Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (19 003 348)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 19-Jul-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint that the Council did not comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendations from a previous complaint he made. This is because the Ombudsman is satisfied the recommendations he made were implemented and completed his investigation.

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (19 001 155)

Statement Not upheld Charging 19-Jul-2019

Summary: The investigation into Mrs X’s and Mrs Y’s complaint about care fees for their late mother will be discontinued. Any investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve any greater remedy than has already been offered by the Council.

Trafford Council (18 006 816)

Statement Upheld Charging 17-Jul-2019

Summary: Mr X complains that the Council overcharged Mrs Y for her care; he says she did not receive the care agreed and it charged too much. The Ombudsman finds the Council was not at fault in the way it charged for the care. It was at fault because Mrs Y did not always receive the service she needed and this caused her distress. It was also at fault in its handling of the complaints but this did not cause significant injustice. It has already put right any injustice it caused because it did not backdate an increase in charges as it was entitled to do.

Bristol City Council (18 013 368)

Statement Upheld Charging 11-Jul-2019

Summary: There was fault by the Council. There was delay in allocating a social worker when a hospital discharged an elderly lady into temporary residential care. The Council has apologised for the delay and agreed to continue to charge the resident as a short stay resident.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (18 010 979)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 11-Jul-2019

Summary: Ms B complains about the Council’s decision to claim a backdated contribution payment from her towards the cost of the care package she has received since 2015. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and an investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (19 000 872)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 09-Jul-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to ask the complainant to make a contribution to his care costs. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and insufficient evidence of injustice.

Norfolk County Council (18 014 879)

Statement Not upheld Charging 08-Jul-2019

Summary: Mr X complains that the Council charged him for time in respite accommodation when he was told he would not be charged. He says this caused him anxiety and affected his health. The Council has offered to waive the outstanding charge so we have stopped our investigation.

Warrington Council (18 003 639)

Statement Upheld Charging 03-Jul-2019

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council failed to review her mother’s care needs which meant it did not consider a referral for continuing healthcare, failed to follow procedures when setting up a deferred payment arrangement and unreasonably pursued the family for care fees when a continuing healthcare assessment is outstanding. The Council was at fault for not carrying out annual reviews but not for the way it set up the deferred payment arrangement or for seeking repayment of care fees from the family. An apology is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

Surrey County Council (18 006 759)

Statement Not upheld Charging 02-Jul-2019

Summary: Miss B complains that, when assessing her mother’s contribution to her residential care home fees, there was fault in the way the Council decided not to exercise discretion to disregard the value of her mother’s share in the family home. The Ombudsman has found no substantive fault in the way the Council has considered the matter, and so cannot question the merits of the Council’s decision.

Gloucestershire County Council (18 017 386)

Statement Upheld Charging 01-Jul-2019

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to tell the family the outcome of a financial reassessment of their mother’s contribution towards her home care and delayed sending amended invoices for the contributions. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault for being unclear about the result of the reassessment, delay in invoicing, failure to explain the late invoice and failure to put the complaint through its complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to apologise and to write off the debt caused by late, backdated adjustments. This is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused by the Council’s faults.