The rise in Paupers funerals

bmacca That’s much better but still a lot of money for many people to find.

Yes, jenpax, I agree it is still a lot for some families to find but at least it's a lower cost option than some

One of the people i have read about, lost her husband very suddenly. They had a young son and were already living on the breadline. The council said she would not be allowed to attend the funeral if she did not pay for it and so she went into a massive debt that she could not afford just to give her husband a dignified funeral. How can this be right? It’s evil.

I think the council were very wrong to say she could not attend.

I arranged the cremation of an elderly friend recentl. Right until her death she was adamant that she did not want money wasted on her funeral.

The costs were:

Doctors certificate for cremation £164

Transport of body to crematorium: £80 ( we could have done this ourselves but nobody wanted to)

Cremation fee: £550

All her friends met the next day to scatter the ashes. They came back to mine for tea and cake (her favourite)
So £20 if you want to count that in.

That was it. All that was necessary. Very simple. To my mind very lovely and personal.

I have a question please. If someone dies at home, where does the body go? If you don't want to use a funeral director,what happens could it go to the hospital morgue.
Eglantine doesn't mention this in her breakdown of costs.

I really feel that the bereaved are often taken advantage of and cannot believe how much people are being charged for not very much. The living don't seem to be treated much better either as an older cousin pays more than £40 every month for a funeral plan which has to be paid until death or all payments made are forfeited. Another relative died and because the only asset was his house his body was kept in storage until the house was sold and funds were released to the funeral company for his funeral payment. It took quite a long time!

We have told our DC that we are hving a DIY send off. It doesn't need to cost all that much. You can get a box made to measure or have a wicker basket made and either keep it in the loft or use it as a blanket box or such until needed. Hopefully there will be no need to take our bodies anywhere else other than our home. Our car is long enough to fit us in - we have tried it! We intend to use my DGP's plot for our burial. Our Pastor will do the service and the church is just along the road from the cemetery so not far to nip back for a bun and a brew once the box is popped in the hole. No fuss and bother and certainly no expense required.

for those stateside and worried
national cremation society
from the day he died to the point i got his ashes
all legal done;
notifications to social security /Va etc
and 3 copies of nototrized death certificates.800$

if a veteran;va will pay for funeral but not for cremation(ask local veterans post)

oh and we had a ceremony of our own with the ashes.
for a donation most churches i know will have private memorial or a mention at regualr sunday service

She died In hospital, Claudia. They kept her body for a couple of days till the paperwork was done and then it was taken directly to the crematorium. The actual cremation was unattended,

This is much cheaper than an attended cremation because you are not using the gathering facilities and the cremation can be done early in the morning or late at night, in a slot that would otherwise be unused.

Presumably this is why the wife was told she couldn’t go.

When my DM died in her care home she was immediately taken to the local undertakers which the home used. They rang me in the morning to say she’d died overnight (I’d been sent home exhausted and she didn’t know I was there anyway) and where she was. It wasn’t the undertakers she wanted to use but I have to say they were wonderful. No fuss, no pushing and just over £2000. She was buried at her church where she was organist.

In our town there is a average wait of 14 days for a cremation slot, you could hardly keep a body at home for that long could you so it would have to go somewhere. This will undoubtedly incur costs. Most people couldn’t fit a coffin in their car, more costs, doctors certificate, costs, coffin itself costs, actual cremation/burial costs etc. It all adds up even if you do it on the cheap.

Just a word to support some funeral directors, when my 16 year old niece died 5 years ago the local Coop funeral directors did the funeral free. We asked for some extra cars as we have a large family and we knew that parking at the church would be very limited, we expected to pay for those but they didn’t charge for them either. The catering company at her school also did the funeral tea for no charge. There are compassionate people out there.

Funeral directors fees sound expensive but ask yourself could you do their job ?
When I was a child a local woman used to provide a laying out service and the body stayed in the house until the day of the funeral.
In the last few weeks I have seen notices in the newspaper indicating that a private funeral had already taken place. It looks as if some are opting for low key.
DH's cousin died a couple of weeks ago, a single man, there was a basic cremation and no wake afterwards.

A local drug addict has died, he has no relatives. The council phoned his former landlord, the only contact they had. The landlord and an agent who supported the deceased when rent arrears meant he lost his tenancy are going to the funeral. It's paid for and arranged by the council.
One of my relatives recently died suddenly, at a relatively young age. He'd no savings, his adult children didn't either. They arranged a cremation with only close family and later met up at his favourite pub to listen to music and celebrate his life.

My grandparents generation knew poverty. They were so called 'respectable, working class'. They paid into a funeral fund throughout their working lives, to avoid their relatives having to find the cash for a 'decent funeral'.

So sorry to hear about your niece suzied so very young. Good to hear there were some kind people out there who supported you.
We hear so many complaints its good to hear about human kindness.

My mother in law died just before Christmas and, as we have done on such occasions in the past, we used the local family owned undertakers for the funeral arrangements.
She was buried at the end of December and we are still waiting for the bill!
It's always been the same. We usually have to chase them up eventually and costs are in the region of £2000.

When my mum died the co-op wanted the names of 2 people who would take responsibility for the final bill . Which they produced a day after the funeral . They expected (and got) payment in full within 7 days . Very expensive too . Wouldn’t ever use them again . Actually I hope I don’t need to use anyone for a very long time there’s not many of us left.

Thank you Eglantine.