Southampton City Council (25 007 459)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 26-Jan-2026

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council placed his father in a care home without a financial assessment, a signed agreement or proper consent. We have not investigated this complaint as it is late and there is no good reason why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

London Borough of Havering (25 012 399)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 26-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s and NHS Trust’s decisions and communication about charges for a care placement after her mother, Mrs Y, was discharged from hospital. We found no indications of fault by the organisations with the decisions. The Trust did accept it could have given more notice on the day Mrs Y left hospital to a care home and it apologised for any distress. We are unlikely to achieve a different outcome by investigating.

Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (25 010 973)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 26-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care. This is because we cannot carry out a full, fair and effective investigation into the Council’s actions now due to the significant passage of time since the events complained about.

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (24 021 599)

Statement Upheld Charging 22-Jan-2026

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to provide his parents’ care and support plans, initially said the care costs would be minimal then charged more than £4000, and had poor communication when he raised concerns. He said this caused huge stress and worry to him and his parents, and he lost the opportunity of arranging cheaper and more reliable private care. We find the Council at fault for failing to provide the care and support plans, delays in completing the financial assessments, and for some of its communication, which caused distress and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to remedy the injustice.

Pressbeau Ltd (25 003 724)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 22-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Care Provider treated Funded Nursing Care in relation to care charges. Any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

Staffordshire County Council (25 009 965)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 21-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the level of care provided to her late relative and overcharging prior to 2016 because we could not achieve a worthwhile outcome, given the lapse of time since the events complained about. We will not investigate her complaint about the Council taking enforcement action in respect of outstanding care costs because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

Durham County Council (25 013 804)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 21-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs Z’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her late husband’s care charges. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (25 016 689)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 21-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in completing its financial assessment and pursuing payment for Mrs Y’s home care charges. This is because any further investigation is unlikely to add anything to the Council’s own investigation and response. The Council has already reduced the care charges owed and taken action to improve so there is nothing more we could achieve by investigating further.

Central Bedfordshire Council (25 011 444)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 19-Jan-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about care charges from 2023. There is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being brought to the Ombudsman.

West Sussex County Council (25 000 463)

Statement Upheld Charging 16-Jan-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed completing a financial assessment for her father, Mr Y. She also complained the Council provided late and incorrect invoices and did not reassess Mr Y’s care needs when his circumstances changed. We found fault by the Council on all matters. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and Mr Y and make Mrs X a symbolic payment in recognition of the avoidable time and trouble caused to her. It also agreed to reduce the invoices for Mr Y’s care to reflect that he would likely have made different choices about his care, save for the delay in completing his financial assessment and to reflect the uncertainty about the accuracy of the invoices.