Why you should shop around when planning a funeral.

[Gromit]

Just watched this, I'm shocked to find out this happens in some funeral directors. If I thought that this happened to my mum when she died early this year, I don't know what I would do. We should all shop around and find a good funeral directors.


http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=325738

 

[numbnuts]

The last funeral directors in that film “Dignity” is who I have my paid funeral with, so a £40 coffin is sold on for £400-£450 now that is a disgrace talk about being ripped off.

 

[Gromit]

When we were organising my mum's funeral early this year I really felt that we were being rail roaded into a lot of unnecessary costs. I was not in control as my sister was the executor of the will. What struck me was the mark up on everything. Flowers for instance £250 for something that would have cost £15 to make. Digging a hole £500 +, notice in the local paper £150. When I tried to explain to my sister that all these costs have been marked up in some way, she didn't understand.Funeral came to £4500+. If my mum knew how much money it was going to cost she would have hit the roof. I went along with it in the end, I am never going to use a funeral directors, I will organise everything myself.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

When we were organising my mum's funeral early this year I really felt that we were being rail roaded into a lot of unnecessary costs. I was not in control as my sister was the executor of the will. What struck me was the mark up on everything. Flowers for instance £250 for something that would have cost £15 to make. Digging a hole £500 +, notice in the local paper £150. When I tried to explain to my sister that all these costs have been marked up in some way, she didn't understand.Funeral came to £4500+. If my mum knew how much money it was going to cost she would have hit the roof. I went along with it in the end, I am never going to use a funeral directors, I will organise everything myself.

Maybe you have identified a hole in the market there Gromit for a service that sorts out all that kind of stuff without ripping anyone off.

 

[Gromit]

Maybe you have identified a hole in the market there Gromit for a service that sorts out all that kind of stuff without ripping anyone off.

Soon as you start treating people as commodities then you loose the ethics. If I had the money to start my own business then maybe I would.

I took my sister on a walk to my gran and granddad's grave to make sure that the grave diggers were digging the hole in the right place the day before the funeral, with the intention of making sure they were doing it in the right place. If it wasn't I would have made them redo it.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Not making light of anyone's loss, but I've requested that my mortal remains be flung into the North sea by a giant trebuchet.

 

[subaqua]

Not making light of anyone's loss, but I've requested that my mortal remains be flung into the North sea by a giant trebuchet.

sprinkled on the top of haleakela on maui for me.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

sprinkled on the top of haleakela on maui for me.

Good stuff, my father in law has made it quite clear he wants to be floated through Peterborough (on the Nene) aboard a flaming longship.

 

[Fnaar]

I'm going to request to be encased within a golden, body-shaped 'coffin' that stands upright on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Sq. My wish is that I shall become revered, and eventually worshipped as a deity. I deserve nothing less.

 

[penguinking9]

Planted under a tree in a cardboard coffin.

Of course, I'll have to wait until someone invents stronger cardboard........

 

[carolonabike]

The problem is the majority of people don't make plans in advance, preferring the head in the sand approach and in the few days after the loss of a loved one the grieving relatives are not in the right frame of mind to go shopping around. What you want is someone to make arrangements as smoothly and painlessly as possible.

As an aside I have relatives who live in Bulgaria; in the rural villages funerals are still handled much more informally. Normally a neighbour who has a horse (or donkey) and cart will be used and the coffin will be left open. Recently my aunt was transporting a group of tourists in her car when they passed an estate car in the village on it's way to a funeral. The rear door was open because the car wasn't quite long enough and sticking out the back was granny in her open coffin. It gave the tourists an attack of the heebie jeebies but I think it's a nicer, friendlier way of doing it.

 

[Melonfish]

I've always stated i want a quiet affair, wicker coffin and a tree planted on my grave so future generations can enjoy fruit.
old style you know?
none of this expensive rubbish, hell i'll prolly do the coffin myself before i go have to see how ill i am before i consider digging the hole tho.

 

[penguinking9]

3 of my grandparents went in the same year and we used the same funeral director (or is it undertaker?) for all of them.

Dad decided it might be bad form to ask for a bulk discount though.

 

[fossyant]

Not making light of anyone's loss, but I've requested that my mortal remains be flung into the North sea by a giant trebuchet.

I only know of one mate, and it's at Warwick Castle - the low-loader to the coast might be expensive !

 

[Cheddar George]

Not making light of anyone's loss, but I've requested that my mortal remains be flung into the North sea by a giant trebuchet.

Hunter S Thompson style ......... must be a writers thing.