Summary: Mrs X complained the Council provided wrong invoices for her late mother’s care and failed to reply to her complaints about this matter. The Council has accepted it was at fault. It has already apologised and offered a payment in recognition of the time and trouble and frustration caused to Mrs X. The Council has also agreed to carry out a written review of the case to prevent a recurrence of the fault we found.

The complaint

1. Mrs X, who complained on behalf of her late mother (Mrs Y), states the Council provided incorrect invoices for her mother’s care. She also complained the Council failed to reply to her complaints about this matter.
2. Mrs X says she has been put to avoidable time and trouble in pursuing this matter and caused frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. As part of my investigation I have:

• Considered Mrs X’s complaint and discussed it with her;
• Made enquiries of the Council and considered its response;
• Considered our guidance on remedies and;
• Set out my initial thoughts on the complaint in a draft decision statement and invited comments from the Council and Mrs X.

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What I found

6. This explains the Council will invoice individuals for contributions towards their care costs every four weeks in arrears.

Principles of good administrative practice

7. In 2018 the Ombudsman published its ‘Principles of good administrative practice’ guidance for local authorities. One of the core principles is an expectation local authorities will act on:

‘being open and accountable’ by keeping proper and appropriate records.

Background

8. The Council provided Mrs Y with a care package. The care package consisted of four daily visits lasing half an hour each, seven days a week. Two carers were required at each visit. An additional two and half hours of care was provided each Wednesday.
9. The Council commissioned a care agency to provide Mrs Y’s care package. It sent Mrs Y invoices for her care every four weeks, in arrears.
10. In February 2023 Mrs X made a complaint to the Council because on five occasions only one carer attended Mrs Y’s home instead of two. Mrs X asked the Council to amend the invoice it sent to Mrs Y to ensure she was not charged for care she did not receive.
11. The Council investigated and agreed Mrs Y did not received a visit from two carers on five occasions. It said it would issue a credit on Mrs Y’s next invoice (because she had already paid the invoice for the disputed care).
12. However, the credit did not appear on Mrs Y’s next invoice and further visits were only attend by one carer. Mrs X raised both matters with the Council.
13. The Council did not resolve matters and so in April Mrs X made a complaint to the Council about it issuing incorrect invoices for Mrs Y’s care. She explained that it was causing her frustration and putting her to avoidable time and trouble to pursue this matter with the Council and this was exacerbated because it often told her to address her concerns with the care provider directly.
14. The Council told Mrs X it would investigate her complaint. However, it had problems obtaining information from the care provider and it told Mrs X that it would need longer to do so.
15. In June Mrs Y passed away.
16. In July Mrs X approached the Ombudsman for assistance because she was still waiting for the Council’s response to her complaint. We asked the Council to provide a response to Mrs X complaint.
17. The Council did not send a reply to Mrs X’s complaint and so we began an investigation into Mrs X’s complaint following which the Council issued a final response to Mrs X’s complaint. Its response said:

• There were 14 incidents when Mrs Y had been charged for two carers but only one had attended. It said it had amended Mrs Y’s final bill so that she was not charged for a second carer on these visits.
• It acknowledged that Mrs Y had been sent incorrect invoices for these visits.
• It would raise Mrs Y’s case with the care provider and remind them of their duty to correctly record its visits to clients. It also said it would continue to review the service provided by the care provider.
• It acknowledged the frustration caused to Mrs X by it issuing Mrs Y with incorrect invoices and having to pursue this matter with it and said it would raise her case with the relevant department so it could be used for future learning.
• It apologised to Mrs X for the frustration and avoidable time and trouble caused to her. It offered her a symbolic payment of £150 in recognition of this.

Finding

18. The Council issued Mrs Y with wrong invoices for the care she received. This is fault. It should have robust procedures in place with care providers it commissions care from to make sure that invoices correctly reflect the care a person has received.
19. Because of the fault identified above Mrs X was put to the time and trouble of pursuing the Council to issue a correct invoice for Mrs Y’s care. I note Mrs X contacted the Council on many occasions trying to resolve this matter but without success.
20. Mrs X made complaint about the Council’s failure to issue Mrs Y with a correct invoice in April. It did not reply until December. This is an unacceptable delay and amounts to fault by the Council. While I understand the delay was in part due to problems finding out about the care provided to Mrs Y from the care provider it should be able to do this expediently. The Council’s response to Mrs X’s complaint apologised for the delay and offer her a symbolic payment of £150 in recognition of the time and trouble and frustration caused to her. This is in keeping with the Ombudsman guidance on remedies and so it is an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.

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Agreed action

21. Within three months of my final decision the Council will undertake a written review of its handling of Mrs X’s report of inaccurate invoices. The review should include consideration of how the Council is invoicing for care it commissions form care providers and its process for obtaining information from care providers about invoice discrepancies. The review should explain the action the Council will take to prevent sending inaccurate invoices and delays in resolving invoice discrepancies.

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Final decision

22. I have found fault by the Council causing injustice. The Council has provided an appropriate remedy for Mrs X and has agreed to our recommendations. I have completed my investigation and closed the complaint.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman