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FUNERAL FLOWERS

(94 Posts)
paddyanne Tue 19-Jan-21 21:54:18

I sent flowers for the funeral of a dear friend in Croatia ,I was assured they would arrive the day before the funeral last Friday .I just received a message from his son to tell me the flowers arrived this morning ,he sent his thanks and a photo of them.
I am absolutely appalled at what was delivered ,no better than some supermarket flowers and worse than most .Instead of lilies and roses and gyp ,,theres an abundance of white daisies and 3 pink roses stuck in the centre .I am so embarrassed that my friends think I sent these .I've e-mailed the company and sent a copy of what arrived but should I send a second more appropriate bouquet ? Obviously not from the same company as that was a total waste of £75 .I feel mortified its not a tribute more an insult .

Sandrahill Wed 20-Jan-21 15:18:45

You send off for a stunning bouquet fit for your dear friend. Irrespective of the outcome- that was your loving intention. Nothing else matters now. The morons who let you down should refund you- no doubt about that. However send a small letter to her son to express your sadness and why. Then when life settles after Covid- visit your dear friends grave yourself and bring some pretty personally chosen ones x

Vlsnoozy49 Wed 20-Jan-21 15:23:59

My s&dl sent me what should have been Christmas candle white wine and white fabric roses for Christmas. I recieved six miniature whisky and chocolate I don’t like and12 black roses . We told them it didn’t matter and we were delighted .DH ate the chocs and I sampled whisky ?.but black roses after the year we have had?

paddyanne Wed 20-Jan-21 15:26:38

icanhandthemback I may be a nationalist but that only means I support Scotland I dont hate or even dislike English folk .I have English family . I hate the Westminster system You are of course entitled to your views on Scotland .Thank you for your good wishes ,and you are right about the fact I can usually deal with anything including florists who dont deliever what they should.Problem I have now is they haven't even answered my e-mail .I'll give them a bit longer before I call

Armoria Wed 20-Jan-21 15:28:42

As a former florist it makes me so mad when I read stories like this. Sounds like the company said yes even though they knew it could not be done and also supplied blooms that were not the ones requested figuring nobody would check or say anything detrimental owing to the 'delicate' nature of the occasion. If you paid via credit card you can claim a refund under a section 75 as they did not supply what was ordered nor at correct the time/day. if you paid with debit card you could try a back chargeback or if payment went via PayPal you can open up a dispute. Getting a refund I know does not change the fact that the flowers were not what you wanted and missed the funeral but you can then use the refund to sent something to maybe have placed on the grave or to purchase something in your late friend's name for her family, church or whatever. Sorry for your loss.

Greciangirl Wed 20-Jan-21 16:09:43

I sent a bouquet for my daughters birthday,from M&S.
They were lovely, and good value for money.
Arrived on the day and at the correct time.

Wibblywobbly Wed 20-Jan-21 16:12:06

I agree you are risking it sending flowers to someone abroad. However I once sent flowers to someone in Australia and they were absolutely amazing, far exceeding my expectations, and they would have cost a lot more if sent to someone the UK!

lizzypopbottle Wed 20-Jan-21 17:25:01

On the 13th of this month I bought a card on Moonpig for my daughter's birthday and chose Monday 18th as the delivery day. I added flowers to the order. The flowers arrived on the day but without the card so she had to ask on the family whatsapp group if any of us had sent them. The card arrived today, two days late. I paid £27.98 altogether. Poor service.

Tooyoungytobeagrandma Wed 20-Jan-21 17:34:59

I received some flowers in a box through the post. When unpacked they looked poor but put in a vase and fed as per instructions after 3 days were lovely and lasted 2.5 weeks. My friend was so happy to get pics of what she had sent. Its so sad when you do something thoughtful and the company does not do their part. Hope you get a refund and an apology.

instagran Wed 20-Jan-21 18:48:43

This is as a recipient; my birthday is the day after Halloween, and you wouldn't believe the number of times I have been sent "firework", i.e. orange, left over from the day before flowers. I have since explained to those loved ones kind enough to send me flowers, that they should please specify "no orange firework night" flowers. and that I like white, pink and mauve ones, but please, never orange!

bikergran Wed 20-Jan-21 19:11:41

When we had mums funeral not long ago, my mum wouldn't have wanted people spending money on flowers that she could not see (well maybe she did1 who knows)

But we found a local lady who started a business hiring out silk funeral flowers.

We were a bit skeptical but read the reviews and did some home work.

We ordered a "mum" a "grandma" and a large spray for the top.

It cost £90 for the lot, the lady delivered them to the funeral home then collected them afterwards.

No one other than us knew they were not real flowers. You really could not tell when they were inside the hearse.

So no wastage, recycled and used again.

You even got a little cards to write on.

Kim19 Wed 20-Jan-21 19:22:10

I remember a friend of mine telling me of her 'favourite' local florist and suggesting she was on good personal terms with her. This was her attempt at getting me away from the local firm who had the interflora contract. Apparently their bouquets were sparse and awful. She didn't want to disappoint me by telling me how awful my gifts had been.

Deedaa Wed 20-Jan-21 21:06:16

I was a bit dubious when I spent £75 on a sheaf of flowers for DH's coffin but, after seeing the prices some of you have paid for flowers, I think we did pretty well. It was really big with beautiful purple, gold and white flowers. The undertaker suggested we should take them home afterwards as they'd only be thrown away so we split them into half a dozen bouquets which lasted for days.

llizzie2 Thu 21-Jan-21 00:06:26

There is always a risk sending anything abroad. It is shocking and bordering on criminal because the flowers should have reflected the purpose at least. If you are able to and want to send flowers, choose a company who allows payment through pay pal. That way you have more security.

If I have gifts to send, or flowers, I always send via pay pal because it is much safer. Of course the recipient has to be able to withdraw the money from a pay pal account.

I first joined pay pal in 2006 and have found it to be one of the best methods of paying for anything, and sending birthday money. I also pay my carer via pay pal, which is a bonus for me. I pay the balance of my credit card off each month, so interest is never paid. I know that if I pay through pay pal and I do not receive the items, I will have my money refunded.

Annana Thu 21-Jan-21 06:51:13

It is upsetting that such a sad event should have been made worse for you. My experience was not so poignant but caused a little upset in the family. I sent flowers to my sister , recently divorced and with very young children,from Germany through inter flora. Occasion was Mother’s Day and I knew that she would be feeling “alone”. The flowers arrived 2 days late! Now, I try to find a local florists- and have never been let down.

icanhandthemback Mon 25-Jan-21 20:35:31

I may be a nationalist but that only means I support Scotland I dont hate or even dislike English folk

That's nice to hear. My views on Scotland aren't really strong either way apart from it is a beautiful country which I enjoy visiting.

I hope you are feeling much better about everything today. It is hard to keep your chin up at the moment with all the doom and gloom about.

paddyanne Mon 25-Jan-21 22:46:15

I'm fine thanks ,my friends son has been lovely about the flowers and said not to get myself worked up over it ,I've had no reply from the company to my multiple messages and e-mails and have put a bad review on their site .If they get back to me I have asked that they send the refund to my friends to be donated to a charity of their choice .
It was very unlike me to be so upset but it is strange times.Thank you for your good wishes

Callistemon Mon 25-Jan-21 22:49:01

I hope they do refund the money, paddyanne and I'm am glad you are feeling better about it now.

Clarafats2 Sun 31-Jan-21 11:14:05

So sorry, I assumed there would be some sort of alert, ( not posted on gransnet before). So it may well be too late, but for future reference, the email is [email protected]
The name is Cvjecarnica Ljubica, for the website. Again, apologies for lateness