Unable to pay funeral costs at triple fees.

parsons

All said and done, it does look like that the family will have to pay up.

However I find this sort of practice disgusting. It does not surprise me in the least that they are doing this - hence my comments about LA's in my other post.

It seems to be another way of raising more funds for the council. There is only so much that they can charge for a burial of a local person, yet have found a way round it that they can treble those costs for those who are not local, only because I presume, they are not regulated.

Thank goodness I have never been involved in Council run cemetries.

Given the connection with the Church, surely the church should have been approached first of all. There are no surcharges there, just a fixed fee and the cost of the plot. In fact I hold the deeds to one of the plots which still has space for another two - myself and my wife if we feel that is what we want although the church is many many miles away.

Remind me never to get involved with council run burials - left up to them they would not care that the family was split up and buried in different places - even districts.

I just think that respect and understanding should be shown, not some money grabbing scheme to top up the council coffers!!!

WhiteHorse

Regardless of the legalities, the council are disgusting. Why not let them whistle for it? If your Aunt has no assets to seize, then they are on a loser.

Contact your MP, local paper, and the national press.

hardpressed

Deep_Ocean wrote: »

this is the Cemetery where he is buried,


* All fees are trebled for those residing outside the District *

Looking at the fees for that cementery it looks like the maximum fee for a burial is £700, where does the £7000 come from?

julie03

hardpressed wrote: »

Looking at the fees for that cementery it looks like the maximum fee for a burial is £700, where does the £7000 come from?

i read it at £900 this should still only incur an extra cost of £1800, not £4000

parsons

WhiteHorse wrote: »

Regardless of the legalities, the council are disgusting. Why not let them whistle for it? If your Aunt has no assets to seize, then they are on a loser.

Contact your MP, local paper, and the national press.

That is something I would certainly do and in sorting out the estate, if there aren't any assets - I'd go as far as suggesting that the estate was a bankrupt one!!

Unfortunately we have to consider the affect of that sort of comeback on others around. Not fair, but by God I would have loved to have done it!!

millym

We had a similar situation when my father died, years ago. He had lived in the village something like 48 years and you only got the reduced rate for over 50 years residence. However, the council took a note of all his previous addresses, and discovered that another place he had lived for a few years was within some sort of parish boundary, and therefore entitled to the reduced rate. Probably won't help the OP, but might be useful to others in this situation.

I want to be buried in the same place, as all my relatives are there, but realise that it will cost a lot more as I have lived outwith the area for many years now.

I think perhaps there should be a relaxation of these rules where there is a strong local connection. Also, trebling the fee seems rather excessive to me...

Marisco

It's amazing what you learn on these boards!!!! I had no idea that they could charge extra, if you don't live in the place you want to be buried!!!!!! It's outrageous!!:mad: But I'm with ONW on this, if he hasn't already been buried, I would opt for a cremation, even if the notices have been done. I'm sure it's easier, and cheaper to change the notices, than pay these sharks!!!!

WhiteHorse

Marisco has a good idea there!

If you want to go to the family cemetary but can't afford a proper burial there (or are just plain refused), then get cremated and have your ashes scattered there with or without the Council's approval. You could even have your ashes buried (openly or otherwise) on ground occupied by a relative.

That get's you what you want and shafts the Council too.

Deep_Ocean

I have had an in depth look over the entire sequence of events.

1. The death was registered on 15th December 2010 which states his demise at 14th December.

2. An invoice was received on 15th December for a total cost of £4,000. This invoice clearly states the address of the deceased.

3. On 21st December a letter was sent out confirming the funeral date of 5th January. Attached to this letter was a similar invoice to the previous showing a total cost of nearly £4,000.

4. On 23rd December we all contacted the newspaper and paid them to publish our tributes and notification of the funeral details.

5. A letter was also sent out which was dated 23rd December. This was received after the Christmas Holiday period due to public bank holidays. This letter stated the revised fees of £6620.

6. My objection is not to the law but to how the rules but the fact that we were not notified until it was too late. We had already put a notification in the paper before receiving the revised invoice.

7. Section 4.2 of South Staffordshire Council Bereavement Rules and Regulations clearly states that “Families of non-residents of South Staffordshire who wish their relatives to be interred at Sytch Lane Cemetery need to be made aware of the premium fees.” I do not believe that we were made aware of the fees in a timely manner.

Deep_Ocean

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

Did you nans son have any insurance policy that you could may be access. Or did he leave a will? I just wondered would that be another option.

No, I do think we should all make provisions for our families on our demise. It's not fair to leave them in this state really.