Withholding a relatives ashes..can a funeral director do this??

[Daven 10]

I guess that even funeral directors have wages to pay and a living to earn like everyone else.

I don't think that it's unreasonable to ensure the bill is paid in full before the handing over the ashes to the bereaved - any reasonable person would understand this if they gave it a little thought.

[cgksheff 44]

I guess that even funeral directors have wages to pay and a living to earn like everyone else.

I don't think that it's unreasonable to ensure the bill is paid in full before the handing over the ashes to the bereaved - any reasonable person would understand this if they gave it a little thought.

 

 

I repeat .... it all depends upon what has been agreed.

 

For example, in another profession:

 

Some builders agree contracts that include part payments in advance.

Some builders agree contracts that include full payment in advance.

Some builders agree contracts that only require payment upon satisfactory completion.

 

Then again, some people engage builders, and other service providers without a contract.

[Dozy 11]

Have they never heard of having insurance to cover these inevitable expenses? Not that having doves or a piper is an essential funeral expense. How mawkish, anyway.

 

Insurance or not, if you order something you should be able to pay for it! It doesn't matter if it's a funeral or a new sofa, it's still your responsibility and whoever you've bought it from is entitled to take any legal measures to extract payment.

[Rupert_Baehr 10]

Isn't there an old saying about 'You get what you pay for'? - If that's true and if you don't pay, what happens then?

[Grandad.Malky 11]

Withholding a relatives ashes..can a funeral director do this??

 

Can a person expect to receive a service while withholding the money?

 

I don’t know the circumstances but surely the simple answer is pay up.

[Anna Glypta 10]

I wonder what the funeral director does if the relatives don't come back and pick up the ashes.

 

Do they tip a bit in other urns until they are used up or chuck 'em in another coffin and send 'em round again?

[Bonny 10]

I don't suppose many funeral directors 'want' to keep a relatives ashes but if they've had problems getting full payment in the past it's probably something they've had to start doing as a way of helping to ensure full payment.

 

As people have already said, it would depend on what contract there is as to whether they're acting appropriately.

[foxy lady 10]

I repeat .... it all depends upon what has been agreed.

 

For example, in another profession:

 

Some builders agree contracts that include part payments in advance.

Some builders agree contracts that include full payment in advance.

Some builders agree contracts that only require payment upon satisfactory completion.

 

Then again, some people engage builders, and other service providers without a contract.

 

The wording of the law or the contract have very little bearing on this case.

 

The only recourse that the relatives would have would be litigation, which would take months. The funeral director will be well aware of this and regardless of whether he is in the right can use this to ensure payment.

[Undertaker 10]

It is important to make sure that the Funeral Director you use is a member of the National Association of Funeral Directors. (NAFD).

http://www.nafd.org.uk

This is the very minimum standard you should look for when choosing a Funeral Director. It affords you consumer protection and redress through ACAS if necessary. Just look on the NAFD site to find out if they are members or not.

[Magilla 510]

Seems very hard and callous to me

 

Though not as hard and callous as not paying for your own relatives funeral.

 

Read an article about this a few months ago, seems the number of people who decide they won't pay and then put the undertaker on a guilt trip has increased dramatically in the last few years.

[Ghostrider 11]

Well, my ex and myself have just arranged her mothers cremation - the funeral directors have been great...we have only paid 50% "up front" as they know that her mother had funeral cost insurance, so they have no problem with waiting a while for the balance...

 

I have used this company (Simpsons on Fitzwalter Road) a few times in the past 15 years and never had anything less than fantastic service from them..

[nightraker 10]

Just to clarify...these people arent refusing to pay the costs, theyre simply waiting for the insurance company to pay up. The FD knows this.

And this wasnt some lavish affair or a case of someone 'buying' something they couldnt afford..it was a simple funeral as requested by the deceased.