Just A Questin?

[liverpoolfoo]

Anybody encounterd this before? Just got back from a friends funeral After having a talk with his wife, She was telling me to have him dressed & buried in a suit- of the family's choice & if anybody wanted to go view him in the chapel of rest, It would cost £75 for the dressing & £75 for the viewing. Surley this cant be right ? On the top of the 4 figure sum . They had already spent to lay her husband to rest? XX

[Mamyalynne]

I agree, most of us want our loved ones laid to rest in either their best or favourite outfit, one would think that would be included in the package.

[mrs.chappie]

I agree with you, Headwreck.

Did you see the programme a few months ago, with undercover filming at a big chain of funeral directors? The funeral arrangers were told to show the customer the most expensive coffins, and to try not to let them see the cheaper coffins at the back of the brochure. It certainly was all about making mega-bucks for the undertaker.

[liverpoolfoo]

Thanks for all your comments/opinions guys. Xxx

[liverpoolfoo]

Oh well Mamya, looks like the sand pit in Moss Bank (without a stitch on) when i leave this earth Ha ha

[Mamyalynne]

Sounds a plan :-)

[Dee Sa]

as you all know I lost Chief Stout in March, I took along the clothes for him to be dressed in , I went to see him several times by appointment, in the undertakers chapel of rest, so did his two sisters and one brother, they also went on the morning of the funeral, we were never charged a penny extra for this. I have never heard of it . If I had been told this I would have not used that particular undertaker. The price we agreed on was all we paid.

[mrs_overall]

One branch of my family are funeral directors and I help out from time to time so I can say that you are well and truly being ripped off.
I have never heard of anyone being charged for dressing and viewing - it is so wrong.
The family firm charge a set fee for "hygienic treatment" which includes washing, embalming & preparing the deceased for viewing.
I would be complaining very loudly if it was me.

[liverpoolfoo]

Thanks very much mrs-o, Will show my friend's wife your comment & let her take it up with (Rip-off) undertakers

[factor-fiction]

>No wonder you never see a skint undertaker!!

these comments about undertakers, bookies etc always puzzle me- how do we know?

The billing seems harsh but maybe it was a pick'n'mix pricing structure

[Old_Geezer]

I can't say I've been to hundreds of funerals but I've never had to pay to view a relative. £150 a time sounds like profiteering, way above covering the cost of preparation, to me. But I guess the family must have agreed to it. Trouble is, in such a stressful time, the family may not spot such details. Maybe that's the hope ? Perhaps they'll try a different undertakers next time.

[weecalf]

Dealt with one of the biggest funeral directors in London .The chaple of rest was always available we selected the clothes .Never a suggestion that there would be a charge .The funeral directors were first class and very helpful at that sad time not looking to get their arm in .Was thinking they came out with this up front usually an absurb way of getting more money from the relative would be well hidden in the details Id name and shame . Not here on Ab but Id let them know and other also .

[Hopkirk]

How much would you want to be paid to put clothes onto a dead adult body?

I would expect more than £75.

[whiskeryron]

I wouldn't be seen dead in Bolton.Lol.

WR.

[mrs.chappie]

My OH sometimes works next door to an undertakers so I might pop in one day, and ask them about their pricing strategy.

One thing that did surprise me - an extra charge for collection of a body "out of hours". I know it's reasonable to expect the staff to be paid extra for turning out at unsociable hours...so I've told hubby he has to shuffle off during office hours.

Ah yes, I'm a Yorkshire lass. :o)

[mrs.chappie]

I had a chat with our village undertaker this afternoon (spotted him cleaning his car) and asked for his thoughts on this.

He said there are too many factors to be taken into consideration and he couldn't make a fair comment without knowing more about that particular undertaker's set up - for example, not all undertakers have their own chapel of rest and need to rent space in someone else's chapel when viewings are required (first I'd heard of that).

He also said there can be a lot of work/time involved in getting a body ready for viewing, some take much more time than others, and also the make-up used is not the sort you or I would have in our make-up bag - it is specially made for the deceased and is quite expensive.

Another consideration is how the undertaker pays his staff. I thought the chaps that collected the body were paid "per collection" with a small retainer perhaps, but not so with our local undertaker - he pays all his staff a salary.

Crematorium fees vary too. In my village the fee is just over £600, but further towards York, it's £700+. Burial is even more expensive.

He gave me a leaflet detailing a funeral plan - his charges were around £3,000 to £3,500.

[Iluvspikey]

I really hate this type of rip off, they have you at such a vulnerable time you often can't think straight let alone anything else.