Your father needs care. The council arranges it. You ask what it’ll cost. They won’t tell you. For 18 months. Then the bill arrives: tens of thousands of pounds you couldn’t budget for, couldn’t plan around, couldn’t question until it was too late.
That’s what happened to one Wandsworth family. Now a watchdog has ordered the council to apologise and pay compensation for what it calls a shocking failure of transparency.
The Local Government Ombudsman’s report, published this month, reveals how Wandsworth Council left a son, referred to as Mr X, completely in the dark about his elderly father’s care costs from February 2023 until September 2024.
The council started providing care but didn’t complete a financial assessment to determine what was owed for 18 months.
When the bill finally arrived, Mr X discovered he owed £500 per week initially, rising to £638 per week. Based on the weekly rates and timeframes in the ombudsman’s report, the backdated charges totalled around £40,000 – though the report doesn’t state an exact figure. It was presented all at once with a demand to pay.
He’d had no opportunity to question the charges, no input on the care given, and no chance to budget. The ombudsman ruled the council caused Mr X “distress, frustration and lost opportunity.”
Bills so unclear even the watchdog couldn’t follow them
The failures didn’t stop with the delay.
In July 2025, the council suddenly reduced Mr X’s charges by £6,665, claiming “a lack of clarity around whether double handed care was provided.”
The ombudsman’s report is blunt: even he couldn’t determine if that reduction was correct, because “there was no clear breakdown of why it reduced the charge by that much, and what care was provided.”
The council’s billing was so opaque that when it tried to correct an error, the independent watchdog couldn’t verify the correction.
The council has apologised and paid Mr X £1,000 as ordered.
A spokesperson said: “We accept the ombudsman’s findings and have apologised to Mr X. We’re sorry for the distress Mr X and his father experienced, and we have taken lessons from this experience to improve our service.”
But what lessons? What specific changes prevent this happening to other families right now? How many families are currently waiting months for assessments while charges accumulate? The council’s statement doesn’t say.
What this reveals
Adult social care is already one of the most stressful situations families face. Adding 18 months of financial uncertainty, then a huge backdated bill, transforms a difficult situation into a crisis.
The ombudsman makes clear councils can charge for care and backdate it. That’s not the issue. The issue is transparency. Mr X “could not make informed choices about his father’s care at the relevant time, as he did not know the specific cost of the care put in place for him.”
If the council can’t explain its own charges clearly enough for an ombudsman to verify them, how can families challenge errors? How can they know they’re being charged correctly?
This case suggests the answer is: they can’t.
What families should know
If you’re arranging care through Wandsworth Council, you’re entitled to:
- A care plan showing what support will be provided
- A financial assessment within a reasonable timeframe
- Clear bills showing exactly what you’re being charged for
- The ability to question charges
If you’re not getting these, put requests in writing and keep records. If the council doesn’t respond, contact the Local Government Ombudsman.
This case was first reported by Local Democracy Reporter Charlotte Lillywhite.
Only the latest case
This is the fourth time in four months that the Local Government Ombudsman has ruled against Wandsworth for failing vulnerable residents:
Council’s betrayal: Family traumatised after two-year housing nightmare
Ombudsman found the council caused “avoidable distress” to a family with a disabled child by failing to provide suitable temporary accommodation for two years, leaving them in cramped, unsuitable housing while repeatedly missing its own deadlines.
“No sense of direction, geographic or moral” at Wandsworth Council in absurd SEND case
Council told mother her son would attend a specialist school “within 15 minutes of home” — then offered a placement 17 miles away requiring 90-minute journey each way. Ombudsman ordered £5,500 compensation for the “avoidable distress and uncertainty.”
Shocking neglect exposed as care home dismissed family’s urgent concerns
Care home in Wandsworth ignored family warnings about resident’s deteriorating condition. Ombudsman found the home’s failures caused “distress and uncertainty” and ordered £1,000 compensation plus service improvements.
A pattern is emerging: vulnerable families raising concerns, the council or its contractors failing to respond properly, then the Ombudsman having to step in months or years later to order compensation for avoidable harm.
