Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that a care home disposed of her mother’s belongings without authorisation. This is because, ultimately, if the matter remains unresolved, it is not unreasonable to expect her to go to court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs B, complained that a care home disposed of her mother’s belongings without authorisation. She told us this deprived her family of an opportunity to sell the expensive items.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered the information Mrs B provided and given her an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

7. Mrs B told us the Council had commissioned the care for her mother.
8. When Mrs B complained to the care home she said she had received some of her mother’s belongings after she had passed away. But she said the care home had told her it had put other items into the bins. Mrs B said she offered to pick the items out of the bins but the home told her they had been emptied. She said the items included the container for her father’s ashes. Mrs B complained about the way the home dealt with her concerns.
9. In its final response the care provider said, unfortunately, the home did not receive clarity from her that she wanted her mother’s belongings to be returned to her. The care provider did not offer Mrs B financial compensation. It said this was because care homes are not responsible for residents’ personal property. The care provider told Mrs B it would take lessons from what happened to ensure the situation was not repeated.
10. It is normally the responsibility of care home residents to arrange insurance cover for their personal belongings. So we would usually expect people to take up the matter with the insurer if personal belongings are lost.
11. In this case Mrs B has told us the Council had arranged her mother’s care. It would be reasonable to expect Mrs B to ask the Council to review the matter because the Council may be able to facilitate a resolution.
12. Mrs B told us the care home needs to pay for the cost of the lost items because it had a duty of care for her mother’s belongings. The duty of care and liability for loss are legal matters. So, if the matter remains unresolved, it is not unreasonable to expect Mrs B to go to court to seek a remedy.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because, ultimately, if the matter remains unresolved, it is not unreasonable to expect Mrs B to go to court.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman