Burial advise legal HELP needed

[Pumpkinpie1]

This is a real dilemma
X and y were married over 50 years
x bought burial plot 600 pounds .
Y died first was cremated her ashes put in plot waiting for beloved x
x has just died
Council are now saying they want 1000 to open grave on top of burial costs
x was never notified of changes , if he had y would never have been put in grave , she’d. have waited in an urn at his home

Any thoughts . This represents a fortune to the family

I would expect it depends on whether the contract says the costs are £x (unlikely) or if it says something like the fees are whatever the council is charging at the time of the burial, perhaps referring a particular document that gets updated when the prices go up.

So can the council change contract terms without notifying other party

Yes.

In the sense that there will be SOMETHING within the contract which allows for price rises

Inevitably there HAS to be, because prices DO rise

This may be the best way to negotiate.

Thankyou for the advise . Will see what happens when manager returns to work

Cost has now been reduced to £250

That’s good to see OP.

Is it possibly because it needs to be dug out by hand? There’s always a substantial charge just to gig a hole. It was £600 a few years ago on top of cost of plot but they use a mechanical digger. I’m assuming can’t use a digger now.

Well done for getting a reduction. Sorry for your loss.

My friend recently paid £1800 to have a grave opened to put a second parent in.