Hounslow Council criticised for overcharging for care

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Local Government Ombudsman tells Hounslow to take action to avoid making similar mistakes in future

A man who needed care at home after being discharged from hospital was overcharged by Hounslow Council.

His daughter questioned the invoice and followed up with a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, who has found the Council at fault for overcharging for care and support and for failing to properly consider how much it had overcharged him by.

To add to the confusion, they ended up reimbursing him by slightly more than they had overcharged him.

The Ombudsman has told the Council to apologise to his daughter for the confusion caused and to take steps to prevent similar fault in future.

The Ombudsman’s office investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and  ‘service failure’. Earlier this month they criticised LB Hounslow for the way in which it had treated a woman who was made homeless.

The Council failed to help her when she was given notice of eviction, so she lost her possessions, and the Ombudsman found a number of faults in the way the Council had responded when finding her new accommodation.

READ ALSO: Local Ombudsman finds fault with Hounslow Council over eviction of vulnerable woman

In this case ‘Mr Z’ began receiving care at home on 13 January 2024, after being discharged from hospital.

Between 13 January and 9 March (an eight-week period), his daughter ‘Ms X’ reduced his care package several times, ultimately from 2.15 hours per day to 30 minutes per day. On 9 March, she cancelled her father’s package altogether.

When she received the invoice Ms X challenged it, querying the hourly rate, saying she had been told it would be something different. She told the Council it had charged for visits which had not taken place and failed to update Mr Z’s fees to reflect when his care package reduced.

The Council said there was no evidence she had been quoted a lower hourly rate than £21.96, which was the correct rate. The Ombudsman agreed that was the correct amount and the Council was not at fault concerning the hourly rate.

The Council agreed not to charge her for three days’ care for which she had been told she would not be charged because the NHS was still responsible for her father’s care at that point.

It also agreed to reduce Mr Z’s fees to reflect when he had been overcharged after his care package reduced. However, they calculated the amount wrongly and also attributed the overcharges to the wrong weeks.

The Ombudsman found the Council at fault for not updating Mr Z’s fees when his care package changed and has told Hounslow it must apologise to Ms X for the confusion caused and look at why this happened so they can prevent similar instances in future.