Is it me? Or is this really good news?

I'm also fed up with adverts on the television at the moment, I'm either ill, need mobility aids, dying or dead, for once, I'm looking forward to the Christmas adverts just for something different

Dont loose track that these companies are playing on your emotions so they can make money.

Put the money in a ISA to pay for your funeral.

My dh had a direct cremation. The funeral director assured me that respect would be shown at all times. We knew the time and his very close family and dogs accompanied me into the woods he loved at that time. A couple of weeks later we held a celebration of his life. However, I agree its very strange wording.

How very insensitive. I just don’t understand why they would do that

You might have money to burn or bury

That really is rather rude.

And what if there’s no one much left to ‘ bring together’ Allira

There is that, but I've been to funerals of friends and family members of 90+ and a family member of 100+ and the numbers of people there have been very large. One or two we know had perhaps just a couple of dozen but that was unusual.

And what if there’s no one much left to ‘ bring together’ Allira
Mt61 I ve just bought mine £1750 don’t think the states going to run after me for that do you ?

There will be money put aside for a ‘tea party’
Two of my children plus 5 grandchildren live overseas they will not be able to rush back to see me off, anyway I d rather have a visit when I m alive if they can I have no siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, or parents all are dead One daughter plus two grandchildren in Uk which it would be all left to her to do, that’s unfair She knows my feelings and feels the same I have a handful of close friends who could even go before me who knows!
Why would I want to spend £3,4 or £5 thousand on a funeral and a do’
A cardboard box or a shroud in the back garden would have suited me better but the least they do is a thin cheap wooden coffin
I ll rest easy
However back to the original point yes the advertising is crass and could be offensive to someone who has just been bereaved

Mt61

I don’t think you can pay for a funeral up front- seen as depletion of funds- heard they had changed the rules 🙄

A low budget funeral might cost £3000 if the the estate was so depleted that they needed to claim the funeral cost back the council would have to pay for the funeral cost..
Once money has been spent or gifted unless assets exist it’s gone

I don’t think you can pay for a funeral up front- seen as depletion of funds- heard they had changed the rules 🙄

We came back from my DH's pre-op appointment (heart up on Monday), to find one of these letters in our post. I was both annoyed and upset, my DH just laughed. Seems like Pure Cremation are on some sort of recruitment campaign!!

I expect nothing better from advertisers. They will try any trick in the book - tasteful or otherwise.

Ithought this was hilarious too, but even if a person doesn't think it's funny it will have an impact - and that is what they are after.

At the risk of repeating myself, I think you have misunderstood win.

No one on here, least of all me, is saying that people shouldn’t choose their own funeral, big or small as desired, and pay for it in advance, if that’s what they want to do. What has been said is that the words used on the advertisement are both funny and rather offensive, all at the same time. To those who said you don’t have to open the envelope, well yes, and normally we wouldn’t, but the wording invited a further look. After all, seeing that the advertisement had come from Pure Cremation, and was coupled with the words good news, I’m sorry, but we fell about laughing, because dying isn’t normally thought of as good news. Anyone would have thought that death is equivalent to winning the lottery. It was funny!

But then, thinking about it, I thought yes, but how upsetting it would be to receive that envelope if you were newly bereaved, or had just had a terminal diagnosis.

The advertising is crass. It’s that simple. Probably thought up by someone who should still be doing his geography homework.

It doesn't have to be big or traditional.
It can be simple but people are brought together to remember and to say farewell.

BlueBelle

Not if the ones left behind agree and know it’s what you want Allira and they agree with you and want the same themselves
Having a big traditional funeral isn’t in everyone’ s ability You might have money to burn or bury but many of us don’t want to spend big money on something that will be only used for a couple of days !!

It was nothing to do with money, anyway, their children would have paid.

I would want a proper service and closure in a dignified way for my relatives left behind, which won’t happen if the deceased is just carted off.

Not if the ones left behind agree and know it’s what you want Allira and they agree with you and want the same themselves
Having a big traditional funeral isn’t in everyone’ s ability You might have money to burn or bury but many of us don’t want to spend big money on something that will be only used for a couple of days !!

Someone very dear to me chose Pure Cremation. It's awful for those left behind.

Some doofus in the advertising dept obvs thought they were onto a winner.

Just seen this thread maddyfour we had the same letter arrived today, I imagine we’ll all get one, a mass posting by Pure Cremation😂
It’s the Good News on the back of the envelope that gets you isn’t it? So ridiculous you have to laugh at it.

That’s just it Win I don’t want my children paying loads for a coffin to be burnt or buried two thirds of my family are overseas a lot of my friends are older than me who will go to a big funeral
It’s paid for it s arranged it’s done and dusted if there’s anyone around they can go and have a nice meal and raise their glasses to me that’s all, I dont need any frills and I don’t want hard earned money paid out for absolutely nothing necessary

I must be the odd one out because although I think it is a ridiculous way of advertising I know that for a lot of people it is amazing to at last be able to afford a funeral plan up front. It gives them relief knowing that their loved ones do not have to worry about paying for their funeral and to know their wishes are paid for and will hopefully be carried out. Not everyone by far are as well off as most of the gransnetters who are writing on this thread appear to be and obviously do not consider £4000 or more a lot of money. For some this can never be possible, leaving the family feeling very guilty for not having given their loved ones the best possible send off.

We should talk about death much more than we do, the more we normalise it the easier it gets talking about our wishes. Dying matters, it matters to everyone you leave behind, but it will definitely also matter to you too when you get to that point.

Why open the stupid envelope anyway, OP clearly said it stated what it was about on the outside, did she and her husband really think there was going to be something amazing inside, if so I worry for them, because that is how scams are carried out. people are so gullible at times. Next time do not open any envelope that does not have your correct name and address on it and even then scrutinise it before you believe was it says..

Allira
😂😂😂

Well, if you tell everyone you've arranged the most exciting thing you've done in 2024 is arrange Pure Cremation or similar I doubt they'll say Amazing Dahling! How wonderful!

I think it’s easy to miss the point. The point was the wording used to promote this company’s services. I don’t think anyone is saying that funeral services shouldn’t be advertised, but the words good news and there’s still time in 2024 to do something amazing. aren’t in good taste, considering the subject matter.

How exactly is arranging your funeral ‘good news’ or ‘doing something amazing?’
It maybe something that people want to do to save their family the trouble, or because they want to control what happens to their body after death. But it’s hardly amazing or good news is it?

BeverleyJB

25Avalon

Another reason to regulate funeral services.

The firms that sell prepaid funeral plans are now regulated by the FCA and money paid over is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

It wasn’t/isn’t just about the money but other irregularities.