The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council incorrectly invoicing Mr X for care services or delays in responding to his complaint. This is because the Council has already apologised and cancelled the charges and there is nothing further we could achieve from an investigation of the complaint.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council send him a bill for care services which it told him would be free. Mr X says the Council also delayed responding to his complains.
Mr X says the Council has discriminated against him as a person with disabilities and breached his human rights. Mr X says he wants the Council to pay him financial compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has accepted that it incorrectly invoiced Mr X for care services which it said would be free. The Council has cancelled the charges and apologised.
The Council has also accepted that it used the wrong date on the letter responding to Mr X’s complaint misspelled his name. The Council has apologised for this.
Whilst I understand Mr X has disabilities I cannot see that the Council has failed in its duties towards him under the Equality Act 2010 or Human Rights Act 1998 as a result of the fault it has identified.
The Council’s apologies for the fault it identified is a suitable remedy and it is unlikely an investigation would result in a different outcome. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has provided a suitable remedy and it is unlikely an investigation would result in a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman