Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the fee the Council charged for an interment. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the fee the Council charged him for an interment was too high. Mr X said the fee was higher than the Council had quoted when his family had bought the grave and did not account for the work that had previously been completed on the plot, so the Council was charging him for labour again.
2. Mr X complained the Council charged the same fee for both an interment and a burial, which Mr X said was unfair as they involve different amounts of labour.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and information about interment fees on the Council’s website.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council quoted Mr X’s family £500 for interment into a vaulted plot in 2018. The Council then quoted a higher fee in February 2025 for a second interment.
7. The Council told Mr X that £500 was the fee in 2018, but the fee in February 2025 was £1660. The Council said it was not bound by the 2018 quotation and the fee had increased in the meantime.
8. The Council is entitled to charge the current fee that applies when the work is done, rather than when Mr X bought the plot. The Council was also entitled to change fees between 2018 and 2015. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation of these points.
9. Mr X complained the Council charged the same fee for an interment into a vaulted plot as it did for a burial.
10. The Council told Mr X this was because reopening a vault involves extra work, which the price reflects.
11. The Council explained its reasons for charging the same fee for an interment and a burial and I do not see enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation on this point. We are not an appeal body, and it is not our role to decide how much particular Council services should cost.
12. Mr X also complained the Council delayed responding to him and quoted the wrong interment fee in its stage one complaint response.
13. The Council corrected the fee in its stage two complaint response, and although it first quoted the wrong fee, this did not affect what it charged Mr X. The Council accepted it delayed its response to Mr X and apologised to him. I appreciate the frustration and confusion this may have caused Mr X at a difficult time for him. However, I consider the apology a suitable remedy for the delayed response.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman