Information
on Using a Funeral Director
Extracted from 'The Charter for the Bereaved'
The
Charter is unable to offer you rights and standards related to the
use of a funeral director. In view of this, information is
included to help you understand how funeral directing operates. It
will enable you to ask questions appropriate to your needs when
you consider the arrangement of a funeral. Although Charter
members can advise you about funeral arrangements, they are not
able to recommend a particular funeral director.
You can
obtain details about contacting your local funeral directors in
telephone directories, newspapers or through your Citizens Advice
Bureau or Charter Member.
Funeral
directing as a profession appeared in the latter part of the
1700s. Prior to that date, funerals were organised through
individuals, such as a joiner, a gravedigger and the clergy,
followed by a churchyard burial. In Victorian times, the
commercial involvement in death was developed, and this led to the
greater use of the funeral director with the hearse, coffin and
black attire. The funeral director developed the role of
organiser, providing the furnishings and the transport to carry
out a funeral. Funerals have hardly altered in the intervening
period, with petrol engines replacing horsepower and cremation
replacing burial in churchyards. The predominance of men in the
Victorian period remains unchanged and there are currently very
few women acting as funeral directors or bearers.
Using A Funeral Director
Most
people are unaware that funeral directors can set up in business
without training or qualifications and no ‘licence’ is necessary.
No universal standard applies and consequently, separating a good
director from an indifferent one is difficult. Some funeral
directors are members of professional organisations, who may
operate a code of conduct and a complaints procedure. The National
Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the Society of Allied
and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) are examples of these.
Funeral directors have attracted adverse criticism, and yet their
role and function is rarely understood. They organise a funeral
with distressed people, often people who have no expectations of a
funeral and its arrangements.
Funerals are a ‘crisis’ buy and unlike any other purchase.
Although many practical operations are necessary, the satisfaction
relies upon the funeral meeting philosophical and other more
complex needs. A casual comment, a joke or using the incorrect
name, are all aspects that can destroy the quality of the funeral.
If funeral directors fail to deliver their service, it can be due
to the distress and crisis associated with the death. This
emphasises the need for everybody to be informed and prepared for
death and funerals. The completion of Wills and funeral directives
empowers the bereaved and reduces their reliance on the funeral
director at the critical time of death.
The
funeral directors ‘package’ is briefly outlined as follows:
The
executor or the person arranging the funeral telephone the funeral
director, who will arrange to see them and discuss the funeral
arrangements. The funeral director will collect the body, either
from home, a mortuary or a nursing home and prepare it for
viewing, which include routine embalming (cosmetic treatment). A
choice of coffins is usually offered and the deceased can be
viewed, by appointment, in a chapel of rest. On some occasions,
the body and coffin will be taken back to the deceased’s home, if
the family so wish.
The
funeral director will contact the cemetery or crematorium and
arrange the date and time of the funeral and will ensure that the
certificates and forms are completed and taken to the cemetery or
crematorium office. Details will be given about the form of
service and music it required. The funeral director will pay the
various fees involved, called disbursements. These include the
cemetery or crematorium fees, minister’s fee, etc. The provision
of floral tributes and newspaper obituaries, if required, will
also be arranged. A hearse and following limousines will be
provided and the funeral will take place under the guidance of the
funeral director. Subsequently, an account will be sent after the
funeral. The account should be itemised and should clearly define
the disbursements paid on behalf of the person arranging the
funeral. Although Funeral Directors help, console and guide the
bereaved, and are often very beneficial, that does not prevent
them being subject to a critical analysis. Even if the individual
functions they perform are beyond reproach, the process by which
they control and influence funerals has been subject to adverse
criticism. Some of these issues are outlined below:
Price Transparency
Most funerals are sold as a ‘package’. And it can be
difficult to obtain the actual price of each component. This
creates particular difficulties should you wish to dispense with
some components included in the package. The Office of Fair
Trading (OFT) has suggested that ‘price transparency’ should apply
to funeral directing charges. This would result in a known charge
being made for each component of the funeral, allowing the
bereaved to select more, or less, in accordance with their needs.
For example the family could keep the body at home but purchase a
coffin and use a hearse from funeral directors, completing the
remainder of the arrangements themselves. Such a funeral would
allow more personal involvement by the family and would be less
expensive.
Ownership of Firms
There has been a decline in recent years of the local
family operated funeral director. Few people notice that large
firms now own many family funeral directors throughout the
country. The new owners may be disclosed on shop signs of
letterheads. These firms may continue trading upon the inference
of the caring qualities and local connection of the family firm.
Similarly, older people tend to reflect upon the past socialist
principles of the ‘Co-op’ funeral services, which may no longer
apply.
The Law
Common Law recognises that a funeral consists of a sequence
of tasks and events, all of which must be satisfactory. Where even
a single element is performed unsatisfactorily, the payment of the
entire funeral account may be disputed by the person paying for
the funeral. The disbursements are not part of the funeral
directors charges and must be paid. In some areas, the
disbursements may have to be paid in advance of the funeral. It
should be noted that whoever orders the funeral becomes liable for
the funeral costs. In some cases, a friend has organised a funeral
only to find that the deceased had no estate or monies.
Consequently, they have found themselves liable for the whole cost
of the funeral.
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