Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly invoiced home care visits for his wife which meant they incurred costs for care his wife did not receive and she suffered distress from not receiving the care she needed. We have found fault but consider the Council’s proposed actions of an apology, cancellation of care fees and a symbolic payment for inconvenience and upset provides a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council wrongly invoiced home care morning visits for his wife between July 2023 to July 2024 that she did not receive or which he cancelled because the carers did not arrive during the agreed time. Mr X says they were not told about a late cancellation charge. Mr X also complains a Council officer stated he locked carers out at 8.30am which was a lie and defamatory.
2. Mr X says because of the Council’s fault they incurred costs for care his wife did not receive and she suffered distress from not receiving the morning care she needed.

Back to top

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. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
5. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)
6. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I read the papers provided by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him. I have also considered information from the Council. I have explained my draft decision to Mr X and the Council and considered the comments received before reaching my final decision.

Back to top

What I found

8. Mr X’s wife was receiving some care support at home. The Council had arranged and commissioned the care. There were issues with the initial care provider as they were not able to provide the morning call time required. The Council noted the support was needed between 8am and 9am but the care provider could not meet this time. The Council ended the contract with this provider in June 2023.
9. The Council completed a Care and Support Plan in June for a package of care from a new care provider from July. This plan stated morning visits would take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 45 minutes and Tuesday and Thursday for 30 minutes. The plan also set out that the morning call would be between 8am and 9am and no later than 9am.
10. The Council sent a financial assessment form to Mr X in mid-June with a guide to charges for adults receiving non-residential care services. The Council sent a reminder for the return of the assessment form in early July.
11. The Council completed a telephone review with Mr X in mid-July. This confirmed there had been an issue with the call time at the start of the service, but this had been rectified with no further issues. Mr X stated he would notify the Council if there were any further issues with the call time. The Council advised Mr X to try and resolve any issues with the care provider in the first instance.
12. The Council wrote to Mrs X on 20 September to say it had assessed her as being liable to pay the full cost of the care and support as it had received no financial assessment information and the amounts would be invoiced every four weeks. The end of the letter set out the terms and conditions for the charging of Mrs X’s care. At item two (of four) it says:

“You/your representative must give 24 hours’ notice to cancel a visit, otherwise you will still be charged (unless an emergency admission to hospital has occurred or some unforeseen and avoidable event occurs which prevents you/your representative from giving such notice.).”

The letter goes on to say the notice should be given to the Council (rather than the provider) and provides the telephone number to do so.

13. Mr X chased the Council for an invoice in early October. Mr X made a complaint about the invoice in early November as he said he had disputed some of the charges but had not received a response. Mr X sent reminders to the Council about the invoice dispute in December and listed the specific discrepancies. Mr X confirmed he had contacted the care provider at 9am on several occasions to cancel visits as care workers had not arrived by that time.
14. The Council contacted the care provider in early December about the matter. The care provider confirmed Mr X was cancelling calls on the morning of the call. The Council asked the provider to provide evidence Mr X understood its cancellation policy. The care provider sent the Council a copy of its ‘consent to care’ form which set out the cancellation policy which had been signed by Mr X. This form is a seven page document dated 3 July 2023 signed by Mr X which sets out that 24 hours’ notice is required of a cancellation, or the call will be charged at the usual rate.
15. Mr X says he was asked to sign a document on a tablet or laptop at the provider’s July visit but was not told about the cancellation charge at this point or when he telephoned to cancel calls on the day. I have seen no evidence that a copy of this signed document was printed out and left with Mr and Mrs X at this visit or sent afterwards. I have also seen no evidence that the cancellation policy was outlined to Mr X when he contacted the care provider directly to cancel calls on the day.
16. The Council wrote to Mr X to set out the outstanding balance in January 2024 and threatened recovery action in February. Mr X provided a copy of his previous correspondence setting out the disputed invoices.
17. Mr X emailed the Council towards the end of February to make a complaint about the disputed invoices. Mr X says he was told by the provider the morning call would be at 7.45am and that after a period of 75 minutes he would contact the provider to cancel the call as it would be too late. This would suggest Mr X was cancelling calls at or after 9am with the provider directly.
18. The Council completed a review of the Care and Support plan in mid-March as Mr X was unhappy with the timing of the morning call. This document recorded that Mr X said he had been told he could have any time of call they wanted and he had asked for a 7.45am call but care workers were arriving between 8am and 9am and if they arrived after 8.30am he had been turning them away as he would already have helped his wife with her morning care needs. Mr X disputes the information recorded in this document (see paragraph 20 below).
19. The Council provided a response to Mr X’s complaint towards the end of March. The Council had reviewed the call monitoring reports from when the new provider took over the morning care calls in July to the end of September 2023. These showed only one instance at the start of the contract when the morning call did not take place until lunchtime and the charge for this call had been removed. All the other calls were before 9am apart from one late call in August at 9.45am. The Council set out that Mr X had signed the provider’s cancellation policy and no specific time of the morning call had been agreed although the provider would try to make these before 8.30am. The Council noted the Care and Support Plan stated the morning call was to be between 8am and 9am and no later than 9am. The Council said it would adjust the bill accordingly.
20. The Council subsequently wrote to Mr X in June and referred to 23 visits when the care worker did not attend before 9am. The Council has subsequently clarified that the electronic call monitoring date showed there were five occasions when care workers attended after 9am. The Council accepted in this letter that Mr X had not said he was told he could have any time of visit and that he did not turn care workers away at 8.30am. It noted the care provider was aware a call was no longer required if it would be after 9am as Mr X would already have attended to his wife’s needs. The Council explained it could add a note to the end of the Care and Support Plan document completed in March 2024 to reflect his comments and provided the necessary contact details for Mr X to do so. The Council has confirmed Mr X has provided such an addendum and this was added to the record in June. Further investigation on this point would not achieve a better outcome for Mr X.
21. Mr X has confirmed to me that the care workers now visit between 7am and 8am and the substantive issue about the time of the morning call is now resolved. However, he continues to dispute an outstanding amount of £119.50 for cancelled care calls. Mr X confirmed he would telephone the care provider at 9am if no care worker had arrived to cancel the call. He also confirmed he had signed a document on a laptop which had included the cancellation charge but had not been directed to this and had not been left a copy of this document at the time.
22. In responding to the Ombudsman, the Council has accepted it did not sufficiently highlight the specific provider’s cancellation policy to Mr X until its complaint response towards the end of March 2024. The Council proposed cancelling the current outstanding costs for the care set out within the invoice of 14 November 2024 (£599.74). The Council has noted the outstanding charges on Mr and Mrs X’s care account relate to care provided by their new care provider. However, as a goodwill gesture, the Council has offered to cancel these charges of £599.74. The Council has also offered to apologise to Mr and Mrs X and pay them £200 for their time, trouble and upset. The Council has also confirmed it will develop and put in place a specific Council cancellation policy as a result of this complaint. The Ombudsman would welcome this action.
23. I am satisfied the Council’s proposed actions as set out above provide a suitable remedy to Mr and Mrs X and the Ombudsman would not seek more.

Back to top

Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation as I have found fault but consider the Council’s proposed action provides a suitable remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman