now reverted to a very basic service and the whole “matching process” (their unique selling point at that time) was impossible to achieve. My experience was the following: With great emphasis on matching the right carer to the customer, and the initial information collected was very thorough, so it was disappointing that the only person offered initially did not have a scrap of anything in common with my father. He was interested in books, classical music, piano etc, only liked plain English food etc etc, basically what we would refer to as “old school”. The person put forward (who you can only have a telephone conversation with, and then you have to appoint or reject which clearly puts you in an embarrassing situation if you don’t think it would work), thought plain English food was Lasagna and liked pop music. Even the administrator admitted it wasn’t a good match, especially as he had never had a carer before and the first one has to be especially suitable. I was then basically forgotten about, and when I prompted a response, I received apologies but I had lost faith in their service. Of course I could have complained and demanded my money back but when your father is dying and you are in a horrible place, you have to prioritise. I did not feel that the people at head office were at all trying to match people’s needs, and it was more about just trying to find someone, anyone. I’m not saying these people weren’t nice, I’m sure they were. Prior to signing up, I had been given examples of ex piano teachers and people who loved baking and cooking from fresh, it all sounded very wholesome and lovely, just like having a relative coming to stay. Finally making a big deal if it being a “lifetime” membership, I feel is insensitive given that the majority of people needing carers, will probably be nearing the end of their lives. All in all, my experience with those employed to make the placements, was really poor and I just felt this was a nice little earner for someone, but a service which might have been good once, was in disarray.

  28-05-2019
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  Maria Shirlaw

  I just called this company to enquire about a carer job. I was told each assignment is for the duration of 8 or 12 weeks with no day off. And the pay is £95 per day for up to 12 hours shifts, but it could be longer. Carers wil have one to two hours break per day. Carers have to pay for all the training, a DBS and their own taxes. Carers are usually paid when the assignment ends. If you don’t believe me call them and pretend to be a carer, that’s what I’ve just done because I could not believe when someone who worked for them told me about the working ethnic of this company.

  28-05-2019
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  Christine EDWARDS

  28-05-2018
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  Pannndora x

  Highly professional

  28-05-2017
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  Helen Geranios

  I have been caring with Country Cousins for 11 years. The office staff have always been amazing and supportive. Being a live-in carer is not always easy and we find our selves in all sorts of difficult situations. We always endeavor to create a happy client/carer situation ensuring the client's comfort, health and safety are in the forefront of what we do. Without the wonderful support of the staff we would not be as able to do this.

  28-05-2017
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  Marion Phipps

  I have worked for Country Cousins since 2008 and have always found the staff in the office very helpful. They are implementing changes so we will all be working to the same standard, which is a good thing for carer and the client. The carers all range in age and experience but have go to the mandatory training before they can accept an assignment. It is up to the carer to inform the agency if they are not up to accepting a particular position. As all clients are different, so are the carers and they do try to match carer to client. It is up to the clients representative to be honest with the office as to the level of care their person requires. As a retired nurse I have no problems working through this agency and always try to do the best possible job I can and treat the client the way I would have liked my parents to be treated.

  28-05-2017