Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (19 016 601)

Statement Upheld Charging 14-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains about the way the Council ended her care and support plan. She also complains the Council did not provide her with information about how she would be charged for her care. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for not completing a reassessment before ending Mrs X’s care.

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council (19 020 880)

Statement Upheld Charging 13-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr and Mrs X complained the Council failed to inform them that Mrs X’s care was chargeable prior to receiving an invoice for the care. Mr and Mrs X also complained about charges being applied after they had cancelled the care package and for cancelled visits. The Council accepted fault for the delay in confirming the care charges and offered to reduce the charges to £1,345.36. The Council accepted the Ombudsman’s recommendation of a further reduction of £774.08 to reflect the injustice caused through the Council’s delay.

Nottinghamshire County Council (19 011 280)

Statement Not upheld Charging 09-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs R says the Council has wrongly required her daughter, Ms C, to pay for respite care breaks and wrongly stated that Ms C does not need her carers while in respite care which has caused them injustice as they cannot afford to pay for the respite care. The Council was not at fault. It carried out financial and needs assessments as required. It was entitled to charge as it did according to the criteria set out in the relevant statutory guidance.

Staffordshire County Council (19 012 812)

Statement Upheld Charging 09-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to properly advise her son about the cost of residential care and about its complaint handling. This led to a large and unexpected invoice. The Ombudsman has found the Council to be at fault. The Council has agreed to apologise, reduce the charges for care and review its practices.

Surrey County Council (19 015 628)

Statement Upheld Charging 08-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council agreed to an increase in Mrs Y’s care home charges without notice, causing her financial loss and putting him to time and trouble. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault in its handling of Mrs Y’s care charges causing injustice. The Ombudsman recommends the Council provides a refund to Mrs Y, pays Mr X £100 for time and trouble and takes action to prevent recurrence.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (19 017 726)

Statement Not upheld Charging 07-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr and Mrs X complain on behalf of Mrs X’s mother, Mrs Y, about the Council’s decision that she deprived herself of an asset to avoid its inclusion in a financial assessment for care. Mr and Mrs X say Mrs Y has unfairly had to pay for the care she receives. The Ombudsman finds no fault in the way the Council made its decision.

London Borough of Croydon (20 002 036)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 05-Oct-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about care provided to her deceased friend and neighbour Mrs C between March and April. This is because it is unlikely that further investigation would be able to provide Mrs B with a different response to that she has been given or one that she wants.

Surrey County Council (19 004 668)

Statement Upheld Charging 01-Oct-2020

Summary: The complainant says the Council failed to properly consider his residence in his late mother’s home when it agreed to a deferred payment and placed a charge on the property. The Council later reviewed the decision and removed the charge but only after the complainant had incurred legal costs. The Council says it acted on the information presented by the property owner’s family. The Ombudsman finds the Council acted with fault causing injustice.

Cheshire East Council (20 001 076)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 30-Sep-2020

Summary: On behalf of her deceased mother, Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to treat her mother’s settlement of her property into a trust as a deprivation of assets. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault.

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (19 013 986)

Statement Upheld Charging 29-Sep-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to tell her son he was required to pay towards the cost of his care plan. Mrs X says the Council wrongly charged her son for care he has not received and sent invoices to an incorrect address. Mrs X says the Council’s actions caused stress to herself and her son. The Ombudsman finds some fault by the Council in this matter. The Council has agreed to provide an apology and an explanation for the costs, and to waive the outstanding invoices.