Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about Mrs Y’s care and charges. There is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being brought to the Ombudsman. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaint handling in isolation when we are not considering the substantive matter.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about poor quality of care in a care home and the Care Provider’s failure to provide him with a copy of its contract. He also complained about how the Council handled his mother’s (Mrs Y’s) financial assessment and how it billed for her care. Mr X said the Council failed to respond when he raised concerns that invoices were not accurate.
2. Mr X also complained the Council declined to investigate his complaint, wrongly saying it was late and failing to respond to the matters he had raised despite having given assurances it would. Mr X said the matter has caused him significant distress and uncertainty. He wants the Council to investigate and provide answers.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 or care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X’s complaint is about matters he says he was raising with the Care Provider and the Council in late 2022 and early 2023. He says the Council did not respond to queries about Mrs Y’s invoices for care charges being incorrect. Mrs Y died at the end of February 2023.
8. Mr X says he continued to receive invoices for Mrs Y’s care for several months after she had died. He says he decided not to respond while he waited for his mother’s property to sell. Mr X sold Mrs Y’s property in November 2023 and contacted the Council again. It advised him to submit a formal complaint about the matters he raised.
9. Mr X submitted a formal complaint to the Council in February 2024. He says doing so was distressing and time-consuming due to needing to collate evidence and ensure accuracy.
10. The Council met with Mr X. He says it provided assurances it would respond to the substantive matters, even if its decision was that the complaint was late. The Council wrote to Mr X in June 2024 saying it would not investigate the complaint, due to it being late. Mr X disputes the Council’s view, as he says the complaint was about a culmination of events that continued to the date his mother died. He submitted his complaint just within 12 months of her death.
11. The law says people must also bring complaints to the Ombudsman within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. Regardless of whether Mr X’s complaint to the Council was late, he complained to us in October 2024, 20 months after Mrs Y had died. The substantive matters Mr X complains to us about occurred from 2022 to February 2023 and he was aware of them at that time. Mr X’s complaint to us is therefore late. I have considered whether there was good reason for the delay.
12. When considering the timescales involved in Mr X bringing the matter to us, I have accounted for some natural delay due to grief. However, I am satisfied Mr X could have complained to the Council and then us much sooner. He did not submit a formal complaint to the Council until February 2024, nearly a year after his mother’s death. He left the matter to lie for several months during 2023 while he awaited the sale of his mother’s property.
13. I have considered that Mr X found the process of gathering information together distressing and time-consuming. However, it is not necessary for complainants to gather significant amounts of information before complaining to us, as we gather the necessary information when we decide to investigate a complaint. Mr X also left it a further four months following the Council’s final response before bringing the matter to us. I am not satisfied there was a good reason for the overall delay, therefore we will not investigate the substantive matters Mr X complains about.
14. Mr X’s complaint is also about the Council’s complaint-handling, which is not late. However, it is not a good use of public resources for us to investigate complaint handling in isolation when we are not investigating the substantive matters. We will not therefore investigate how the Council handled Mr X’s complaint.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in him bringing the matter to the Ombudsman. It is not a good use of resources for us to investigate complaint handling in isolation when we are not investigating the substantive matter.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman