Summary: We have upheld Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a grave deed transfer. The Council transferred ownership despite knowing not all siblings with equal entitlement had agreed and later reversed that decision. This caused Mrs X avoidable distress, uncertainty, and time and trouble. The Council also did not properly deal with her complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment of £200 to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council wrongly transferred ownership of a grave deed to her and other siblings and later reversed that decision. She says this prevented her from arranging for her late sibling’s ashes to be placed in the family grave. She says the Council’s actions caused distress and uncertainty and left her facing the cost of purchasing another burial plot.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X complains the Council wrongly transferred ownership of a grave deed and later reversed that decision, causing distress, uncertainty, and time and trouble.
6. If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. The Council’s guidance states that where there are surviving relatives of the same degree of kinship, renunciation forms are required from those not taking ownership. The guidance also states ownership should remain in abeyance where agreement cannot be obtained.
7. The Council knew one sibling with equal entitlement had not agreed to the transfer. Despite this, it processed the transfer and later reversed the decision when that sibling came forward. Based on the evidence available, the Council did not follow its stated process. This fault caused Mrs X avoidable distress and uncertainty.
8. We have not considered whether Mrs X is entitled to ownership of the grave deed or whether her late sibling’s ashes should be interred in the family grave. The Ombudsman cannot determine ownership rights between family members or require the Council to transfer ownership where there is an unresolved dispute between people with equal entitlement.
9. There also appears to have been fault in the Council’s complaint handling. The Council did not demonstrate it had properly considered or responded to Mrs X’s complaint through its complaints process. This caused her additional frustration and time and trouble.
10. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by taking the following action to resolve the complaint early:

• apologise to Mrs X; and
• pay her £200 to recognise the avoidable distress, uncertainty, and time and trouble caused by the Council’s handling of the grave deed transfer and complaint.

Actions Agreed

11. The Council has agreed to complete the actions at paragraph 10 within four weeks.

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Final decision

12. We have upheld this complaint because the Council was at fault when it transferred grave ownership. It has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman