Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care charges. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of adult social care charges for her mother, Mrs Y. She says the Council sent invoices to the wrong address. When payments stopped, the debt was allowed to build up. She says the Council failed to take action and did not contact the appropriate people. Mrs X also complains about the Council’s complaint handling.

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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), section 34(B)).

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

4. Mrs X complained to the Council regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
5. The Council replied that a different relative was originally representing Mrs Y in her financial affairs. The Council sent invoices for Mrs Y’s care contribution to this person. The Council informed the representative that they must advise it of any changes. However, it did not receive any notification of a change of address or change in representative. The Council contacted Mrs X when it became aware she was now Mrs Y’s representative following the sale of a property. The Council considered its pursuit of recovery was correct. However, it had now agreed to a reduced payment with Mrs Y as a final settlement.
6. We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigation. The Council sent invoices to the correct party. It was not advised of changes to the representative or their address. The Council used its discretion to reduce the charge in view of Mrs Y’s circumstances.
7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about complaint handling. 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)).

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman