Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to recover outstanding care charges. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not tell her the full amount of money her mother, Mrs Y owed, as part of a deferred payment agreement for care charges. She said that meant she distributed Mrs Y’s estate before she had paid the charges in full. Ms X said the Council agreed to waive the charges in 2024 but then changed its mind.
2. Ms X said she had been trying to resolve the matter with the Council since 2021 and failure to do so had caused her significant distress. Ms X states there is no money left in Mrs Y’s estate to pay the charges. She wants the Council to write them off.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• The is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement, or
• 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

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

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My assessment

7. In its complaint response the Council said it told Ms X the amount of money Mrs Y owed during a telephone call in September 2020. It also wrote to Ms X in October 2020 setting out the amount owed. It said Ms X paid one invoice for a three-month period, but that did not cover the whole of the deferred payment agreement.
8. The Council accepted there was a delay between July 2021 and 2023 in it following up the debt. It apologised for this. It said a Council Officer had made a recommendation for the debt to be written off as there was no money left in the estate. However, it explained that was a recommendation and not a final outcome. It said it was satisfied it had communicated the debt to Mrs X in 2020 and that Mrs Y’s estate could afford the charges, therefore, it was a debt that should be reclaimed. It also said Ms X could have contacted it in 2021, to get written confirmation of the amount due before distributing Mrs Y’s estate.
9. Although Ms X is unhappy with how the Council has considered her complaint, we will not investigate. I appreciate Ms X disputes the Council’s version of events and said it did not tell her about the debt in the telephone call. Additionally, she states she did not receive the letter setting out the debt in October 2021. However, as the Council has recorded it notified Ms X of the debt, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify our involvement.
10. The Council has considered Ms Y’s request to waive the fees. It has decided not to and set out its reasons for this. We cannot question the merits of a council’s decision if there is no evidence of fault in how it was made. The Council has considered all available information; it is entitled to recover the debt. Further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman