A complaint against Trafford council that it overcharged a man for his social care at home has been upheld. The local government and social care ombudsman found the council to be at fault because it sent bills to the wrong address and overcharged him by more than £1,000.
"This caused significant distress," the ruling said. "To remedy this injustice, the council has agreed to apologise, cancel the outstanding invoice and carry out a review of the care provider's charging practices."
The man, referred to as Mr X in the ruling, also complained that he was charged for care that he did not receive. In August 2020, he was discharged from hospital with a package of home care. Mr X was assessed as needing two care calls of 45 minutes each, seven days a week.
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This was initially funded by the health service. Mr X was told he may have to pay a contribution towards his care in the future. When the health funding came to an end, the council took over responsibility for commissioning the care package.
Mr X was asked by the council to complete a financial assessment form, which would determine what, if anything, he had to pay. He returned the form to the council in October 2020.
He did not hear anything about paying for his care until august 2021, when he received a phone call from the council telling him he owed more than £3,000. "This came as a tremendous shock to Mr X," the ombudsman wrote. "He assumed that as he had not been told what he had to pay, it was free.
"He had spoken to his social worker several times since the care started and he was not told he had to pay or that there was money owed. Mr X was so distressed about having to pay this debt, he cancelled his care package because he said he could not afford to pay for this as well as the large. This has left him struggling to cope with daily living."
His partner, Mrs P, on Mr X's behalf, complained to the council. She was told that the relevant letters and invoices had been sent by mistake to his previous address.
The council apologised, but said the money still had to be paid. It said the couple were aware that the care package may not be free and so they had "some responsibility to make enquiries about the matter".
"Once she became aware of how much the care package cost, Mrs P was concerned Mr X had been charged for care he had not received," the report went on. "She says that many of the visits were much shorter than they should have been.
"The council said Mr X should contact the care provider directly to query the duration of daily care visits. Dissatisfied with this outcome, Mr X brought his complaint to the ombudsman."
Responding, Trafford council said invoices were sent to the wrong address because of human error. "The council has since made improvements to its systems to make them more robust," the report said. "To acknowledge this distress, the council offered a goodwill payment of £300."
The council said Mr X signed a declaration in October 2020 confirming the charging regime had been explained and agreed to pay the maximum contribution if required. "An audit of the relevant time sheets confirmed Mr X had been overcharged for the care he received," the ombudsman said.
"He was billed for 65 hours of care that was not provided. The amount owed by Mr X has been reduced by £1,000."
The case highlighted some issues with communication between the council and care provider that would be addressed, the council said. The ombudsman said the council was entitled to charge for the care Mr X received but needed to properly assess his finances and inform him of his liabilities.
"The council did not make Mr X aware of the outcome of the assessment or the fees that would apply to his care," the ombudsman said. Government Care and Support Statutory Guidance (CSSG) says the council should provide a personal budget to include the person's assessed charge and this should be available before care and support begins, said the ombudsman's report. "This did not happen here," he said.
"The council also missed several opportunities to alert him about the debt when he was contacted by his social worker regarding his care arrangements. I disagree with the council's position that Mr X should have chased up the outcome of his assessment. Mr X would have been unaware that, as a rule, social workers do not deal with chasing unpaid invoices.
"It is entirely understandable why he would have expected the social worker to tell him if there was a problem."
He continued: "I do not consider the council's good will payment of £300 is sufficient to recognise the distress and uncertainty caused to Mr X by both the failure to notify him about the assessment and being overcharged.
"We do not normally recommend councils should cancel invoices entirely where the complainant has had the benefit of a service. But in this case, I consider it is appropriate to do so for the following reasons:
- Mr X had no reason to believe a debt had accrued for a significant period of time. He says he already lived on a tight budget and this money has already been spent. He should not have to suffer further worry about his finances because of the council's fault.
- Mr X has been without care for several months. While I accept it was his choice to cancel his care, he would not have been put in this position had the council acted properly.
- Mr X was invoiced for 65 hours of care that he did not receive. This is a significant amount and raises concerns about the care provider’s systems and practices. My remedy acknowledges Mr X’s understandable loss of confidence in the care provider because he was overcharged by such a large amount.
A spokesperson for Trafford council said: “We would like to apologise most sincerely for the distress our errors have caused. We pride ourselves on providing the right help when people need our support, so we are disappointed that our service fell short on this occasion.
“We accept the Ombudsman’s decision and we have cancelled the invoice. We will also be reviewing our practices and have been in contact with the gentleman to discuss his ongoing care support.”
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