Durham County Council (22 014 052)

Statement Upheld Charging 11-Apr-2023

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to deal properly with the charges for her mother’s care, resulting in it asking her to pay a bill she cannot afford to pay. The Council accepts it was at fault over the long delay in charging her mother for her care. It has offered to waive £500 of the outstanding charges and to agree a repayment plan for the remainder. There are no grounds to ask the Council to do more than that.

Durham County Council (23 002 754)

Statement Upheld Charging 17-Nov-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care charges and delay in invoicing. The Council has apologised for its delay, which we consider is satisfactory action to acknowledge the shock at receiving the invoice.

Durham County Council (23 016 735)

Statement Upheld Charging 08-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s communication when adult social care charges changed. The Council has apologised for the upset caused by not communicating with relevant representatives and is considering how to change process to ensure it communicates correctly in future. We are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken; it is unlikely an Ombudsman investigation would achieve anything further.

Durham County Council (23 018 300)

Statement Upheld Other 25-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a delay by the Council in paying an incentive payment. This is because the Council has provided a satisfactory response and there is not enough remaining injustice to warrant an investigation. In addition, an allegation of breach of contract needs to be determined in court.