Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about an out of area burial fee charged for the complainant’s late mother. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains that he was charged an out of area fee for his mother’s funeral. He wants the Council to refund the additional charge.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s response. I considered information on the Council’s website about burial fees. I considered comments Mr X made in reply to a draft decision.

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What I found

Burial fees

4. The Council charges a range of burial and interment fees. There is one fee for people who lived in the Council area at the time of their death and a higher fee for non-residents. Most councils charge higher fees for non-residents. The fees are listed on the Council’s website.
5. People can buy exclusive burial rights (purchase a grave). There is an additional fee for the interment.

What happened

6. Mr X’s mother died last year. She had been born in the area and lived there for about 30 years. When she died she was not living in the area and had not done so for about 40 years.
7. The family had purchased burial rights many years ago. Mr X’s mother was buried in this grave.
8. Mr X complains that the Council charged an out of area fee of £895. He says this is wrong because the family had bought the grave and his mother had lived and worked in the area.
9. In response to the complaint the Council confirmed the higher fee is correct because his mother had not lived in the borough for 40 years and had not, in recent years, been paying council tax to Stockport Council.

Assessment

10. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The fee schedule states that the Council charges higher fees for people who were not living in the Council area when they died. Mr X’s mother had not lived in the area for 40 years so the Council’s decision to charge a higher fee is correct and consistent with the policy. In addition, while the family had bought the rights to the burial plot there were still additional fees to pay at the time of the burial and these are charged at the higher rate for non-residents. Mr X disagrees with the higher fee and has described it as a stealth tax. However, the Ombudsman does not act as appeal body and cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

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Final decision

11. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman