Summary: Mrs B complained the Council misled her about the amount her mother would have to pay towards her residential care costs and delayed invoicing her for the full amount. The Council had told Mrs B about the likely cost of residential care but delayed amending the account which meant Mrs B received invoices at the community care rate for five months longer than she should have. The Council should write off 50% of the additional charge for that five-month period and arrange a payment plan for the remaining arrears.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs B, complained about the way the Council dealt with her mother’s care costs. Mrs B says the Council:
• misled her about the amount her mother would have to pay towards her residential care costs; and
• delayed invoicing her for the full amount.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a Council’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. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and Mrs B's comments;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• gave Mrs B an opportunity to comment on my draft decision; and
• gave the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mrs B’s mother lacks capacity to make her own decisions and was receiving care in her own home until June 2018. Mrs B’s mother was paying £72.95 per week for that community care.
6. On 19 June 2018 the Council completed a financial assessment on the telephone with Mrs B. Following that assessment the Council sent Mrs B’s mother two letters. The first letter related to continuing community care. That letter told Mrs B her mother would have to pay £91.40 per week towards her community care. The second letter related to future permanent residential care. That letter told Mrs B her mother would have to pay £131.10 per week for permanent residential care.
7. On 27 June Mrs B’s mother moved into permanent residential care. The Council continued to invoice Mrs B for the community care charge of £91.40 per week until 12 November when the Council ended the community care package and moved Mrs B’s mother onto the residential care charge. That created arrears from 27 June 2018. The Council wrote to Mrs B on 14 November to tell her about the arrears.

Analysis

8. Mrs B says the Council misled her about the amount her mother would have to pay towards her residential care costs and delayed invoicing her for the full amount. Mrs B says the Council only told her about the £91.40 weekly contribution and did not tell her the charge would be £131 per week. Mrs B says she only knew about that in November 2018 when the Council sent her an invoice for the arrears. Mrs B says this has caused financial difficulty for the family because they did not know they needed to pay extra for residential care.
9. The evidence I have seen satisfies me the confusion has arisen here due to the different calculations for community care as compared with permanent residential care. The Council carried out two calculations in June 2018. At that time Mrs B’s mother was still living in her own home and receiving community care. However, when the Council wrote to Mrs B’s mother in June 2018 it sent her two letters. The first letter told Mrs B’s mother her contribution towards community care would be £91.40 per week. The second letter told Mrs B’s mother her contribution would be £131.10 per week for permanent residential care. That should have put Mrs B on notice the amount her mother would have to pay when she went into residential care would increase.
10. I am concerned though the Council continued to invoice for the community care charge when it knew Mrs B’s mother was in residential care. The Council did not correct that until November 2018. Failure to notify Mrs B’s mother of the increased charge once she went into residential care and delay amending the Council’s records to collect the right amount is fault. That arguably reinforced Mrs B’s misapprehension about the correct amount. Had the Council acted as it should have done and amended the assessment immediately following Mrs B’s mother moving into residential care Mrs B would not have faced a bill for arrears. The Council is therefore partially at fault for the arrears occurring.
11. However, I cannot ignore the fact the Council sent Mrs B’s mother a letter nine days before she went into residential care. That letter clearly said she would have to pay £131.10 per week. Mrs B could have queried the different letters. Mrs B could also have asked the Council why it was still invoicing her mother for community care despite the fact she had moved into residential care. Mrs B could also prudently have kept some money aside. In those circumstances I consider both Mrs B and the Council contributed to the build up of arrears. As I consider the Council partially at fault I recommended it waive half the arrears accrued (£131.10 - £91.40 = half of £39.70 per week) for the period 27 June 2018 to 10 November 2018 and allow Mrs B five months to pay off the rest of the arrears. The Council has agreed to that recommendation.

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Agreed action

12. Within one month of my decision the Council should:
• write off 50% of the arrears which has accrued due to the difference between the community care charge and the residential care charge for the period 27 June-10 November 2018; and
• set up a payment plan for Mrs B to pay back the remaining 50% over a five-month period.

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Final decision

13. I have completed my investigation and uphold the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman