Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of the charges for his adult social care. The Council has agreed to take appropriate steps to remedy the uncertainty caused.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council:
1. failed to provide adequate information about the cost of the care package arranged in September 2024 and about when/how much would be collected by direct debit;
2. provided his full bank details in a letter dated 6 December 2024, which risked a data breach;
3. did not answer the phone on multiple occasions when he called to query the charges and did not call him back after he left voicemail messages;
4. delayed in issuing invoices, delayed collecting the care costs by direct debit and did not collect the amount it said it would (it collected £1872.30 but it had advised Mr X it would collect £1398.58), and has not provided a detailed breakdown to show how the charges have been calculated.
2. Mr X said these failings caused frustration and he was put to avoidable time and trouble repeatedly contacting the Council by telephone and letter to resolve the matter.

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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 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

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

6. The Council arranged a package of care for Mr X at home in September 2024. Mr X was aware he would need to pay the full cost of his care as he has capital over £23,250. Initially, Mr X had two calls per day, which reduced to one call daily from mid-November and the time for the one remaining call was reduced from 25 November 2024.
7. Mr X said he received an invoice in November, which covered two weeks in October. On 6 December 2024, the Council sent a letter confirming his bank details for a direct debit and said it would collect £387.24 on/after 1 January 2025. On 19 December, the Council told him care costs of £1,398.50 were outstanding. On 7 February, the Council collected £1872.30 by direct debit.
8. In its complaint responses the Council:
• said it was its usual practice to confirm bank details in full to avoid errors when setting up direct debit payments;
• acknowledged it had not told him his care package had been transferred to a different Council team and given him the correct number to call, for which it apologised;
• acknowledged Mr X had continued to experience difficulty contacting it, for which it apologised;
• acknowledged a delay in collecting payments for care charges, for which it apologised;
• said invoices had been sent monthly from November 2024. Mr X said he had not received invoices for various weeks from 13 October to 21 December 2024;
• said it would investigate further the charge for a missed call on 25 December 2024; and
• would provide more detailed breakdowns of care charges in future.

My assessment

9. If we were to investigate further it is likely we would find fault with the Council for not telling Mr X the hourly rate for the care calls, for not providing adequate information about what he needed to pay and when, for delays in sending invoices and collecting the direct debit, for collecting a different amount than it had told him in February 2025, and for not providing information to show how it had calculated the charges, despite several requests from Mr X.
10. We note the Council has already apologised and asked it to take further steps to remedy the injustice and it agreed to take the following action within one month of the date of our final decision:
• pay Mr X £250 to remedy the injustice caused;
• send Mr X further copies of the invoices he says he has not received (covering the periods 13 to 19 October 2024, 4 to 23 November 2024, and 16 to 21 December 2024); and
• provide Mr X with a detailed breakdown to show how the charges were calculated for the period September 2024 to 31 March 2025.

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Final decision

11. We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of the charges for his adult social care. The Council has agreed to take appropriate steps to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman