Summary: We will not investigate Mrs Z’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her late husband’s care charges. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs Z complains the Council has charged her late husband, Mr Z for care services he did not receive because he was in hospital. She wants the Council to review its invoice and only charge for the care Mr Z received.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Where a council has decided to charge for care, it must carry out a financial assessment to decide what contribution a person can afford to pay. A council must not charge more than the cost it incurs to meet a person’s assessed eligible needs.
5. In its complaint response, the Council said its invoice accounted for the dates of Mr Z’s hospital stays. It confirmed there were no charges during these periods except for one hour of care each morning before Mr Z was admitted to hospital.
6. The Council also explained Mr Z’s charges for the period would only have reduced if the weekly cost of his care fell below his weekly assessed contribution. It said despite his hospital stays this was not the case, so Mr Z was charged his weekly contribution for the period.
7. The Council provided a copy of Mr Z’s invoice for the relevant period. It outlined Mr Z’s care costs by calendar week, and Mr Z’s weekly contribution towards his care. It showed no charges for the dates Mr Z was in hospital, except on the day of admission as the Council had outlined. In each week, the cost of his care was more than the amount of Mr Z’s weekly contribution.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council’s invoice reflects the dates Mrs Z has confirmed Mr Z was in hospital. It has also explained why this did not reduce Mr Z’s charges. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs Z’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman