Bristol City Council (24 012 672)

Statement Upheld Charging 27-May-2025

Summary: The Council was at fault as it did not respond to Mr X’s official complaint and has not properly assessed some of the Disability Related Expenses incurred by his mother when calculating her contribution to care costs. Reassessing the Disability Related Expenses and making a payment for the distress caused by the delay in the complaints process remedies the injustice.

Coxbench Hall Limited (24 015 264)

Statement Not upheld Charging 27-May-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Care Home’s handling of her husband’s (Mr X) notice period which she says it incorrectly charged him for. The Care Home charged Mr X for his notice period in line with his contract and without fault.

Kent County Council (24 016 061)

Statement Upheld Charging 27-May-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council took too long to make funding arrangements to support her mother’s place in a care home. We found the Council to at fault because it took over a year to resolve. This caused Mrs X significant distress and frustration. To remedy this injustice, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mrs X. It will also take action to improve its service.

London Borough of Waltham Forest (24 021 260)

Statement Upheld Charging 27-May-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about a charge for her late husband’s care. This is because the Council has now refunded the charge and apologised to Ms X. Further investigation by us would achieve nothing more.

West Sussex County Council (24 010 360)

Statement Upheld Charging 26-May-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council provided misleading information about how it would treat a property her mother owned abroad when deciding whether she would need to contribute to the cost of her home care. We found delay and poor communication in completing the financial assessment which caused distress and the Council agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment.

Cornwall Council (24 017 241)

Statement Upheld Charging 26-May-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council’s actions resulted in an overcharge to her late mother’s care home fees. We found fault with the Council delaying the Deferred Payment Arrangement application resulting in Mrs X’s mother incurring a higher Valuation fee. The Council agreed to apply a credit to the balance owed for £185 to reflect this extra charge and apologise for its delay in processing the application. We did not find fault with the Council’s actions about the other charges for Mrs X’s mother’s care fees. While we did not find fault, we recommend the Council writes to Mrs X to confirm it will complete a review of its financial assessment for the 12-week disregard if Mrs X has new information.

Cambridgeshire County Council (24 017 843)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 26-May-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about assessments for continuing healthcare and disability-related expenditure. On the continuing healthcare matter, this is because we cannot consider NHS matters. On the disability-related expenditure matter, this is because the injustice is insufficient to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

London Borough of Redbridge (24 021 656)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 26-May-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council pursuing her for outstanding care charges for her late husband. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate now.

Leeds City Council (25 000 948)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 22-May-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to apply a 12-week property disregard when it completed her mother’s financial assessment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

Staffordshire County Council (24 016 721)

Statement Not upheld Charging 21-May-2025

Summary: Mrs Y, acting for Mrs X, complained about the outcome of the financial assessment carried out by the Council for Mrs X. She also complained about the Council’s failure to apply for a deprivation of liberty in the community order for Mrs X. Since Mrs Y came to us, the Council has decided to apply for the court order and to disregard Mrs X’s property until the order is issued. We have ended this investigation as there is nothing else we could achieve for Mrs X.