Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the care provided to Mr X’s mother. There is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the care his mother (Mrs Y) received from the Care Provider four years ago and the Care Provider’s decision to chase him now for unpaid invoices. He says the matter caused distress and contributed to his mother’s death. He wants the Care Provider to make service improvements, pay him compensation for distress and legal fees, and stop contacting him.

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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 care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
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))
4. We have the power to start or end an investigation into a complaint about actions the law allows us to investigate. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been mentioned as part of the legal proceedings regarding a closely related matter. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X raised a complaint in 2019 about the care his mother received, which he says contributed to her death. He says he refused to pay the final two invoices for Mrs Y’s care due to the concerns he had, and discussed the matter with the Care Provider over several months. He says he did not receive a response to a message in late 2021. The Care Provider then contacted him in 2023 about the unpaid fees.
8. The law says people must bring complaints to us within 12 months unless there are good reasons. Mr X could have complained to us in 2019 or 2020 about his mother’s care. He has been prompted to raise these issues now by the Care Provider chasing him for the unpaid fees. There is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the complaint about quality of care to us, and we will not investigate this matter now.
9. Given the above, we could not say the Care Provider is at fault for its decision to attempt to recover the unpaid fees now. Should the Care Provider decide to take recovery action, this will provide Mr X the opportunity to defend his case for non-payment, and the courts are best placed to consider whether the fees are owed.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to us, and there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Care Provider’s decision to attempt to recover unpaid fees now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman