funeral plans......bullying

For anyone wishing to have the Viking idea of being buried at Sea, there was a TV documentry on the subject of unsual funerals shown a couple of years ago, where a company based in the Portsmouth area, offered a service where this type of burial or scattering of ashes could take place in dedicated Seagrave burial area just off the Needles on the Isle of Wight.
Various packages of services were available, including a full service conducted by Royal navy Chaplin, or with a full Gun salute and military type service.

What happens if you get one with a local firm but then move before you die?
If I'm still here when I go I know which firm I'd want but if I had to move out of area it might be too far. I've noticed that sometimes when people need to go into a home it is often near children not near their old home
There is no nearby coop undertakers not everyone has them

For a sensitive topic like arranging a funeral you would think she would have a better 'bedside manner' than she had. I would have cut her off much sooner.

Please contact a local, independent funeral directors as you will not only get the benefit of their experience that the salesman on the phone doesn’t have, but also local knowledge.
The company I work for has their own funeral plan. There’s no ongoing payments, just enough to cover the type of funeral you choose and no more.
We even have a wishes service that is completely free - you list everything you want (burial/cremation/music/flowers etc.) and that is printed out and sent to you to keep with your will.
Please don’t make a snap decision - these payments that go on for many years often cost thousands more than is necessary.
Good luck with your search.

I think you did exactly the right thing! An experience like this will - unfortunately - make you very nervous and reluctant to begin the process again with another company.

Definitely you were correct in writing a letter of complaint to the management of the company - I hope you named the salesperson. I also suggest you tell as many people as you know about this negative experience and also name the company. It’s a disgusting example of insensitivity and sales person bullying. This behaviour towards seniors cannot be condoned. Thank you for standing your ground .....and for standing up for our generation on this issue!

May be worth going to a Funeral Director as many offer plans and of course you would be able to have the funeral you fancy.

I would have done the same as you, but maybe made it clear from the start that it was an initial inquiry and that you most definitely wouldn' t be signing anything this month! She might have toned things down.

These people are not a Charity .
They are making money .
Why not put a bit of money away each month if you can afford it ?(I have just seen David hs has said that earlier)
Re donating your body after your death ...
My mum did that but had she died from a certain illnessthey would not have accepted her body.
Also I am given to understand that they don't really want bodies nowadays like used to happen.

I am not convinced about the Co op either.
Local family Funeral Companies have been taken over by the Coop but the name has remained so that one thinks one is getting the old family firm that has been there for years .
I may be wrong but I gather the Coop is more expensive than smaller Companies.

I would get advice from Age Concern, look at other review sites, or start an ordinary savings plan or NS&I. Sometimes simplest is best! It can be hard to wriggle away from a hard sell...

Id pick a local funeral directors - maybe one that is recommended by someone you know - and see if they do anything.

Coincidentally, I've just cancelled a funeral plan because, on reflection, I didn't like the attitude of the female sales person. She was pushy, and I got the ' special ' offer sell. She also bad mouthed some of the other providers. I looked at reviews, and discovered that thus company didn't belong to the relevant overseeing body. I cancelled well within the 30 days, in writing by recorded delivery. I then got the phone call offering better terms, and more time to decide. I'm definitely not going to accept. Did you by any chance deal with a company with the initials PL?

Contact Age concern. They should be able to help or point you in the right direction. Good luck

Last week I had the same happen to me .... the salesman asked me why I was being stroppy ? I asked for him to email me details... he refused said I needed to agree straight away ! .... I hung up!

My husband and I have Funeral Plans, as we don't have living children to take care of us. We didn't experience any "pushiness" or Bullying from either of the two companies we used, but I agree that this should not be happening! I would not entertain any company whose Rep behaved in this way. I got brochures from a whole range of providers, without any problems. The advantage of a funeral plan is that you do not have any waiting time, such as happens with Bank Accounts, or Insurance Policies, in order to pay. Having seen the "Pure Cremation" ads on TV - for those who do not want a service of any kind, it seems like a good option.

Open an ISA account and put the £80 odd cost in monthly. You can then access the money when needed plus get some, admittedly minute, interest. You keep control of your money. You could save
approx £1000 a year - your money available when you might need it.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ah aggressive sales people!

I was in a mall once, with my 6 months old baby and this guy tries to sell me a $40 cream for my under eyes, he asked if I got enough sleep

After me saying I am not interested and that I was late for an appointment for 3 minutes, trying to be polite, he blurted:
"Dont you want to be beautiful for your husband"
Oh my! I cannot believe he went there. How much lower was he willing to go?

I told him he was a terrible salesman and left a negative review in yelp.

Thank you everyone for your replies.
The topic certainly got us all fired up......sorry for the unfortunate pun!

Hi green green grass. I have Spinal PPMS...a rare type, so they may want to peek at what`s what eh? It took 22 years to diagnose!

Good for you Boodymum67.
I would have done exactly the same with a few naughtyies thrown in.tut tut

Agree I have done Pure Cremmation cheap polite.......they seem to get good reviews and I am happy with all their information had polite phone calls. such a relief I have sorted it out knowing no stress for my family.

good idea to think about the funeral plan but it would have a bad idea to go with such a horrible company. well done with putting the phone down. there are lots of others out there so do not worry about one bad apple . i'm glad you have complained

how do you go about donating your body to science MS as a matter of interest?

Candelle - I recommend to your OH then film What we did on our Holiday starring Billy Connolly and David Tenant. It is very funny and moving and highly relevant to his funeral wishes.

I bought my funeral long ago. We spoke to a local funeral director who was really helpful and refused to take payment on the day saying that we should think about it speak to family if we wished and give him a call if we were happy with the package. We paid a competive rate and let my children know we had arranged this. I then put the plan in the bank and have never thought about it since.