Summary: We have upheld this complaint. Investigation would likely find the Council at fault because it did not respond to Mrs X’s complaint about charges for adult social care. The Council has agreed to respond to the complaint within one month.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about:
• errors in the Council’s charging for her adult daughter’s (Ms Y’s) care fees; and
• its failure to respond to her complaint about the matter.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused significant distress and inconvenience, and her daughter was put to financial detriment. She wanted the Council to respond to her complaint and acknowledge fault, make a payment for her injustice, and waive fees relating to enforcement action she did not believe should have taken place.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. If we were to investigate this complaint, it is likely we would find fault by the Council causing Mrs X injustice. Mrs X provided evidence of two complaint letters having been signed for in September and November 2025. We would likely decide the Council failed to register and respond to Mrs X’s complaint.
7. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by issuing a complaint response within one month of this decision.
8. The Council agreed to take this action. Mrs X can bring the substantive complaint about care charges to us following this, should she remain dissatisfied after the Council’s response.

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Final decision

9. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused when it did not respond to Mrs X’s complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman