Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Care Provider incorrectly charging her mother, Mrs Y. This is because there is not enough injustice to warrant an investigation and we would not be able to add to the Care Provider’s investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Care Provider has been incorrectly charging her mother, Mrs Y, who is a resident at its care home. She said it has caused her and her mother distress and they have lost trust in the Care Provider. She wants the Care Provider to charge her mother correctly and provide her with a reimbursement of fees.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Care Provider.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In 2020, Mrs Y moved into a single standard room at the Care Home. In 2022, Mrs Y wanted to move into a larger room. Staff showed Mrs Y a larger room and verbally informed her of the difference in rates. Mrs Y said the Care Home led her to believe the room was a large single room. However, Mrs Y said she was happy with the size of the room and the rate and so moved in.
6. Regularly, the Care Home issues residents and their families letters, notifying them of any changes to fees in line with current inflation. In 2025, Mrs Y said the Care Home did not send her the usual letter and so asked staff for the letter and a breakdown of the fees. Mrs Y said she then became aware the Care Home was charging her for a double room and not a large single room. Mrs Y and Mrs X complained to the Care Provider. They said:
• Mrs Y was happy with the current room and did not want to change rooms. She was aware of the price increase at the time she had changed rooms however, she thought it was a large single room and not a double room. Mrs Y and Mrs X questioned why the Care Home had given her a double room instead of a large single room;
• the Care Home had not given Mrs Y anything in writing which confirmed her change of rooms. Therefore, she was not aware of the type of room she had moved into; and
• the Care Home never specified in its regular fee letters the room the residents were being charged for.
7. The Care Provider investigated the complaint and responded:
• at the time Mrs Y moved into the Care Home, the Care Home had given Mrs Y an application pack which included its fee structures of the different types of rooms;
• it had evidence that in 2022, staff had shown Mrs Y the room and informed her of the rate. Mrs Y liked the room and was happy to pay the difference in rates. Mrs Y did not complain about the rate until recently when she queried the breakdown of fees. The Care Provider said it would not reimburse her with any money however, if Mrs Y felt the room was too big for her and too expensive, it would prioritise Mrs Y and move her into the next available large single room; and
• it recognised it did not formally write to Mrs Y to confirm the change of rooms and it also did not specify in its fee letters the type of room it was charging residents for. It said it would remind staff to write to residents if they changed rooms and specify the type of room they were moving into. It would also include the type of room it was charging residents for in their individual fee letters.
8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation. Although at the time of changing rooms the Care Home had not provided Mrs Y with written confirmation, Mrs Y was aware of the rate and was happy with paying it. Mrs Y remains happy with the size of the room and does not want to move. The Care Provider has offered to move Mrs Y into a smaller room with a lower rate which is appropriate. It is open to Mrs Y to do so.
9. In addition, the Care Provider recognised it had failed to write to Mrs Y when she changed rooms and had not included the room type in its fee letter to residents. It said since Mrs X’s complaint, it would make changes to ensure residents had it in writing the type of room it was charging them for. This is appropriate. We would not be able to add to the Care Provider’s investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough injustice to warrant an investigation and we would not be able to add to the Care Provider’s investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman