Summary: Mr X complained that the Council placed his father in a care home without a financial assessment, a signed agreement or proper consent. We have not investigated this complaint as it is late and there is no good reason why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council placed his father, Mr Y, in a care home without a financial assessment, a signed agreement or proper consent. He says that it has caused his father distress, and he wants the care charges cancelling.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. Mr X 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

What happened

5. In January 2024, Mr Y was an inpatient in hospital. The hospital spoke with Mr X and the family about plans for when Mr Y left hospital. It was decided Mr Y would go to a care home.
6. Mr Y was discharged from hospital in early February. The family were told they would need to pay for Mr Y’s care at the care home.
7. About a week after Mr Y moved into the care home, Mr X said he was unhappy with the placement and asked for Mr Y to move to a different home.
8. By mid-February, it was agreed that Mr Y would return to live at his own home instead.
9. The care home agreed to accept two weeks’ notice instead of the usual four weeks. Mr X was told this but said he would not pay for the notice period.
10. Mr Y returned home in mid-February.
11. In June 2024, the Council contacted Mr Y and his family to talk about paying for the care home stay. It said it would be sending an invoice. Mr X and Mr Y said they would not pay because they were unhappy with the care provided.
12. The Council then sent invoices for the unpaid care costs.
13. In April 2025, Mr X made a complaint to the Council. He said his father should not have to pay any of the care costs.
14. Mr X brought his complaint to the Ombudsman in July 2025.

My findings

15. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about matters which took place more than 12 months before someone complained to us, unless there are good reasons why it would have been unreasonable to expect them to complain to us sooner.
16. Mr X knew about the issues with Mr Y’s placement in February 2024, and knew in June 2024 that Mr Y would be charged for the placement. He began his dispute with the Council the same month. But he did not formally complain to the Council until April 2025, or to the Ombudsman until July 2025.
17. This means Mr X’s complaint is late. In the absence of any good reason to disregard our statutory time limit, the law does not allow me to investigate it.

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Decision

18. I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman