Funeral Costs

"Average funeral costs in the West Midlands for 2011 are £2100 for a cremation including a Hearse and coffin and all professional fees including Crematoria, doctors and minister. Extras such as a limousine should cost approx £160. It is the families choice if they require flowers, obituaries, orders of service, ashes urns etc. These are charged at cost. As a family funeral director covering the West Midlands and Staffordshire may I respectfully suggest that you ask for an estimate and check like for like. For example are the cars new or twenty years old, what are the alternative coffins and their costs, and do they come from an enviromental source. Do expect to pay for part of the funeral when you arrange it, normally the doctors fees, the crematoria fees and the ministers fees. These average about £850. The remaining amount is for the coffin, hearse, bearers, and professional fees. We also offer a very simple funeral at a fee of £1500 approx where the decease has requested a private cremation. Please check our web site www.funeraldriectorslichfield.co.uk or tel 01543 677494"

Vince

"18 months ago i was calling around local funeral directors to get a rough cost for my mothers funeral as she was terminally ill, i was quoted £950 plus disbursements from a funeral director in solihull called colour my funeral. proof was in the puddin 9 months ago when my mother passed away and i called back, i was expecting to pay in the region of £4000 as that is what i had been quoted from other funeral directors. i spoke to lovely girl called amy who guided me through everything with such heartfelt emotion, she and the men on the day of the funeral were very understanding and compassionate, and when it came to the bill (much to my suprise i must admit) the cost was exactly the same as what i had been told all them months before when i called for advice. my final bill including hurst, car, flowers and service sheets and a cremation at my nearest cemetry came to £1987. would strongly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a funeral or wants to discuss arranging a funeral that is in the solihull or birmingham area. thumbs up colour my funeral and thanks again amy! "

claire

"Cost indicatons were most helpful. Thank you"

JM

"For those who have the unfortunate worry of not being able to pay for an impending funeral. Please refer to Form SF200 10/10 which is available from your local JobCentre Plus Office, as you may be entitled to help with your costs from the Social Fund. If you are on the internet you can go to www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/sf200 Hope this helps."

Christine

"As a former qualified FD of 15 years service, I must admit the cost of funerals have certainly got higher; but please remember that the funeral estimate / bill is in fact divided in two parts; The funeral directors charges and then what is called disbursements. Over heads do need to be covered and in many cases the bill does not get paid straight away; more often the estate pays via the solicitor, this in its self can take months....but yet these over heads need to be covered until payment has been made. The FD can not help it if the disbursement costs are high; these costs are down to the individuals; ie: paper notice, flowers, Crem / Burial fee and fees such as Doctors fee for cremation papers; these are two doctors that independently ensure the person is dead and then fill in the cremation papers ready for the medical referee and crematorium. I read over some of the comments here; regarding cremation, ONE coffin and its contents being the deceased are cremated at one time. Crematoria have more than one cremation chamber. One chamber per coffin being cremated and that said chamber can not accept another coffin until the cremation process has completed with the process before. Cremation is a very strict process. Most crematorium superintendents are willing to talk about this to put peoples minds at rest, so never feel afraid to ask. Hope this helps."

TD

"There was a case in Oldham, Greater Manchester, of the local mountain rescue team handling the complete funeral of one of their members. They arranged for a simple, home made timber wood coffin. They used their rescue vehicle as a hearse. They booked the crematorium themselves. friends spoke at the service. Regarding your comments, I feel, if you had questioned the local government more fully regarding transportation of a deceased then you may have been give different or correct advice. Please be aware that some crematoria are owned by large funeral companies. Thus the advice they give can be somewhat bias."

JOB

"I was wondering, if i bought a hearse and a couple of limousine to hire out to the FD, do i need any kind of special licence. "

DTF NorthEast

"I am a Minister of Religion who has taken many funerals. Yes, there is a cost for the services of professionals to help bereaved people to say goodbye to their loved ones. It takes me a minimum of 8-10 hours to do all of the preparations for a funeral so that everything is right, and the eulogy is accurate and everything the family have requested is done. For all ministers - no matter how many funerals arrive in our diary to do we are still obliged to do everything else in our diaries too, which means we are doing a lot more work in a week in addition to our normal duties. It is not unusual on the week of a funeral to be sat up until the early hours to fit the extra work in. It is quite normal to be working a 16 hour day when planning and preparing a funeral for a family - please understand we want to do the best we can at a difficult time, and are not trying to take advantage of anyone at all. It is sad to read some of the posts on here - minsters and FDs are simply trying to help families at a stressful time by offering their professional services when asked for."

A minister of religion

"m Ay mum passed away 18mos ago. she wanted the co-op. we had a hearse, 2 cars. she was in open coffin at home first and then to the church for service and on to crematorium. they charged over 4000.00 i am sure this is not right. also my mum had necklace with heart on it that my daughter asked for before she was cremated and f d lifted my mum up so she was sitting upright with my poor daughter there while he unclasped the necklace. mum was in the conservatory and my husband was in the garden and almost had a heart attack when he saw mum sat up. can i do anything about this 18 mos later? i just dont want anyone else to go through this."

d mccormick

"My Wife's mother is over 80. She refuses to save money for her funeral. She is a pensioner with little savings and what money she has left over, she squanders it on giving it away to people that rip her off for 2nd hand goods (they knock on her door). She treats her 3 daughters like crap and expects them to pay for her funeral. We are trying to make her save up, but she refuses. We are on the verge of walking away and giving up. I dont believe we should be entitled to claim for any benefits if she dies, but can anyone advise? all 3 sisters work and none claim benefits. From a disgusted son in law ... and she still hasnt even made me a meal at her house in over 20 years!!!"

Donald Thompson

"I have been checking around to find out the costs of a funeral. It seems the best way is to go for a green burial. Check on the Natural Death Centre website for a list of those nearest to you."

Joan King

"I too have left notice of what I want at my death, Not being ripped off. Most funeral directors are legalised grave robbers. It's a business and they're greedy *******s."

m. cowley

"Some of your prices are way out of date - i.e. doctors cremation certificates have been £147 for the past 2 years...."

Nick

"just been sorting out my dads cremation, contacted the local council and got prices for the use of the crematorium. i told them i didn't want to use the services of a funeral director, and i was told i couldn't transport the body myself for health and safety reasons. i told them my sister is trained as an embalmer and can arrange for the body to be preserved. they told me, no, the crematoria and the coroner's office won't allow that, so we had to use a local director. apart from the cremation and doctors fees?, it has cost us £1200, for services we could have arranged ourselves, and that doesn't even include a hearse, he is using a private ambulance to transport the body,(i have a large estate that the coffin would have fit in). i believe funeral directors, councils, doctors, newspapers etc have at some point got together and decided roughly what kind of prices they can get away with. my dad would have been happy with getting buried on his own land, but we would probably have been charged for the privilege. if anyone has been able to arrange everything without the services of a funeral director, i would be interested how they did it"

alan

"what happens is the person is not insured and family simply don't have the money to pay for it?"

DMA

"to the person below who complains of 'whiney moaners', surely there is some point at which she would complain ? Take the extreme, say the cost is £100,000 - would you then complain ? Fact is, everyone has different levels of wealth hence what is acceptable to some is unacceptable to others - please don't deride others merely because you are fortunate to have more wealth. Trouble with funeral services is that there is no free market, in that customers are not able to act rationally due to the circumstances, We need an Ebay/Virgin style business to set up a 'reverse auction' style website - whereby people post up their requirements and funeral directors are then able to 'bid' their offers. This creates a strong market - if there are indeed abnormal profits to be made an FD will be prepared to bid lower, to the point where excessive profits are not being made out of the vulnerable. No wonder FDs are all family businesses with large houses..."

Rick

"Ive heard they do not burn the coffins. Also they cremate more that one body in the furnace. I am disgusted by this but it makes sence when you think about how many coffins would be burnt every year. They have a cheak to charge £800.00 for a coffin. "

Roy Wade

"Why a Doctors fee? is this a last check to make sure you are still dead just before your funeral?Having already been certified by a Doctor at the hospital or home.Must be the British belt and braces attitude eh!!"

J Laishley

"My son died recently, and I had no idea of costs. I never ever thought I would be organising my childs funeral. I had no money in savings and had to borrow. They say there is money in tragedy, but I beleive that Funeral Directors have a duty of care not only to the deceased but to the family and friends, I could not do the job they do, and admire them. The Funeral Director I used were amazing, and so professional. "

B

"I am at present working with a big funeral company . There prices are very expensive and people on here have said that Co-op were and are expensive, they are in fact cheaper then the firm i am working with. (Dignity funeral services). My advise to people is to shop around and get prices. If you do this you will get some one a little cheaper then others. Go Through the phone book and see who is near you and in the surronding area. Don\'t just go into the one funeral directors. I agree with some of the people that left comments here, re: doctors fees being £124 and why should people have to pay a minister to do the service, when in fact that\'s what he/she is there for.Why don\'t funeral do a package deal like hearse and one limosine for a cheaper price than seperate prices , eg:if a hearse cost £200 and a limosine cost £150 . total is £350 , why dont they do something like £300. This is one service we all have to used and we have to pay big money. If I got the backing i would open a funeral directors and do fueral for what people can afford to pay me. "

FSO

"1115 pounds Direct to crematorium with no service but includes every thing else, guaranteed lowest price. at best price funerals "

John

"In reply to Thats Life, I think most people do not begrudge paying, it may be that they feel they are taken advantage of during what is a very stressfull time for most."

Mick

"I will say that I am an only child and my Mother died when I was just 16yrs old. I am now older and married but my Dad is now in a care home. He is only insured for a £1000 which I struggle to pay. we come from a poor background and there is no way I will have that kind of money when my Dads time comes to pay for everything. I just dont have it. Plus I cant get any help or benefits either. We barely manage now on what we have to keep a roof over our heads. So I really dont know what will happen in my Dads case in the future because his family will not help. They dont want to know when it comes to money. It will all be on me. And I know I wont have that kind of money. I mean Dads insurance is not even enough to cover it all. I honestly do know what will happen then I really dont, it does worry me, but I cant pay out money I dont have."

Michelle

"I have a simple question. What happens if the people left behind simply do not have the money to pay for the funeral and cant get the money either? I wish to know what will happen then? They cant get any help or benefits either because they cant claim them? who do they turn to then? does anyone know?"

D MA

"Ash Brook Funeral Directors, family owned and run believe in respectful traditional old fashioned values and service. Our Chapel is in a beautiful tranquil location and we are dedicated to looking after bereaved families. Our complete cremation costs including all fees coffin, hearse to our local crematorium etc is £1652. We understand that families want to be able to give their loved one the very best of funerals but are sometimes working with limited funds. We are approved by TRADING STANDARDS and belong to NAFD AND SAIF for your peace of mind. If you would like to know more then find us in this Trade Directory. "

terina smith

"my mum passed away last year, cost of local fd services for cremation inc 1 car to and from service, flowers, paper notification burial of ashes etc £2450, my father in law has passed away recently, price of a different fd but local to his home, although only 15 miles apart from my own mum\'s home, actually closer to the same crem, £2750 exc car, paper, burial of ashes. I know we\'ve moved on a year, but I feel this is inflation at it\'s worst!AND, why is it that the people they send to your house ar so unfeeling, it seems they are just \"

Debbie C

"My Mum was buried in February this year and I think the cost of her funeral with the "Co-Op" was outrageous. she was buried with my Dad who died 20 years ago "she paid for her space when she buried him" and she kept everything including the bill. I know 20 years is a long time ago but its interesting to see how the prices and terminology have changed. Here is the breakdown of both Funeral Bills....JULY 1990 Funeral Costs - Independant Funeral Director -....To supply Oak Coffin Interior lined Blue Taffeta - £146.00. Remove deceased to Chapel of Rest and attend to deceased - £28.40. Church Fees - £25.00. Cemetary Burial Fees - £75.00. Purchase one space with extra depth for two burials - £70.00. Hearse to Cemetary - £36.50. Two Limousines to Cemetary and Return - £72.00. Provide Four undertakers - £40.00. Arrange and Conduct Funeral - £86.60. One insert in Newspaper - £18.40. Acknowledgement - £12.90. VAT 15% on same - £4.69. TOTAL £616.09. Funeral Costs 2010 - CO-OP Funeral Directors - .....Profesional Services - £700.00. Supplementary Services (including hygenic treatment)- £885.00. Provision of Traditional Oak Coffin - £250.00. Provision of Limousinr - £150.00. Newspaper notices (incl VAT)-£80.00. Interment Fee - £120.00 Ministers Fee - £100.00. Organists Fee £20.00. TOTAL - £2385.00. I`d really like to know why there are two seperate charges for their "Services" £700.00 for professionl services and £885.00 for supplementary services including hygenic treatment. Its absolutely Scandolous "

Ema

"Goodness me I have never seen so many whiney moaners on one page. Undertakers are employed mostly to deal with tasks many people do not wish to attend to (primarly a dead human body. I could paint my own house if I wanted to it would be alot cheaper than employing a painter.... I would rather employ a painter. Most people also dont wnat to take reponsibility for dealing with tthe body of their dead mother and the odour etc that is associtied with death. I bet you lot that a whining are horrible to deal with, ( not just at funerals), probably demanding, and want it all for nothing. take your coffe coupons and get a life. "

Thats life

"Dad died toward the end of May 2010 in Worthing. I was expecting something around £3000 after reading a number of review pages, but called three FD's anyway to get competing quotes. Two of the smaller firms quoted each item separately and they both totalled just shy of £3000. HD Tribe who are a large concern on the south coast, offered a full funeral for £2200, including a limo (the other two were extra) and their own chapel at a time to suit us (i.e. not confined to the 40 slots offered by the crematorium) as well as a fully personal service. I cannot recommend them highly enough. "

John Fernandez

"Given that the cost rises on average 10% eac hyear, its worth looking at a pre-paid funeral plan. If you get one for cremation, these guarantee to cover the full cost no matter how far down the line you need to "activate" the plan. Look for companies that DON'T charge by age or gender, that do have a SET price; once its paid for, its paid for. Age Concern (Age UK) do these for everyone over the age of 50 with no upper age limit or medical questions. Do the research and make your comparisons wisely."

Time4Change

"Went to 2 funeral parlours for quotes for a cremation. Co-op Collection - £120 Use of rest room - £60 Coffin - £250 Prep body/put in coffin - £60 Professional fees - £925 Hearse - £175 Limo - £140 Cremation fee - £473 Docs fees - £147 Minister - £60 Total - £2410 Independent funeral parlour Professional fees - £995 Coffin - £576 Hearse/limo (cortege) £130 Cremation fee - £473 Docs fees - £147 Total £2191 I would be scared to cough or sneeze in the Co-op rest room in case they introduced a charge for it !! It's just a licence to print money ! as most I suspect will be paid for out of insurance money so most people will not query the extravagant costs. Others will feel "guilty" that they aren't doing the best for there lost one so will just pay through the nose. You'll never see a poor funeral home director !"

Dave Harney

"mother in laws funeral in january with the coop was £3,054. we got 3 rough prices and there wasnt a lot in it.chose coop because (lucky for them) it was by the care home and very near the church and we were then able to save on a limo car and walk in front of the hearse a quarter of mile to the church.) we did choose a colouful coffin which was beautiful at a cost of £670.(the estimate was £650)cheap coffin would have be £160ish) we got a discount of £69 because we are a coop member and will also get coop points. the breakdown was £690 for advice, support and guidance,all personnel neccessary to make the funeral arrangements, completing documentation and liasing with the third parties. SO i think this is daylight robbery for what the undertaker did. approx 1 hour of work. didnt even offer to run us 1 mile to the office to registar the death as we told him we were having to go on the bus. spent three quarters of an hour in his so called lounge that smelled of death. i went to the toilet and that smelled lovely!!noticed a plug-in atomiser in the lounge but it had obviously run out. £310 preperation of deceased and use of chapel of rest. £390 for all neccessary personnel to conduct the funeral.(the bill stated all personnel in the first charge, so whats the difference) £578.50 cremation fee. £147 doctors fee £149 minister and church fees £120 +vat for telegraph and argus insert for 1 night. we had the £5 gratuite removed as the cremation attendant gets a wage but on all funerals there is this £5 on your bill and we were told we were the only ones who have asked for it removing. FLEECING THE LIVING I SAY. we asked if we could see the body to check it was mum in law and this we did and she was looking pretty good.( i thought she was going to wake up)they had done a pretty good job. after viewing, the undertaker insisted we leave the room because they had a job to do. we left the room but days later realized she had been out of our site and this was the whole point of checking it was her right to the end. the undertaker said he didnt demand we left the room. but he did say "can you please leave the room,, i have a job to do" he didnt tell us why we had to leave the room and we should have been told and then made the decision..WE WOULD HAVE STAYED. he just wanted to screw the lid on. the price is ridiculous and i dont know how they have the cheek to charge this amount of money. oh and while the service was going on the undertaker kept coming in and out through the squeaky church door and then at the end of the service didnt tell me what to do and i got left behind in the pew like a fool. "

j haywood

"The costs for funeral directors services vary greatly. Co-Op and other big corporations are just in it to keep their shareholders happy and to rip people off. Little independent firms are far more cost effective and provide a personal service not a body factory production line. Phone several firms and check prices, its always the co op that rip everyone off. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT FUNERAL DIRECTORS FIRMS! there honest and wont rip you off"

JB

"I'm a financial adviser and was just checking out the average cost of a funeral and I noticed a post about the life insurance not paying out yet. For future reference if you have life insurance you should get this written into trust as this is free and means it pays out almost straight away as it avoids inheritence tax and probate. If you want to look into your own cover I'm happy to do that for you and I don't charge any fees. My name is Jade Byrne and my company is ARC Finance Group Ltd and you can contact me on 01748 901443 or you can email me at jade@arc-finance.co.uk. I hope that this information helps you."

Jade Byrne

"My father is being cremated next week, I have an estimated cost for a simple service, just a hearse, veneered coffin, we are arranging flowers ourselves Total £2350 ! Then crematorium charge £535, Minister £115, Doctors (!) £147 Overall Total £3147 It is just outrageous !!"

Linda, Wilts

"We've just received a bill out of nowhere to replace the headstone on my dad and his partners grave, along with new inscription, and for it to be transported back to the cemetery for £790!!!! "

Stuart M.

"useful page! our costs for my mum in Leicester, nov. 2009 - Coffin £325 (not cheapest), hearse £295, removal fee £195, co-op fees £785, casket £130, flowers £120, crem fee £480, minister £114, organist £26, internment £160. total £2630. my dads 17 years ago was £1045!"

lsc4alm

"K.Waite: There are several governing bodies, SAIF (Society of Allied and Indepedent Funeral Directors) is one and looks afer independent funeral directors, while the NAFD (National Association of Funeral Directors) is larger; most FDs are a member of one or the other."

Tom

"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

"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

"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

"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

" 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

"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

"Above says willow coffin £1000! We paid £480 including delivery naturalendings.co.uk/buy-coffin-now.asp "

Rose

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"thanks for the advise it was easy to read and understand"

s stone

"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

"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

"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

"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

"Thanks. I will fix the form ASAP"

Admin

"couldn't submit prices - faulty site? minister cost = £110"

d pearce