Summary: We have discontinued our investigation into Mr C’s complaint about how the Council has charged him for his late father’s care. The Council has now offered to waive the outstanding charges and has also offered Mr C a symbolic remedy for any injustice he has been caused. This means there is nothing we could add by investigating the complaint further.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr C, complains on behalf of his late father, whom I refer to as Mr B.
2. Mr C says that, while Mr B – who suffered with dementia – was in a care home, the Council stopped taking direct debits out of his bank account for his care fees. And Mr C also says the Council did not inform him that it had done this until four months after Mr B had died, by which point there was a £4,700 invoice for the unpaid fees.
3. Mr C says that, by the time he found out about this, there was nothing left of
   Mr B’s estate. And he says he cannot afford to pay the invoice out of his own money. He says this matter has caused him distress.
4. Since we accepted Mr C’s complaint for investigation, the Council has reviewed his case. It does not accept that it was at fault for everything he has complained about (although it does for some things). Nonetheless, it has offered to waive the outstanding invoice and to make him a payment of £400 to recognise his injustice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information from Mr C and the Council. Both had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. Since Mr C complained to us, the Council has offered him two remedies (the waived invoice and the symbolic payment) which adequately recognise any injustice he has been caused.
8. Consequently, there is unlikely to be anything else I could achieve for Mr C by investigating his complaint further.

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Final decision

9. I have discontinued my investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman