• March 28, 2024
 Pre-paid funeral plans could let down consumers

Pre-paid funeral plans could let down consumers

A new report has suggested that thousands of people could be let-down by their pre-planned funeral arrangements.

According to research from Fairer Finance, the relatives of people who have paid for their funeral in advance could be faced with extra costs post death. In addition to expense, there have also been accusations of unreasonable sales methods in the industry, targeting vulnerable individuals using unscrupulous methods.

The lack or regulation in the industry has received heavy criticism, with the consumer group proposing the Financial Conduct Authority should step in.

Whilst the report found that the average pre-paid funeral cost around £4,000, it showed that many do not cover certain costs such as transport, burial plots and embalming. As a result, relatives have had no choice but to pay for these costs themselves, despite anticipating that they had been included in the pre-paid amount.

In the UK, sales of pre-paid funeral have grown by 350% during the last decade, with an estimated 1.2 million people thought to have the plans in place.

However, the methods used to sell the plans have been criticised, with the report describing them as ‘high-pressure’. An estimated six million people over the age of 50 have been contacted, with some consumers claiming that they had received aggressive telephone calls or home visits.

In a survey of those who had been contacted by a sales representative, just under half stated that they had felt “pushed” to make the purchase.

This is despite a lack of transparency as to the cost that the money would actually cover.

Campaigning for regulation in the area to be amended, the National Association of Funeral Directors have highlighted the problems that pre-paid plans pose in their current state.

At present, the industry has no ombudsman service, with the only regulation being voluntary.

Suggesting that this does not go far enough, the report states that regulatory responsibility should be with the FCA due to the plans being financial products.

President of the NAFD, Alison Crake stated: “In our view, the current lack of comprehensive oversight is allowing sharp sales practices and a lack of transparency to flourish in parts of the market,” said Alison Crake, president of the NAFD.

“Members have reported numerous instances to us where funeral plan providers have not acted in the best interests of either the public who have paid for funeral plans, or the funeral directors who will care for them.”

Georgia Owen

Georgia is the Senior Content Executive and will be your primary contact when submitting your latest news. While studying for an LLB at the University of Liverpool, Georgia gained experience working within retail, as well as social media management. She later went on to work for a local newspaper, before starting at Today’s Wills and Probate.