Shropshire Council (25 015 316)
Category : Adult care services > Charging
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 20 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about adult social care charges. This is because her complaint is late and we have seen no good reason why she could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains that she never signed anything to agree to pay for care charges. She said nobody told her she would need to pay anything.
- Mrs X said she was shocked when she received a bill for care costs. She said she offered to pay in instalments but did not receive a reply. Mrs X says she cannot afford the charges.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X filled in and signed a care assessment financial declaration form in July 2024. The letter that came with the form stated she would be charged for care services from the date they begin.
- In August 2024, the Council assessed her weekly care contributions based on the information in her financial declaration form. It then issued its first payment invoice to Mrs X on 4 September 2024.
- Mrs X then complained to us over 12 months later.
- We will not investigate her complaint because it is late and we have seen no good reason why she could not have complained to us sooner. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X would have known she was being charged for social care costs when the first invoice was issued in September 2024.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and we have seen no good reason why she could not have come to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman