Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about care charges the Council delayed notifying Mrs Y’s family about, as there is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman. However, if we investigated it is likely we would decide the Council’s offer of a financial remedy is in line with our guidance.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council chasing debt for care services seven months after her mother (Mrs Y) had died, and after her estate had been finalised. Mrs X says the Council has also failed to deal with the complaint properly.
2. Mrs X says the matter has caused significant distress for her sister (Mrs Z) who received the demands from the Council and paid around £1,500 from her own funds to settle the debt. Mrs X says the matter has also caused distress for the rest of the family.
3. Mrs X wants the Council to make service improvements, apologise, and refund the amount Mrs Z paid to recognise her distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mrs Y passed away in late 2021. Her executors finalised her estate and distributed funds to the beneficiaries in April 2022. However, the Council sent an invoice to Mrs Z in May 2022 for care charges that had been returned in late 2021 following a direct debit indemnity claim.
9. The law says people should bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. The 12 month timescale in this case would have run until May 2023. The complainants say the complaints process took so long due to the Council’s mishandling of the matter. However, from the information they provided, there were periods where they did not expedite the matter, for example a six month period between May 2022 and November 2022 and a three-month period between receiving a final complaint response and bringing the matter to us. The complaint is therefore late and there is not a good reason for us to investigate it.
10. During its internal complaints process, the Council accepted fault in not having notified the executors of the debt in late 2021. It acknowledged this had caused Mrs Z inconvenience and distress. It offered to pay £300 to recognise this.
11. When we make recommendations to remedy injustice resulting from fault by a council, we aim to put the person back in the position they would have been but for fault. Had it not been for the Council’s fault, the debt would have been paid and the value of Mrs Y’s estate would have been £1,500 lower. The injustice is therefore the distress and inconvenience Mrs Z experienced in having to contact beneficiaries to resolve the matter after they had already received their inheritance. If we were to investigate the matter, it is likely we would decide the Council’s offer of a symbolic payment was appropriate and in line with our Guidance on Remedies.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman