Question for undertakers...

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GRDCredit

  • #1
    I hope this thread is not considered tasteless!

    I am due to meet with a local firm of undertakers in 10 days to see if I can assist them. To be frank I was gob smacked that all their fees etc were not paid 'in advance' but from what I can gather during a telephone conversation with the owner:

    This firm have no terms and conditions for customers to sign
    They receive no deposit/payment up front
    The full balance is due 30 days after the funeral

    Anyone with experience of the trade know if this is typical? I find it hard to believe.


    Geoff
     
    I

    imranali

  • #2
    the only experience i've had is when close family have passed away and i've called one

    but yeah they dont actually tell you any prices nor do they sign anything with you

    saying that i'm a muslim so we try to get the funeral done as soon as possible.

    i guess if your ok to take your time and the funeral isnt time critical then you can ask for the full range of prices

    they are indeed very pricey and if you look at current undertakers for sale the prices for them are incredibly high!
     
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    Christine Hough

    Christine Hough

    Free Member
    Mar 31, 2006
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    Hull England, but trade on line
  • #4
    When my father died, the week of arranging his affairs, telling everyone and planning the funeral was a blurr.

    The undertaker was fantastic.
    But our concerns were to see his body again for the last times in the chapel of rest, and to see him off with all the love and dignity he deserved.

    I think it would have been insensitive for the undertaker to have been demanding deposits, although of course he did talk price and selection of coffin etc. Instead he offered a discount if paid within 30 days.

    My mother was so grateful for his support she paid him well before this.

    I do not think all undertakers are the same though.

    The hospital would not release his body straight away to the undertakers without a signature from us. This was because some less scrupulous undertakers tried to snatch bodies to force relatives to use their services. They were the big companies I think.

    I guess they are more mercenary over terms too.
     
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    E

    emonkey

  • #5
    going slightly off topic here:
    I definitely think there's a market for a 'budget' funeral service. I was appauled by the costs involved. I don't want an extravagant funeral, I would prefer to be rolled up in an old carpet and burnt on a bonfire than my family pay £thousands to line the pockets of these people.

    When my dad died, he demanded that we go for the cheapest way possible, which still ended up costing about £3,000 (because we really could not go through with all of his wishes!). When we asked to collect his ashes, they wanted £300 for an urn so we went for the £90 plastic option that turned out to be basically a sweet jar! On top of that they charged a £110 handling fee to transfer the ashes from the pot they came in into the sweet jar!

    unbelievable.

    I have worked in a funeral parlour when fitting carpets for a week or two and they certainly didn't treat the dead with much dignity when we asked that they be removed in the rooms the carpets were going into. I have no time for them.
     
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    JEREMY HAWKE

    JEREMY HAWKE

    Business Member
    • Business Listing
    Mar 4, 2008
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    EXETER DEVON
    www.jeremyhawkecourier.co.uk
  • #8
    Geoff

    This is where I can help.!!!

    Im pretty sure you will put them on the right track but we dont need those shovels anymore that we brought for the snow .
    I will let you have some for when you need to serve a CCJ..
     
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    T

    TPS Test

  • #10
    On the subject of undertakers charges, we sadly have just arranged a funeral for my Mother. She requested that the minimum cost option be used which we tried to comply with as much as we could.

    The final bill came to £2,700 and we received a breakdown as follows:-
    Crematorium Fee, Ministers fee, and Doctors fee £783 - can't complain at these as they are all necessary expenses.

    Undertakers services billed as follows :-

    a) Conveyance of Mrs. ********* to our premises including care and preparation £310.00

    b) Cost of Coffin £340.00

    c) Provision of Hearse and all necessary personnel to conduct the funeral
    £485.00

    d) Provision of all professional services including appropriate advice, support and guidance £654.50

    No problem with a) b) and c), but can anyone explain what they have done over and above a) b) and c) to justify the cost of d) ?

    I really feel that these people take advantage of what is a very difficult time for relatives and exploit it.
     
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    S

    silklink

    Free Member
    Sep 19, 2008
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    Cornwall
  • #11
    LOL at some of the responses here

    Currently experiencing being the executor. Not good.

    However, the undertakers, Co-Op, were fantastic. Yes I did have to pay some expenses up front which they went to great lengths to explain were for items that they had to sub-contract, such as the vicar, the venue and so on. I received a break-down of the costs prior to the funeral, with Ts & Cs, (which of course I was too upset to read) and then their final bill had 30-day payment terms. I won't say a bad word against them. Customer services beyond anything I have had the mispleasure of experiencing amongst the living

    The biggest issue I think for undertakers is that their clients rarely have the money to pay up front. Think it through: person dies and then that person's assets are frozen until such time as someone gets grant of probate. Even if a spouse survives, it takes time to resolve the financial issues.

    Just to have my moan and mank, the biggest problems were getting Grant of Probate, because there is a tax obligation which requires the executor to determine the value of the estate prior to applying. The probate bit itself was very straight forwards. Then there was all the red tape of each organisation I had to deal with. Each firm appears to have its own set of rules for dealing with the deseaced and the whole process takes ages.

    You can, in theory, release money from the deseaced's savings or other liquid assets, but in practice this proved to be fruitless - way too much paperwork and red tape and staff in local bank branch not knowing their own rules. I therefore had to get a meaty credit card and put all the expenses on it until I had completed the probate process and then (just) was able to transfer the funds to an executor bank account.

    So, I guess I am saying that many people would welcome ever so flexible undertakers. As for their charges - I used to think they were excessive, but now, being a bit more involved and seeing what they do, I think they are mostly reasonable and I would recommend the Co-Op to anyone. My Father and Mother-in-law have already arranged theirs with the Co-Op - showed us their coffins and all the other day. How's that for service :)
     
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    OldWelshGuy

    OldWelshGuy

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    • Jun 12, 2008
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    www.owgmarketing.co.uk
  • #12
    geoff, yep this is the standard working practice of undertakers. Sadly I get told this tale time and time again. The person arranges the funeral, gets everything sorted, and then ignores the invoice.

    It is an absolute nightmare for them. Of course without a T&C or a contract, it is really difficult to enforce. Also often there is probate, but Solicitors can take as long as 2 years to pay the invoice.
     
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    G

    GRDCredit

  • #13
    Many thanks for all your responses.

    It seems that what I am being told is the norm - I wonder if I can incorporate a retention of title clause into their terms and conditions!

    Geoff
     
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    KidsBeeHappy

    KidsBeeHappy

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    Oct 9, 2007
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    Sunny Troon
  • #17
    Solicitors offices are where every invoice payment grinds to a halt. If you can provide the undertakers any means which means that the invoice is settled direct other than via a solicitors office then undertakers will be biting your hand off for it.

    We (hubbys house clearance business) now will not accept payment from Solicitors without prior agreement from the office in question that the invoice will be paid within 7 days. There are not many firms of solicitors out there that can do that.

    2 years as mentioned above is not unusual. Anything less than 6 months very very rare. 6-12 months the norm.
     
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    Geoff T

    Geoff T

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    Apr 30, 2009
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    Wrexham, North Wales
  • #20
    Boxby said:
    Solicitors offices are where every invoice payment grinds to a halt. If you can provide the undertakers any means which means that the invoice is settled direct other than via a solicitors office then undertakers will be biting your hand off for it.

    We (hubbys house clearance business) now will not accept payment from Solicitors without prior agreement from the office in question that the invoice will be paid within 7 days. There are not many firms of solicitors out there that can do that.

    2 years as mentioned above is not unusual. Anything less than 6 months very very rare. 6-12 months the norm.
    Click to expand...

    I'm running into quite a bit of that too! Still working on the way to correct it...!

    GRDCredit said:
    Where does legal liability for funeral costs fall?

    With the deceased's estate or the individual/family member who books the funeral?

    I am guessing the latter

    Geoff
    Click to expand...

    Would agree, unless they're acting as executor of course...

    Boxby said:
    I wonder if many undertakers factor invoices?
    Click to expand...

    Wouldn't have thought so...the constraints they'd get would probably make it harder to work with...

    regards
    Geoff
     
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    S

    silklink

    Free Member
    Sep 19, 2008
    346
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    Cornwall
  • #24
    GRDCredit said:
    Where does legal liability for funeral costs fall?

    With the deceased's estate or the individual/family member who books the funeral?

    I am guessing the latter

    Geoff
    Click to expand...
    Executor or administrator of the will/estate, I think, along with all other claims to the estate, plus to distribution of the assets in accordance with the will or law
     
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    Geoff T

    Geoff T

    Free Member
    Apr 30, 2009
    5,695
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    Wrexham, North Wales
  • #26
    Namesake,

    Don't know if this will help, but as a first backstop "debt collection" option the site below might provide some info - I'm still trawling through it, and have found a couple of "possibles", but as the saying goes..."two heads are better than one"!

    http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/code-of-conduct

    I'm still working on credit control options, but I'm sure this will - when sieved through - give a "rottweiler" option!

    regards
    Geoff:)
     
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    C

    craiga1971

    Free Member
    Jan 7, 2010
    339
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    UK
  • #29
    Sorry to resurrect this old thread.

    Are there any undertakers here or someone who has recently had to arrange a funeral? If so, and if it isn't too much trouble, could you please drop me a PM - I'd like to run a couple of questions past you.

    Many thanks in advance

    Craig
     
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    G

    GRDCredit

  • #31
    Steve - where were you in June 2009 when I needed this! Many thanks but I am now working with the firm although they are quite strict about when I can chase. Turning up at the graveside is not appropriate apparantly!
     
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