Are funeral directors making too much profit out of their work?

[hennypenny]

You don't have pay those ridiculous prices.Have a look here,It is something I am considering for myself.

http://www.peacefunerals.co.uk/SYWBG.html

I am still looking at other alternatives.

 

I always said I would use these, but when it came down to it, when my husband died I ended up going to the nearest, the one we had used for other family members, as when you are in a state of grief and shock you tend to go for the familiar.

 

We had the co-op , although we did have to go and buy a wicker coffin ourselves from Peace funerals (who were extremely helpful and kind) and bring it in the car to the funeral home, which got a few strange looks on the journey. I found the co-op very reasonably priced, and not pushing any services, they let us decide exactly what we had, and helped us arrange a humanist service etc. I got £2000 bereavement payment from the government, it didn't cover it all, but it went a long way towards it

 

We were really keen on the idea of a woodland burial, but we went and had a look at the one at Wisewood cemetery and didn't like it at all - people have warped the idea, using the tree instead of a grave stone, but still marking out the grave with stones, and putting teddy bears, flowers etc on the tree, so it looks like a litter strewn piece of wasteground not a forest, in my opinion.

 

I do understand the human need to mark out the grave and show that the person is remembered, but why not just have a regular grave? I thought the idea of the woodland burial was to have a peaceful wildlife haven with just a discreet marker to the memory of the person buried so that it looked like any other forest.

 

We ended up going for cremation and now I have him in a box in my living room. One day we might put his ashes somewhere nice and peaceful, when we are ready, but not in the Wisewood woodland burial area.

[Mondeo Man]

I think you can have a pauper's funeral if there is no money in your estate to pay, and no family to pay for it.

 

They're called "Public Health Funerals", and are available for anyone who hasn't got any money in their estate, whether there are family members who could pay for it, or not.

 

Just as your relatives cannot be made to pay your debts, neither can they be made to pay for your funeral.

 

I think the important thing to remember, is that the Funeral Director/Minister etc. are there to do what you want, not the other way round.

 

When my mother died, the Minister (my mother was a Methodist) talked us out of speaking at the service.

 

When my father died, the Humanist Minister had no reservations about us speaking, and indeed actively encouraged anyone, who wanted to say something, to do so.

[liza D]

As far as I am aware you don't have to go through a funeral directors to have a burial.

 

Sounds morbid but I'm sorting my own out, no-ones ripping my loved ones off just to send me off.

 

You can make your own arrangements with either the cemetery or crematorium of your choice.

There are loads of ways to save money.

It's usually guilt that the FD play on, "If you don't have ABC you didn't love them".

 

Sit down and work out what you want or what your loved one would really have wanted and take it from there.

 

Most funerals are for show and have nothing to do with the deceased apart from an excuse to have a "good turnout".

[20LEGEND]

When you need to arrange a funeral, please please please phone round a number of funeral homes and get an itemised estimate on costs. You will be amazed at the difference in cost. Also ask who the funeral director is owned by, it's amazing how many trade as a family run business when they are actually part of a multi national company which is fine if that's what you want but a little bit naughty and deceitful if you are after using the services of an independent family run funeral directors

[BritPat]

id like a viking funeral,floated out to sea on wooden raft,and archers sending down arrows of flame....worra way to go.

otherwise,stick me in a skip behind tesco,set it alight with a bit of 4 star,sorted,il not know the difference,il be dead!!!

 

The Viking one sounds like a great idea.

[Sierra]

The Viking one sounds like a great idea.

 

I like that, too.

 

Simple cremation and scattering my ashes on the bay or in the mountains. We did this with my late mother in law, it's what she requested.

 

There's a scene in The Big Lebowski where Jeff Bridges and John Goodman go to collect their deceased friend's

ashes. John Goodman gets into an argument with the funeral director over the price of the urn, and he accuses the funeral director of regularly taking advantage of bereaved people. They end up buying a can of Folger's coffee, dumping out the coffee and putting their friend in that. Hilarious.

[Nutronic]

The problem is they will charge as much as they want as they know it will be paid for. The last thing anyone would do is shop around funeral places as the whole arranging is stressful enough.

[Waldo]

Tibetan Sky Burial anyone?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial

 

I'd like one of those? Is that possible in the UK?

[Waldo]

Ah, apparently not 'available' in the UK..

 

http://www.funeralinspirations.co.uk/information/Sky-Burial.html

 

Organ or Body Donation, sounds like a cheap option too; for those on a budget.

 

http://www.funeralinspirations.co.uk/information/Organ-Body-Donation.html

[bullerboY]

They have a fantastic job,the customer NEVER complains.:hihi::hihi: