That was the conclusion of an audit into the on-going saga which infuriated sections of the public which claimed the charges for shopping, home care and a community alarm services were unfair.
The lack of a proper timescale for the charges' imple
mentation and a "limited consultation" in particular were criticised, as was the lack of guidance given to council workers who would be implementing the policy.
However, the audit report, which was presented to councillors of the standards and audit committee, also states the authority acted legally in implementing the charges and put proper safeguards in place to protect the most vulnerable.
It added that over £1 million had been raised for residents who had taken advice on what other sorts of benefits they were entitled to.
Conceding the council didn't handle the affair as well as it could have, Councillor Tim Brett, chair of the social work and health committee, said that the authority did, however, welcome the results of the audit.
"The report highlights that there were things that could have been done better when we implemented the new charges," admitted Cllr Brett.
"It is the case that the charges were introduced on a very short timescale and the council has learned a number of lessons from this and in particular the need to improve communication systems with the public.
"It is very important to note that over £1m of additional benefit has been achieved and since charging has been introduced around £500,000 in additional income can now be reinvested to the benefit of all the people in Fife needing the support of social work Services."
Around 98 per cent of people who were assessed to be liable to pay in the Kingdom are now doing so and no service users have been denied a service because of inability or refusal to pay.
