Summary: Mr X complains the Council took too long to put his support in place and started charging him for his support long before he received it. The delay in arranging Mr X’s support and charging him for it before it started caused avoidable distress to Mr X. The Council needs to apologise for these faults and pay financial redress.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council took too long to put his support in place and started charging him for his support long before he received it. He says this caused him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mr X;
• discussed the complaint with Mr X;
• considered the comments and documents the Council has provided;
• considered the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies; and
• invited comments on a draft of this statement from Mr X and the Council, for me to consider before making my final decision.

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What I found

What happened

5. Ms X has a learning disability and health problems.
6. When the Council assessed Mr X’s needs in October 2023 it found he had eligible needs for support with:
• Eating and drinking – encouragement to follow a healthy diet
• Being safe around the home – support with correspondence and finances
• Keeping his home safe and clean – encouragement to complete tasks to keep the home clean and tidy
7. The Council agreed to arrange three hours a week of outreach support to meet these needs. On 25 October it referred Mr X to a care provider.
8. On 13 November the Council noted Mr X was seventh on the care provider’s waiting list.
9. On 25 January 2024 Mr X contacted the Council because it was charging him for care he was not yet receiving. He had received two invoices, each for £76.
10. On 28 January Mr X told the Council he had been paying the charges, despite not receiving any support. The Council amended Mr X’s care and support plan to say it would start in March. It noted the need to refund any money he had paid to Mr X, but he had not made an payments.
11. On 1 February the Council cancelled the care hours it had recorded, which meant its invoices were now invalid.
12. However, on 3 February the Council sent Mr X a legal action notice because he had not paid an invoice for £76 dated 5 January. Mr X says he continued to receive telephone calls asking him to pay the invoices.
13. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman in February about the Council invoicing him for care he had not received. He said the Council’s correspondence included threats of legal action if he did not pay. He said this worried him had caused sleepless nights. We asked the Council to respond to his complaint, as it had not yet had the opportunity to do so.
14. When the Council replied to Mr X’s complaint in March, it said it had now credited the invoices.
15. Mr X was not happy with the Council’s response, so in April he took his complaints to the next stage of its complaints procedure. He said the Council should pay £100 for the distress it had caused. By this time the Council had resolved the problem with the charges.
16. When the Council replied in May, it said it had corrected the problem as soon as it became aware of it, so it did not accept the need pay him financial redress.
17. Mr X contacted the Ombudsman again in May. He remained upset about the invoices and about having a care and support plan which said he should receive four hours of support a week which had not happened.
18. In May the Council reviewed Mr X’s care needs and updated his care and support plan. This said he would start receiving four hours of support a week in June.

Is there evidence of fault by the Council which caused injustice?

19. The Council accepts it was at fault for invoicing Mr X for support he was not receiving. Contrary to what it said to Mr X when responding to his complaint in May, it did not resolve the problem when he first pointed it out, as he received a demand threatening legal action shortly afterwards. This caused avoidable distress to Mr X.
20. The Council also took too long to put Mr X’s support in place. It identified the need for support in October 2023. But he did not start receiving it until at least June 2024. That was a services failure which put Mr X at risk of harm.

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Agreed action

21. I recommended the Council:
• within four weeks writes to Mr X apologising for the delay in arranging his support and for the distress caused by charging him for it long before it started, and pays him £300;
• within eight weeks, identifies the action it is going to take to ensure people are not charged for support they are not yet receiving, and people do not have to wait months for their support to be put in place.
22. The Council has agreed to do this. It should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

23. I have completed my investigation on the basis there has been fault by the Council causing injustice which requires a remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman