| Funeral directors 17:30 - Oct 3 with 1712 views | Zx1988 |
Any recommendations or ones to avoid?
I've had Farthing and Hunnaball mentioned to me - are either of those of particular note? |  |
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| Funeral directors on 18:13 - Oct 3 with 1524 views | Radlett_blue |
Having dealt with one funeral, my main advice would be to be wary of the upselling tactic adopted by many companies, whereby they manage to persuade the bereaved to spend more than they want to on a casket etc, trading on guilt. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 18:21 - Oct 3 with 1483 views | football |
Not ones to avoid as I have not had much experience. Both my parents were fantastically treated by the Co-OP and my best friends was organised by Hunnables and was a really good send off | | | |
| Funeral directors on 18:23 - Oct 3 with 1468 views | JakeITFC |
Can give a very strong recommendation for Farthing.
Sorry for your loss. |  | | |
| Funeral directors on 18:25 - Oct 3 with 1450 views | Hugoagogo_Reborn |
Southgate and Roberts in Ipswich have handled a number of my family/friends funerals.
No up-selling (one of the partners left a very well known funeral directors establishment because he didn't like the up-selling tactics). They promise no hidden costs.
We found them to be very kind and respectful when we organised my father-in-law's funeral. Definitely recommend them. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 19:07 - Oct 3 with 1361 views | dickie |
My wife used to work in the hospice and was always really impressed with the co op | | | |
| Funeral directors on 19:32 - Oct 3 with 1326 views | Swansea_Blue |
I’ve used an excellent one in Swansea and another excellent one in Llandudno, if those are any good? Presumably not, but the constant between the two was they listened, nothing was too much trouble and they’d sort anything no matter how small, and the first meeting wasn’t a sales pitch. Meet one or two and go with your gut. As others have said, anyone using it to pitch for upselling rather than 100% concerned about making your life easier is best avoided. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 19:37 - Oct 3 with 1321 views | Guthrum |
| Funeral directors on 19:07 - Oct 3 by dickie |
My wife used to work in the hospice and was always really impressed with the co op |
We used the Co-Op (albeit the Cambridge branch) for both of my parents, 25 years apart. They were very good and, I didn't think, particularly pricey. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 19:42 - Oct 3 with 1302 views | gainsboroughblue |
Hunnaballs did my mum's and they were very good.
Mind you, I can't say I've read a bad review of a funeral director.
Sorry for your loss. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 19:44 - Oct 3 with 1292 views | Guthrum |
| Funeral directors on 18:13 - Oct 3 by Radlett_blue |
Having dealt with one funeral, my main advice would be to be wary of the upselling tactic adopted by many companies, whereby they manage to persuade the bereaved to spend more than they want to on a casket etc, trading on guilt. |
It does help if you have a good idea of what you want (agreed among all those doing the organising) before going to the funeral directors. That way you can get them to price up your plan, rather than selling you theirs. | |
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| Funeral directors on 20:43 - Oct 3 with 1216 views | EdwardStone |
If you are anywhere near Sudbury, then big shout out for J Edwards at the top end of North St.
Very very good indeed |  | | |
| Funeral directors on 21:39 - Oct 3 with 1131 views | RegencyBlue |
Hunnaballs did both my mum and dad’s funerals 15 years apart and were very good on both occasions. |  | | |
| Funeral directors on 09:53 - Oct 4 with 952 views | DJR |
| Funeral directors on 19:37 - Oct 3 by Guthrum |
We used the Co-Op (albeit the Cambridge branch) for both of my parents, 25 years apart. They were very good and, I didn't think, particularly pricey. |
I used the Co-op for both my parents in two different places, and found them very good. |  | | |
| Funeral directors on 10:10 - Oct 4 with 941 views | Churchman |
We used Farthings for my mum and then my dad, the latter being January 2024. They were excellent and far better than the people we used in Kent (Francis Chappell) for the recent death of my brother in law.
Not only did Farthings do what was agreed, they did it with care and thoroughness. The lady who dealt with us (a ITFC supporter!) really took the trouble to find out who my dad was which was both a personal touch and good when it came to such things as flowers and attention to detail. Where we needed suggestions, for example caterers, they were very helpful which meant we wound up with exactly what we required.
We’ve also used the Co-op for Mrs Cs aunt in Leicester and they were fine too. [Post edited 4 Oct 12:29]
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| Funeral directors on 11:29 - Oct 4 with 875 views | weepingx2018 |
Hunnaball were very good and very discreet. | | | |
| Funeral directors on 21:05 - Oct 9 with 697 views | Zx1988 |
Brief update on this, for those who are interested.
We decided to go with Hunnaball, based on recommendations here and reviews online, and had the initial meeting with them today.
This is my first time arranging a funeral, so I appreciate it may not be a surprise to those who've been there done that, but what an absolute con-job the funeral industry is.
None of the catalogues we were presented with had any form of price list attached, and we had to ask for those and receive them separately.
When we did get those price lists (and the gushing recommendation that we really should use the suppliers in question), they turned out to be at least 50% more expensive than if we choose to use a decent non-affiliated local supplier.
After we'd made the core decisions, we were then subjected to a sales pitch for their chosen funeral finance provider, despite stating that we'd be paying cash in full.
Then, after being told in the room that certain things (collection of ashes, provision of a donation box etc.,) would be free of charge, they've been listed as £50 and £185 respectively in the quotation.
Leaves an incredibly bitter taste in the mouth, and it's very easy to see how those rendered vulnerable by grief end up spending stupid amounts on a funeral. [Post edited 9 Oct 21:15]
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| Funeral directors on 21:17 - Oct 9 with 661 views | DanTheMan |
| Funeral directors on 21:05 - Oct 9 by Zx1988 |
Brief update on this, for those who are interested.
We decided to go with Hunnaball, based on recommendations here and reviews online, and had the initial meeting with them today.
This is my first time arranging a funeral, so I appreciate it may not be a surprise to those who've been there done that, but what an absolute con-job the funeral industry is.
None of the catalogues we were presented with had any form of price list attached, and we had to ask for those and receive them separately.
When we did get those price lists (and the gushing recommendation that we really should use the suppliers in question), they turned out to be at least 50% more expensive than if we choose to use a decent non-affiliated local supplier.
After we'd made the core decisions, we were then subjected to a sales pitch for their chosen funeral finance provider, despite stating that we'd be paying cash in full.
Then, after being told in the room that certain things (collection of ashes, provision of a donation box etc.,) would be free of charge, they've been listed as £50 and £185 respectively in the quotation.
Leaves an incredibly bitter taste in the mouth, and it's very easy to see how those rendered vulnerable by grief end up spending stupid amounts on a funeral. [Post edited 9 Oct 21:15]
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That's absolutely vile. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 21:36 - Oct 9 with 635 views | Bigalhunter |
| Funeral directors on 21:05 - Oct 9 by Zx1988 |
Brief update on this, for those who are interested.
We decided to go with Hunnaball, based on recommendations here and reviews online, and had the initial meeting with them today.
This is my first time arranging a funeral, so I appreciate it may not be a surprise to those who've been there done that, but what an absolute con-job the funeral industry is.
None of the catalogues we were presented with had any form of price list attached, and we had to ask for those and receive them separately.
When we did get those price lists (and the gushing recommendation that we really should use the suppliers in question), they turned out to be at least 50% more expensive than if we choose to use a decent non-affiliated local supplier.
After we'd made the core decisions, we were then subjected to a sales pitch for their chosen funeral finance provider, despite stating that we'd be paying cash in full.
Then, after being told in the room that certain things (collection of ashes, provision of a donation box etc.,) would be free of charge, they've been listed as £50 and £185 respectively in the quotation.
Leaves an incredibly bitter taste in the mouth, and it's very easy to see how those rendered vulnerable by grief end up spending stupid amounts on a funeral. [Post edited 9 Oct 21:15]
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Hopefully your sad loss doesn’t involve a subsequent requirement for probate.
I saw some recommendations for Co-op on here, a company we used when my mother passed away in 2020.
Their funeral facilitators were good but beware of their grubby little probate scam.
An ‘associate’ rolled up with a list of unnecessary ‘essentials’ that totalled almost £10,000.
Wise to the pitfalls, we found a local solicitor in Bristol, who provided the same service for £2500.
She knew all about the Co-op scam but was very diplomatic as she crossed off all the ridiculous and unnecessaryextras Co-op had added off their quote.
There’s money in other people’s misery and a lot of these companies look to exploit people at their most vulnerable. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 21:54 - Oct 9 with 613 views | Zx1988 |
| Funeral directors on 21:17 - Oct 9 by DanTheMan |
That's absolutely vile. |
Not to mention the fact that the consultation room was nothing more than a memorials/jewellery showroom with a couple of sofas dumped in it. They must see an elderly grief-stricken widow, and rub their hands with glee.
As for probate, yes, we're definitely going to be shopping around a list of trusted local solicitors, and definitely not going anywhere near anyone recommended by the funeral director. | |
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| Funeral directors on 22:05 - Oct 9 with 580 views | blueasfook |
| Funeral directors on 21:54 - Oct 9 by Zx1988 |
Not to mention the fact that the consultation room was nothing more than a memorials/jewellery showroom with a couple of sofas dumped in it. They must see an elderly grief-stricken widow, and rub their hands with glee.
As for probate, yes, we're definitely going to be shopping around a list of trusted local solicitors, and definitely not going anywhere near anyone recommended by the funeral director. |
What kind of bloodsucker sees people's grief as an opportunity to make money. Awful.people. Hope all goes well. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 22:10 - Oct 9 with 552 views | PhilTWTD |
| Funeral directors on 21:36 - Oct 9 by Bigalhunter |
Hopefully your sad loss doesn’t involve a subsequent requirement for probate.
I saw some recommendations for Co-op on here, a company we used when my mother passed away in 2020.
Their funeral facilitators were good but beware of their grubby little probate scam.
An ‘associate’ rolled up with a list of unnecessary ‘essentials’ that totalled almost £10,000.
Wise to the pitfalls, we found a local solicitor in Bristol, who provided the same service for £2500.
She knew all about the Co-op scam but was very diplomatic as she crossed off all the ridiculous and unnecessaryextras Co-op had added off their quote.
There’s money in other people’s misery and a lot of these companies look to exploit people at their most vulnerable. |
Not the Co-op but we had a solicitor who had a relative's will pretty much treat it as taken as read we were going to use them for probate, implying we had to use a solicitor to do it, which is not the case. I'm sure plenty of people get railroaded into using and paying through the nose for a service they can do themselves. |  | | |
| Funeral directors on 22:17 - Oct 9 with 527 views | WeirdFishes |
I’ve only dealt with Hunnables, last year, they were fantastic. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 22:29 - Oct 9 with 494 views | Zx1988 |
| Funeral directors on 22:17 - Oct 9 by WeirdFishes |
I’ve only dealt with Hunnables, last year, they were fantastic. |
I can only speak as I find, and of course other people's experiences may vary. It could well be that a lot of the 'hard sell' stuff was down to the individual member of staff and their own particular style.
Catalogues with no prices included, though, and the holding of the consultation in a gaudy memorials showroom, has to be a central policy decision, and is incredibly low behaviour. | |
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| Funeral directors on 23:20 - Oct 9 with 433 views | Bigalhunter |
| Funeral directors on 22:10 - Oct 9 by PhilTWTD |
Not the Co-op but we had a solicitor who had a relative's will pretty much treat it as taken as read we were going to use them for probate, implying we had to use a solicitor to do it, which is not the case. I'm sure plenty of people get railroaded into using and paying through the nose for a service they can do themselves. |
Absolutely.
You don’t generally need a solicitor as it’s relatively straightforward to sort it all yourself.
The complications only arise where there is the strong probablity of inheritance tax, which there was in our case.
The Co-op guy insisted that he needed to place advertisements in the national press in the unlikely event there were unexpected benefactors waiting in the wings, who may want to make a claim on the estate.
The solicitor we eventually chose said it was totally unnecessary and came up with a superb solution to avoiding paying any inheritance tax.
I don’t think we’d have managed to sort that issue out on our own and the Co-op would have happily fleeced us for an extra 75% for what they described as an ‘all encompassing, bespoke service for complete peace of mind at a troubling time’ just to ensure the same outcome. [Post edited 9 Oct 23:39]
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| Funeral directors on 07:46 - Oct 10 with 288 views | Steve_M |
| Funeral directors on 21:54 - Oct 9 by Zx1988 |
Not to mention the fact that the consultation room was nothing more than a memorials/jewellery showroom with a couple of sofas dumped in it. They must see an elderly grief-stricken widow, and rub their hands with glee.
As for probate, yes, we're definitely going to be shopping around a list of trusted local solicitors, and definitely not going anywhere near anyone recommended by the funeral director. |
FFS. When I saw this thread come back up I thought it was going to be you telling us one of the mentioned companies had done a professional job. Instead, just an additional burden at a sensitive time.
I hope despite all that, you can manage to use the funeral to say goodbye properly and can keep plenty of happy memories in mind as you do so and through the next few weeks. |  |
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| Funeral directors on 18:35 - Oct 10 with 148 views | Zx1988 |
| Funeral directors on 07:46 - Oct 10 by Steve_M |
FFS. When I saw this thread come back up I thought it was going to be you telling us one of the mentioned companies had done a professional job. Instead, just an additional burden at a sensitive time.
I hope despite all that, you can manage to use the funeral to say goodbye properly and can keep plenty of happy memories in mind as you do so and through the next few weeks. |
Cheers Steve.
We pushed back on the quote and, based on their response, the whole thing would appear to be as bent as a nine bob note.
The original quote was for a package which didn't include any orders of service, and listed them as the following line item:
Design and printing of 40 order of service - Approximately £171
Following our challenging their pricing, they've tweaked the package (they didn't provide the full breakdown we requested, merely priced up a different package), and now the order of service comprises two line items:
Production of order of service (not including printing) - £130
Printing of 40 order of service (not including designing) - £171
So, magically, now that we're not paying as much for a package that never included orders of service in the first place, the cost of producing exactly the same order of service booklets has shot up by £130.
One could be mistaken for thinking that they're con artists the f**king lot of them. They know full well that once they've got your relative in their cold store, there's b*gger all you can do about taking them elsewhere.
(Edited for Phil's sanity) [Post edited 10 Oct 18:45]
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