Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about charges for Mr X’s mother’s care. There is no good reason Mr X did not bring his complaint to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not respond to his complaint of July 2020, about care charges extending two months after his mother’s (Mrs Y’s) death. He says the Council did not properly assess her finances, and it delayed and obstructed matters. It is demanding payment but has not answered Mr X’s questions. This has caused distress and Mr X is not of the view the charges are properly owed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs Y passed away in February 2020. The Council sent her son, Mr X, an invoice for care charges later in 2020. Mr X says this included charges for March and April 2020. He sent a complaint to the Council in July 2020, but he says it did not respond despite him having chased the matter since. The Council is demanding payment. Mr X brought his complaint to the Ombudsman in December 2021. He could have brought the complaint to us much sooner, on not receiving a response from the Council.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason he did not complain sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman