Summary: We will not investigate this complaint from Miss X and Mrs Y about charges for domiciliary care arranged for their late father. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code which we use to decide which complaints to investigate. The complaint is late and could have been brought to the Ombudsman much sooner.

The complaint

1. Miss X and Mrs Y complain about charges for domiciliary care arranged for their father (Mr Z) who is now deceased. The complainants say most of the charge of £147.06 should be waived as the care offered was not suitable. The Council says the amount needs to be paid as it covers the period up to when the care was formally cancelled.

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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)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. The invoice at the heart of this complaint was sent in September 2019. The Council directed the complainants to the Ombudsman in October 2020.
6. The Ombudsman normally expects people to complain to us within twelve months of them first becoming aware of a problem. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here. The complainants pursued the matter with the Council, and I see no good reason the complaint could not have been brought to the Ombudsman much earlier. The exception at paragraph 2 therefore applies to this complaint and we will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint because it is late and could have been brought to the Ombudsman much sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman