Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the charges the Council has applied for Mr X’s care. This is because there is not enough evidence the Council is at fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms A complains on behalf of her father, Mr X. She says the Council has sent a backdated bill for care provided before it completed its financial assessment.
2. Ms A says if they had known the care had to be paid for, they would have asked the Council to make changes to Mr X’s provision. She is seeking a waiver of fees between the care provision beginning and the financial assessment being completed.

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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. (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 provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council provided Mr X with financial assessment forms and information in early June 2025 when it assessed his care needs.
7. While the Council was carrying out its financial assessment, it arranged and provided the care it had assessed Mr X needed.
8. Once the Council completed its financial assessment, about three weeks later, it told Mr X of the costs of the care provision and issued a bill for the care already provided.
9. Ms A complained as she said they had not known the Council would charge for care already provided, although they understood it would charge for care after the Council completed the financial assessment.
10. It is not unusual for care provision to be arranged while a Council assesses the contribution someone will have to make toward their care costs. The Council is entitled to charge for that care.
11. Although there is a misunderstanding here, I have not seen evidence the Council said it would provide free care while it completed its financial assessment.
12. On this basis, I do not think we are likely to find fault if we were to investigate this issue further.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman