Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council issuing incorrect invoices for care services. This is because the Council has already taken suitable action to remedy the complaint.
Mr X has raised further concerns about invoices issued after the Council responded to his complaint, however the Council has not had an opportunity to respond to this complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains on behalf of his son, Mr Y. Mr X says the Council has issued the family with incorrect invoices for day care services delivered to Mr Y. Mr X says the Council resolved the complaint but continued to issue incorrect invoices. Mr X says the Council’s actions have caused him significant time and trouble.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Guidance on Remedies.

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My assessment

6. The Council wrote to Mr X in January 2021. The Council accepted it had been at fault for charging Mr Y for services he did not receive. The Council said it would remove all disputed charges and notify its debt team. The Council said it would not be able to amend the billing system in time for the next invoice but would rectify the issue after that.
7. The Council’s actions are in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies. Therefore, it is unlikely we would achieve anything further from investigating this complaint.
8. Mr X says he has continued to receive incorrect invoices for Mr Y’s care. The Council says it has not received any further complaints from Mr X about this matter but it is working with the family to resolve this. If Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s response to the issues with invoices issues since January 2021 he can raise a new complaint and then come to the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has taken action to remedy the issues he has raised, and it is unlikely we would achieve anything further by investigating. The Council has also not had an opportunity to respond to Mr X’s complaints about the invoices issues after its final complaint response.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman