Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council invoicing him for his late father’s top up fees. This is because the Council has agreed to waive the charge and pay Mr B £200 for his time and trouble. We are satisfied the actions agreed by the Council remedy the injustice to Mr B.

The complaint

1. Mr B complained the full facts about charging for care and top-up fees was never properly explained to him. Mr B says when his father died in April 2021, he asked the Council for a final bill which he received in February 2022. This invoice included top up fees amounting to over £4000. Mr B says the Council should have invoiced him before now.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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

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My assessment

5. The Council has acknowledged despite records suggesting Mr B signed the Third Party Top Up Agreement it does not hold a signed copy of the agreement. In recognition, the Council has agreed to write off the full debt of £4095.86. In addition, the Council has agreed to pay Mr B £200 for the time and trouble he has incurred in complaining. The Council has also explained it has now introduced a new system for agreeing and signing third party agreements which should reduce the risk of a similar occurrence. We are satisfied the actions agreed by the Council remedy the injustice caused by the fault.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because we are satisfied the actions agreed by the Council remedies the injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman