Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the quality of care provided at a private residential home or its charging. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons Mrs X did not complain to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about fee’s a care home said she owed. She also complained about the quality of care it provided. She said the quality of care was poor, and it caused her significant distress. She wants an investigation into the home, the home to cancel the outstanding fees and it to fully respond to her complaint.

Back to top

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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We will not usually investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34B(8))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Care Provider.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. We will not investigate this complaint. Mrs X lived at the home between February and April 2024. The provider issued the final invoice when her care ended, so she was aware of the matters complained about by April 2024.
7. We expect a person to complain to us within 12 months of being aware of a matter and Mrs X did not complain to us until 2026. Therefore, the complaint is late, and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to consider it now.
8. Mrs X complained about the Council’s complaints response. Because the substantive complaint is late and will not investigate, it would not be a good use of the Ombudsman’s limited resources to investigate this issue alone. From the information provided, the Council addressed the concerns that Mrs X raised in her complaint and there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

Back to top

Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons Mrs X did not complain to us sooner.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman