Herefordshire Council (18 015 004)

Statement Upheld Charging 04-Oct-2019

Summary: The Council cannot show it discussed the funding for domiciliary care with Mr X before he was discharged from hospital. It now offers to reimburse the charges incurred, which will remedy any injustice caused.

Nottingham City Council (19 000 121)

Statement Upheld Charging 04-Oct-2019

Summary: Mr and Mrs X have complained about the Council’s decision to charge a third party top up fee towards the cost of Ms Y’s care. They are also unhappy with how the Council has dealt with their complaint. There is some fault by the Council.

London Borough of Wandsworth (19 001 042)

Statement Upheld Charging 03-Oct-2019

Summary: Ms X complained the Council charged her for additional care following an accident and about the way it assessed how much she should contribute to the cost of care and support. The Council was at fault for charging for the additional care that was needed after an accident for which it accepted liability. It should waive those charges. There was no fault in the way it calculated Ms X’s contribution to her care.

Essex County Council (18 019 870)

Statement Upheld Charging 02-Oct-2019

Summary: Mrs B complains the Council charged for her father’s care when it should have been free. Mrs B says the Council did not tell her father’s family about the charges and met with him without any family present. The Ombudsman finds fault in how the Council carried out an initial assessment of needs, communicated with the family and considered the father’s mental capacity.

Northamptonshire County Council (19 003 693)

Statement Upheld Charging 01-Oct-2019

Summary: Ms C complains the Council failed to tell her, in a timely manner, that there would be an increase in the cost of her mother’s homecare package, and how much this increase would be. The Ombudsman decided to uphold Ms C’s complaint. The Council has agreed to adjust the outstanding invoice.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (18 017 278)

Statement Upheld Charging 30-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms B complained the Council unreasonably backdated a charge for permanent nursing care and failed to respond to her correspondence. The Council delayed changing the status of the caring arrangements and in carrying out a financial assessment. That meant Ms B and her family were faced with a large backdated bill. The Council also delayed responding to Ms B’s correspondence which led to her going to time and trouble to pursue the complaint. An apology, agreement to cancel the increased charges between February 2017 and August 2017 and a payment to Ms B is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

London Borough of Brent (18 003 012)

Statement Not upheld Charging 28-Sep-2019

Summary: The complainant says the Council failed to issue invoices so she could pay her care costs. The complainant also says the Council did not apply money she paid to the correct accounts. The complaint says this led to a significant debt which the complainant finds difficult to repay. The Council says it issued invoices and reviewed the complainant’s finances according to law and regulations, but the complainant failed to pay enough through standing orders each month to cover her care costs. The Council finally issued a Letter before Action to recover the growing debt. The complainant also complains the Council failed to provide care services when she left hospital or investigate complaints or theft by officers visiting her property. The Council says it provided care within two days and investigated her concerns but without further information it could not reach a decision. The Ombudsman finds the Council acted without fault in allowing the complainant time to repay the debt and investigating her other concerns.

Middlesbrough Borough Council (19 001 633)

Statement Not upheld Charging 27-Sep-2019

Summary: There was no fault in the Council refusing to give Ms D a deferred payment agreement or in its decision that Ms D had deliberately deprived herself of assets by giving her house to her daughter.

North Yorkshire County Council (18 019 125)

Statement Upheld Charging 27-Sep-2019

Summary: Mrs X complained when the Council invoiced her for her late Aunt’s (Mrs Y’s) outstanding care fees. The Council has admitted fault for its delay in sending Mrs Y an invoice for the fees. It has apologised for this delay. The Ombudsman has found no injustice caused by this delay. We have completed our investigation.

Darlington Borough Council (18 019 527)

Statement Upheld Charging 26-Sep-2019

Summary: Mrs X complained on behalf of her mother, Mrs Y. Mrs X complained about the Council’s handling of Mrs Y’s non-residential care fees between 2014 and present. The Council was at fault. It failed to carry out a financial assessment of Mrs Y until 2018. The fault led to a large backdated invoice for care fees which caused Mrs Y distress. The Council was also at fault for the delay in invoicing Mrs Y for the care and for its poor complaint handling which caused Mrs Y further distress and frustration. The Council agreed to pay Mrs Y a total of £700 to acknowledge the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused. It also agreed to arrange an appropriate payment plan for Mrs Y to pay the outstanding invoice.