Summary: Mrs A complains the Council delaying arranging a payment plan for her mother’s care fees. This caused her distress and uncertainty during a difficult period, and meant her mother accumulated a large debt. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for delaying arranging a payment plan, and for failing to carry out the actions agreed in the complaint response. This caused Mrs A further distress and delayed resolving the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs A complains the Council has consistently delayed responding to her requests to set up a payment plan for her mother’s care fees.
2. Mrs A complains the Council has caused continuing distress for over a year with poor communication and failing to respond to her communications.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. I considered Mrs A complaint and information she provided. I also considered information from the Council. I invited Mrs A and the Council to comment on my draft decision and have considered comments on my draft decision before making my final decision.

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What I found

What happened

6. Mrs A’s mother receives care services. This care was arranged by the Council, with Mrs A’s mother partially responsible for paying some of the fees for her care.
7. Mrs A took on the responsibility of managing the payments to the Council for her mother’s care.
8. In June 2020, Mrs A queried the amount owed for the care and asked the Council if she could be placed on a payment plan to be able to manage the payments.
9. Between June 2020 and March 2021 Mrs A asked the Council multiple times to be placed on a payment plan to pay the outstanding care fees.
10. Mrs A complained to the Council in March 2021 that she had not had a response about the payment plan request. The Council upheld her complaint and agreed to arrange for someone to contact her to arrange a payment plan.
11. Mrs A says she did not hear from the Council and complained to the Ombudsman.
12. Mrs A says the Council has delayed responding to her requests for a payment plan for over a year. Mrs A said this had caused her significant distress while the care fees continued to amass.

Analysis

13. I have reviewed the communication between Mrs A and the Council where a payment plan was requested or discussed.
14. The communication shows that Mrs A sent multiple emails to the Council over 12 months.
15. However, on several occasions her emails were not responded to. Council staff discussed the emails internally and asked for it to be resolved. However, little action was taken.
16. As part of my investigation, I asked the Council to clarify why it had not yet agreed a payment plan with Mrs A.
17. The Council says it has made attempts to speak to Mrs A on the phone but has not been able to reach her.
18. I accept the Council has tried to reach Mrs A via phone. However, as Mrs A’s primary method of communication has been via email, it is unreasonable of the Council to not have responded to Mrs A’s emails on several occasions.
19. It is my view the Council has caused an unnecessary delay arranging a payment plan with Mrs A. This was fault by the Council causing Mrs A distress.
20. The Council could have remedied this fault during its complaint process, where it agreed it would arrange a payment plan. However, Mrs A was forced to bring her complaint to the Ombudsman. This was also fault by the Council and has meant Mrs A has had to spend a great amount of time following up with the Council and bringing the complaint to the Ombudsman.

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Agreed action

21. Within 4 weeks of my decision the Council has agreed to

• Write to Mrs A and apologise for delaying arranging a payment plan for her mother’s care fees.
• Pay Mrs A £100 in recognition of the time and trouble taken to pursue her complaint. This payment should be made directly to Mrs A and not be taken from the outstanding care fee amount for Mrs A’s mother.
• The Council should also pay Mrs A £200 in recognition of the distress caused to Mrs A by delaying the payment plan. This payment should be made directly to Mrs A and not be taken from the outstanding care fee amount for Mrs A’s mother.
• Arrange a payment plan with Mrs A for the outstanding care fees for her mother.

22. Within 12 weeks of my complaint the Council should

• Consider a service improvement which would allow staff to deal with requests for payment plans in a timelier manner. This should include the monitoring of requests where applicants are not reachable via phone.

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Final decision

23. I have now completed my investigation. I find fault with the Council for delaying responding to Mrs A requests for a payment plan. I also find fault with the Council for failing to carry out the actions agreed in the complaint response. This has caused Mrs A distress and delayed resolving the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman