Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council pursuing a care fee sum it considers due from his late mother Mrs Y’s estate, and delaying invoicing for the fees. There is not enough evidence that Council fault has led to the claimed care fee debt or to it being unpaid by the estate to warrant us investigating. Investigation of the invoice issue would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X is the son of the late Mrs Y and was an executor of her estate. Mr X complains the Council:
1. is seeking payment of almost £2,000 of Mrs X’s client contributions to her care fees, incurred in spring 2022;
2. delayed until spring 2024 to invoice him for the fees.
2. Mr X says the estate was disbursed in mid-2023. He says he and the other executors were unaware of any unpaid fees. He wants the Council to not pursue the claimed debt any further.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating; or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; 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

4. I considered information from Mr X, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. It is the Council’s position that Mr X should have contacted it when acting as an executor to confirm whether there were any outstanding care fee sums due to it from Mrs Y’s estate. Mr X has told the Council he was not aware there were client care fee contributions due from the estate before it was wound up in 2023. The Council says Mr X dealt with Mrs Y’s financial assessment when she first became eligible for Council funding for her care, and that officers told him about the client contribution care charges verbally and in writing in May 2022. Mr X says he did not receive a May 2022 letter from the Council.
6. The role of executor involves various official duties. These include taking steps to ensure there are no outstanding debts owed by the estate before paying the beneficiaries. The onus was on Mr X and his fellow executors to satisfy themselves that Mrs Y’s estate had no outstanding debts to any party, including the Council. There is not enough evidence that it was fault by the Council leading to the situation, with the estate being wound up while the care fee sum remains unpaid, to warrant us investigating.
7. The Council accepts it delayed its invoicing for the care fees. This Council fault was not the cause of the claimed debt accruing, nor for it not being paid by the estate. The Council has apologised to Mr X for its delay. That apology is the outcome we would have sought to achieve had we investigated. Investigating would not lead to a different outcome on this issue, so we will not do so.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• there is not enough evidence of Council fault leading to the claimed care fee debt and it remaining unpaid by the estate to warrant us investigating; and
• investigation would not lead to a different outcome than that already achieved on the delayed invoice issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman