Funeral Costs in the UK
Funeral Costs vary a great deal from one funeral director to another. As always it is advisable to get more than one quote to compare the funeral costs and services. Usually the funeral directors will be able to provide detailed price lists of all costs involved.
The following advice comes from the office of fair trading
- When you arrange a funeral, you are responsible for paying the bill;
- Funeral payments are normally recoverable from the dead person's estate;
- The cheapest service is not necessarily the best value.
The table below indicates some typical costs associated with a funeral.
| Funeral Item | Details of the Funeral | Funeral Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Burial | Burial of Adult in Coffin | £600 |
| Burial | Burial of Cremated Remains | £150 |
| Headstone | Creation of Headstone Foundation | £70 |
| Headstone | Placement of Vase | £35 |
| Headstone | Lawn Headstone | £100 |
| Headstone | Removal and replacement of headstone | £100 |
| Services and Fees | Professional Advice service, assistance with all arrangements and provision of funeral director | £500 |
| Transport | Hire of Hearse or Limousine | £275 |
| Transport | Transfer of deceased to place of burial | £120 |
| Transport | Horse Drawn Carrige for Deceased | £1000 |
| Coffin | Pine Coffin | £300 |
| Coffin | Luxury Coffin | £750 |
| Coffin | Willow Coffin | £1000 |
| Coffin | Cardboard Coffin (environmentally friendly) | £90 |
| Coffin | Coffin Shroud | £25 |
| Clothing | Suit Hire | £50 |
| Clothing | Dress Hire | £50 |
| Burial | Cost of Cremation | £380 |
| Services and Fees | Cost of Cremation Certificates filled out by doctors | £124 |
| Total Cost | Total cost of Cremation including Flowers, Cremation, Ministers fees, Coffin | £2750 |
| Services and Fees | Announcements in newspapers | £75 |
| Flowers | Flowers at Church | £200 |
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Date Added: Friday 6th November 2009
"It might be worth noting that no one is obliged to use a funeral director for a funeral, the funeral director is called upon by peoples own choice to use them to carry out tasks they may not rpefer to do them selves. So when there are comments insinuating that funeral directors are "ripping off" the bereaved for the want of a better expression, bereaved families are not being forced to use their services. There are countless funeral directors that offer excelling service and value for money and unfortunately like everything else, some seem to be getting tarred with the same brush!!"
a
Date Added: Tuesday 3rd November 2009
"hi im 22 and i have to bury my mum soon she wanted to be buried in the church graveyard in a nice coffin we want flowers in a mum shape and a hearst to take her we will carry her to her restplace and i want a tombstone it would help alot if anyone in the know could just give me a guestimate on the cost ?"
perry mason
Date Added: Wednesday 30th September 2009
"I would like to say that funeral directors are notorious at playing with peoples emotions at the time of the death of a loved one. I have left a letter asking my family not to be taken in by this and no newspaper advertisements either. They are also astronomical too. I said anyone who had been a close friend/family would know without letting others who don't give a fig notification. Good to have found this site. "
Sallyanne
Date Added: Wednesday 12th August 2009
"I could not agree with p kelly more! I am a funeral director and I believe I could give the same dignified service for a fraction of the cost. The problem is starting up! This business is a rip off!"
P C
Date Added: Wednesday 12th August 2009
" I Had my Wifes Funeral with this company, Sanderson funeral service,the funeral cost me £1926.00 this did not include press notice and flowers, these funeral directors are so kind and caring "
c grundy
Date Added: Wednesday 5th August 2009
"I work in the industry and agree that firms like the cooperative are only interested in profit no matter what they may say and are greedy they are the biggest in the country but aint the best "
FSO
Date Added: Tuesday 14th July 2009
"Above says willow coffin £1000! We paid £480 including delivery naturalendings.co.uk/buy-coffin-now.asp "
Rose
Date Added: Saturday 11th July 2009
"MOTHERS FUNERAL THIS MONTH - UNDERTAKERS COST FOR CREMATION - COST WITHOUT ADDING THE COST OF FLOWERS AND NOTICES IN PAPER ETC £2905 FLOWERS £350 NEWSPAPER FAMILY NOTICES IN A GROUP - £300 £500 FOR HIRE OF A SMALL ROOM FOR DRINKS AND FOOD AFTERWARDS DON'T FORGET THE COST OF DEATH CERT AND COPIES OF BIRTH CERTS ETC - WE HAVE SPENT WELL OVER £5000 UPTO NOW AND I WOULDN'T SAY IT HAD BEEN A LAVISH SERVICE REALLY ONLY BASIC. EVEN HER INSURANCE WONT PAY OUT UNTIL PROBATE HAS BEEN SORTED BUT PEOPLE NEED PAYING STRAIGHT AWAY - AND IN THIS PRESENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE WHEN FUNDS ARE LOW IT IS A VERY WORRYING TIME FOR FAMILY WHEN THEY HAVE TO TRY AND FIND THE MONEY FROM SOME WHERE. "
P KELLY
Date Added: Tuesday 2nd June 2009
"Just going through the grind myself, and definately feel this is a useful page. I suspect cost of burial is the cost of the hole in the ground, not the plot itself. Definitely think that Funeral Directors are legalised scammers on the back of bereavement and sentiment."
TR
Date Added: Saturday 30th May 2009
"As a professionally registered and qualified funeral director i must say these figuers are in no way comparative to any i can think of. Although costs vary vastly from one area of the country to the other, there is no way these costs reflect the actual costs of a funeral, as i am sure any recently bereaved family would tell you. "
D
Date Added: Thursday 2nd April 2009
"I\'m in the process of organising my Father\'s funeral. It took me a week to get a written quote from the undertaker. When I called today to remind him, he told me not to grumble at him (I wasn\'t up to that point but then did) and how busy he\'d been. When we first met, I said I would like a wicker or cardboard coffin (my Father is being cremated) and the undertaker was very dismissive about ideas, said that \'men don\'t get married in wicker coffins\' and that \'cardboard coffins are not very environmentally friendly\'. For my Mother\'s sake I daren\'t rock the boat but after the funeral I shall complain to whomever is the governing body of funeral directors. "
K.Waite
Date Added: Tuesday 17th February 2009
"when my dad was cremated in 1994, the funeral parlour had the audacity to ask if we would return his ashes urn after we had finished with it ''as they are expensive'' (we had paid for the damn thing )
after paying over £1,000 for the funeral, i felt i was entitled to keep the urn , and i did!"
tony fry
Date Added: Tuesday 17th February 2009
"funerals are a scam, £200 for flowers in church, is just 1 example! and £124 for a doctor to sign a few forms is another. its legalised robbery!"
tony fry
Date Added: Wednesday 28th January 2009
"you need to recalculate the costs shown they are way out of date you dont show the cost of the grave that in hull can be £1500 just for the grave.pluss all funeral directors fees"
ken taylor
Date Added: Monday 27th October 2008
"thanks for the advise it was easy to read and understand"
s stone
Date Added: Tuesday 16th September 2008
"In the absence of any response so far I have completed my own research. Factory gate prices for willow wicker coffins start at around £50, in certain Eastern European Countries. A tightly woven and more attractive seagrass coffin has a factory gate price starting at £70, in Far East Countries. Clearly costs for coffins varies hugely."
Bernard Hornung
Date Added: Thursday 28th August 2008
"I would argue that a willow wicker coffin is more environmentally friendly than a cardboard one, it has less embodied energy, as the process of manufacture requires less energy consumption and the source of materials is sustainable. Moreover if the coffin is cremated, burning natural willow, is less harmful to the atmosphere than burning substances which give off pollutants such as some glues and varnishes, which are used in manufacturing traditional wooden coffins. I cannot understand why a willow wicker coffin should be the most expensive option. Surely these items should only cost a fraction of a traditional hardwood coffin with brass handles etc.. Can anyone provide a price list for willow wicker coffins?"
Bernard Hornung
Date Added: Sunday 20th July 2008
"J Hutton - These prices have been submitted by the public. If you have different prices then please submit them using the form and we will be happy to publish them! "
Admin
Date Added: Saturday 19th July 2008
"I Have studied your page and as a funeral director I have to say your prices are very out of touch. Where can you get a burial for 600.00 - What about the cost of a grave, and I would like to know where you can get an obituary placed in the paper for 75.00 A very misleading page"
J Hutton
Date Added: Saturday 19th April 2008
"Thanks. I will fix the form ASAP"
Admin
Date Added: Friday 18th April 2008
"couldn't submit prices - faulty site? minister cost = £110"
d pearce