Summary: There was fault by the Council. The Council failed to send invoices for a service users care to his appointee for over 3 years. This has meant a large debt is now owed to the Council. The Council will remedy the complaint by carrying out a financial assessment to decide if Mr X, who lacks capacity to deal with his finances, has the funds to repay the debt. The Council will either write off the debt or propose a payment plan, depending on the outcome of the re-assessment.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, is represented by Miss R, a professional representative. Miss R complains the Council delayed sending invoices for care costs which has led to Mr X receiving a large invoice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

4. 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. I have exercised discretion to investigate back further than 12 months, to November 2022. This is because the Council has accepted it was at fault from this point and the injustice is ongoing.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Miss R and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Miss R and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. Miss R is a professional representative who was commissioned by the Council to represent Mr X, who does not have capacity to deal with his finances. Mr X lives in supported living accommodation.
9. The appointees wrote to the Council in November 2022 to tell it they were representing Mr X. Miss R said the appointees asked for any outstanding invoices and that invoices were sent by the Council to the appointees from that date.
10. Miss R said their company received an email from the Council in August 2024 asking if they still represented Mr X. Miss R said they confirmed this was the case on the same day by email.
11. The Council said in its response to Miss R’s official complaint that it had been at fault. It had received the emails but officers had not updated the system correctly and invoices were not sent to Miss R. The corrections were made on 3 June 2025. The Council said ‘I sincerely apologise for the multiple missed opportunities to action your request and issues invoices as appropriate. This has caused a substantial and avoidable delay, resulting in a large outstanding balance being accrued’. Mr X was sent an invoice for £15,075.
12. Miss R asked for the debt to be written off. The Council said ‘Mr X did continue to receive care services and so the associated charges remain valid’. Miss R complained to the Ombudsman.
13. The Council has been at fault. My role is to establish the injustice caused to Mr X. Miss R does not dispute the charges, so they would have been paid if the invoices had been sent monthly. So, if Mr X’s has the money and the invoice can be paid, without causing Mr X financial hardship then the apology, along with a review of procedures is a suitable remedy to this complaint. It puts Mr X back in the position he should have been in, if the fault had not occurred.
14. However, I have no information from Miss R on whether Mr X has the money available to pay the invoice. So, I consider the Council should carry out an assessment of Mr X’s finances and consider whether he will be able to repay the debt with a repayment plan or if it should be written off.

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Action

15. Within two months of the date of the decision on this complaint the Council should:
• Conduct a full backdated financial reassessment from the date charges first applied and re-calculate based on corrected savings.
• Consider waiving any costs relating to issues that have been caused by the Council or produce an affordable repayment plan for Mr X.
• Refund any extra charges paid by Mr X above those routinely charged by Miss R’s appointee agency in dealing with the administration from the delay in invoicing.
• Ensure future charging is communicated clearly to the appointee and review procedures to ensure the fault is not repeated.
16. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

17. I have completed my investigation and find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman