Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to address her non-payment of home care charges at an earlier stage. As a result, a large debt accrued. We have found fault with the Council’s actions because the case was allowed to drift for two years. To remedy the distress caused, the Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X, reduce the amount she owes by £500 and review its debt management procedures.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s management of the financial contribution she was expected to pay towards home care fees. In particular, she complains the Council:
1. allowed her to build up a debt of over £6000 when she is known to be a vulnerable person who needs support;
2. failed to advise her about the debt for two and a half years; and
3. failed to contact her mother, or the care agency, about the matter in the absence of any reply from her.
2. Miss X says that being presented with an unexpected demand for such a large sum of money has caused significant distress and anxiety.
3. Miss X is represented by her mother, Mrs P in making this complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

6. I considered the information provided by Mrs P.
7. I spoke with Mrs P.
8. I considered the information provided by the Council.
9. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

10. The Care Act 2014 sets out the legal framework for charging. Councils can make charges for care and support services they provide or arrange. They must do so in line with the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014. What happened
11. Miss X has a learning disability. In 2020, she was assessed by the Council as being eligible to receive a support with certain aspects of daily living. Her assessment stated, “Miss X is extremely capable, there are just a few areas in which she requires support, such as cleaning and more in-depth issues whether that is health or finances”.
12. The Council contracted with a home care agency (the Agency) to provide this support from March 2020. Around the same time the Council carried out a financial assessment. This determined Miss X was liable to pay £191 per month towards the cost of this care.
13. Miss X failed to make these payments. The Council contacted Miss X both in writing and by phone many times about this matter. Over the course of several months Miss X made some payments, but the overall debt continued to increase.
14. By March 2023, the debt had increased to £6399.46. The Council called Miss X but the number appeared to be unavailable. The Council then called Mrs P.
15. Mrs P says this was the first time she was aware that her daughter owed so much money. Mrs P was disappointed the Council had allowed a vulnerable person to accrue such a large debt, without her or the Agency being told about it. As far as Mrs P was aware, the Agency were meant to be supporting Miss X with her finances.
16. The Council explained to Mrs P that the debt remained payable, but said it was prepared to arrange a reasonable repayment plan.
17. Mrs P felt this was unfair and so complained to the Council on behalf of Miss X. She also explained that would have expected to have been notified of her daughter’s debt before it was allowed to increase over a period of two and a half years.
18. In response, the Council explained Miss X was aware the service was chargeable and the debt had to be paid.
19. Disappointed with this outcome, Miss X complained to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

20. At the heart of this complaint is Miss X’s concern is that the Council should not have allowed the matter to remain unresolved for so long whilst the debt increased. She believes the Council should have been more proactive in progressing the matter, particularly as the Council’s care needs assessment refers to her needing support with more in-depth financial matters.
21. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the Council explained that over a period of nearly three years, 30 monthly invoices were not paid by Miss X. The Council has also provided evidence it issued 30 reminder letters and 30 urgent reminder letters. Further invoices and reminders were sent for the period January to March 2023. It also sent Miss X annual assessment statements confirming what she still had to pay towards the cost of her care.
22. The Council’s debt management policy sets out what should happen when an invoice is not paid. The Council has requested that details of this policy remain confidential. But for the purposes of this decision statement, it is necessary to state one of the principles underlying the policy is that “recovery action will be taken in a timely manner”.
23. Both the chronology, and case records I have seen in this case, demonstrate the Council effectively let the situation drift for two years. I would expect it to have taken some meaningful action to address the increasing debt during this time.
24. In my view, taking no positive action to progress a debt in two years was not acting “in a timely manner”. Ideally, some form of direct contact should have been made with Miss X after March 2021, either directly or via her social worker, to find out why invoices were not being paid. That being said, I acknowledge the administrative burden of doing so would be significant in all cases.
25. I am also concerned the Council did not provide Miss X with information about the total amount that was building up over the course of time. The case records show that whilst the Council issued Miss X with monthly invoices and reminders that referenced the monthly amount payable in respect of a particular invoice, it did not provide Miss X with any information about the cumulative debt that had been accrued. I note the Council wrote twice to Miss X in 2020 explaining that there were arrears on her account, and she should contact the Council. Miss X responded to these letters and made payments. However, no further letters of this type were sent.
26. After two years of just sending auto-generated monthly reminders. the Council took further action to pursue the matter by contacting Mrs P. I do not criticise the Council for not doing so earlier. There is no evidence that Miss X did not have capacity to manage her finances, just that she needed some support. She is an adult, and as such, the Council had no responsibility to inform Mrs P. I accept the Council’s decision to do so in 2023 was a pragmatic way of trying to contact Miss X when her number was unavailable.
27. Taking into consideration the Council’s failure to progress the case for two years, lack of information being provided to Miss X about her cumulative debt, Miss X’s vulnerability and the reference in her care needs assessment to her needing assistance with more complex financial matters, I find the Council acted with fault in this case.

Injustice and remedy

28. I am satisfied Miss X has suffered an injustice because of fault by the Council. She was not notified of the cumulative amount she owed until it had increased to a significant sum. When she was finally told in 2023 via Mrs P, this caused her understandable distress and anxiety. This is injustice that requires a remedy. The sum I have recommended below takes into account Miss X’s personal vulnerability and the length of time the Council took no meaningful to address the increasing debt.
29. However, I cannot ignore the fact Miss X was aware that she was obliged to contribute towards the cost of her care that she continued to receive. She was sent annual statements throughout the relevant period and monthly reminders. I therefore recommend the payment (below) should be directly offset against the total amount owed to the Council.

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Agreed action

30. Within four weeks from the date of my final decision, the Council has agreed to take the following action.
1. Apologise in writing to Miss X.
2. Reduce the amount owed by Miss X to the Council by £500.
3. Contact Miss X to discuss and arrange a repayment plan.
4. Review what happened in this case and provide the Ombudsman with a short report setting out the action it will take to ensure debts are progressed in a timely manner.

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Final decision

31. I have upheld Miss X’s complaint and the Council has agreed to take action to remedy her injustice. On this basis, I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman