Cemetery Fee Row: Grandson Refuses to Pay £65 Yearly Charge

An NHS worker, Nick Bloor, won’t pay a cemetery fee. The fee is £65 per year. He feels like he is being held hostage. This fee covers the grave his relatives bought. His grandad and step-grandmother are buried there. It’s in Longton, at the Garden of Remembrance.

Nick, age 45 and from Blurton, refuses to pay the fee. He also dislikes the new £5 VIP cemetery pass. Now, people visit only 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Friday, without the pass.

Nick read the original contract and saw no mention of annual fees. In 2022, he got a £65 invoice. He complained, saying it was a mistake. Yet, in December 2023, he got two £65 invoices, one from 2022.

He complained again. Nick stated they said they would stop this fee. They asked if he would be buried there. He said no. Since nobody else uses the plot, he owes nothing. The contract was his grandparents’ deal, not his.

Nick works full time. The cemetery office is not open when he can visit. The £65 fee feels like blackmail because his grandparents are buried there.

Jason Taft owns the cemetery. He defends the fee and VIP pass. Taft states Bloor knew about the fees. He alleges people expect to pay at private cemeteries, as Bloor won’t pay maintenance for his loved ones.

Taft says people with arrears get free VIP cards. Valued customers and vulnerable folks also got free cards. NHS workers and disabled people can get help. Many customers like the electric gates.

Drug users no longer sleep there. Stealing from graves and drinking beer left for relatives also stopped. This all happened fast.