Do you think funeral directors over charge?

Question

I am writing a book (cant say too much book in progress), but I am looking for people with information or/and comments to use for my research only. STRICTLY IN CONFIDENCE.

Answer 1

They prey on people in a time of weakness charging very excessive amounts because they know you have no choice but to pay up. The last funeral in my family cost nearly 4 grand and for nothing that fancy really a standard cremation, that's a lot of dough for a 10 min cab ride to the crematorium and back.

Answer 2

Yes .
A few tips based on experience. If you know that you may soon be responsible for arranging a relatives funeral:-
Make enquries about local undertakers ( check if they belong to National Association ) Ring selected ones up and ask them to send you a cost quotations for their simplest funeral ( based on the persons wishes , number of cars etc) Avoid what they call " hygienic treatment" ie embalming as this is an unnecessary expense.
After all it only delays decomposition, and serves no real purpose unless you are going to keep the body for some time. If you like the idea, check out green burials - ( simple coffin / casket buried with a simple ceremony in a selected field or wood ).
Information may be obtained via the Web.
Death comes to us all and the body decays like all flesh so accept the inevitable and remember the person not the remains. If you have all the information in advance you will be less likely to make a mistake when it happens.

Answer 3

Yep, charged £2300 UK pounds, what I got...Funeral arranged,Crematorium fees paid, body moved to the Crematorium, speaker arranged and paid for, body transported from Hospital, No transport or flowers were included, Very little, fees were £1,200.

Answer 4

They are just like car dealers, trying to make as much as they can. They are not there to help you with your problems - those are only techniques of the sales trade. Isn't it time we changed tradition? Why do we bury dead people in a graveyard?
The only thing a funeral provider does is get rid of the body. And I notice they can't always do that in the middle east because of IEDs - so they have ceremonies with big pictures of the deceased. Good. Funerals are for the living, not the dead.
I have decided to change things. Many parts of a dead body (like eyes & skin) are in great demand. We have more people on waiting lists than we have donors. When I die, a facilitator will be called and they will pick up my body. They will notify Social Security and obtain 2 copies of the death certificate for my family, at no cost to my estate. They will see that body parts are shipped to wherever they are needed, for use in another human or research. Within 2-3 weeks, the unused parts will be cremated and returned to my family in an urn, at no cost to me or my estate. My family can then have a funeral (grieving) service wherever or however they want.
I would much rather my body parts be used to help the living than rot in the ground. It is time we changed tradition - we will be running out of land space soon anyway.

Answer 5

Charges are based on your choices. Since it's such an emotional time perhaps we should change the culture to having funerals 2 weeks or more after the death. That way the shock can be minimized, family can see all the bills that are left to be paid and more reasonable decisions can be made. Pray tell who NEEDS a limo for 8 people to drive to a church and graveyard?

Answer 6

HONESTLY................. YES . If you compare the education needed to be a Funeral Director/Embalmer and to be an Attorney... OMG yes the Funeral Director is way overpaid!!!! I can make more as a Funeral Director/Embalmer than as an Attorney in most cases. As far as overcharging the family ....my personal thought is YES in my first job in the Funeral Industry i was told by the owner "I dont want you to be making the arrangements...let a female do it...the family is more comfortable and will spend more." So my belief is yes there is overcharging being done.

Answer 7

It seems people are offering up opinions on a subject that very few of them actually know anything about. We do not make as much money as everyone thinks we do, and just like you, we have bills to pay, too. I own a funeral home and I can telll you first hand that we don't make as much as people like to say we do. Why is it that no one bats an eye at spending $40,000 on a car that actually only cost $13,000 to manufacture? Of course not, but when it comes time ot put your mother in the ground, people act like they are being raked over the coals. My mortgage would make most people cry, and on top of that I have to pay insurance, utilities, worker's comp, salaries, and I could go on and on. But what am I thinking, it is much more fun and entertaining to call us crooks, liars, thieves and scum without knowing facts.

Answer 8

Sorry besides the undeniable fact that it truly is a gross simplification. They 'practice' the body for burial, making it look as organic as accessible to maintain misery to family members in the journey that they favor to particularly view the body to pay their respects (as did my spouse and her sisters even as their mom died), they are going to manage what ever type of memorial service the subsequent of family members wish, pay the fee's for Burial or cremation, provide the coffin. like various organization they could purchase and preserve a premises, purchase and preserve the Funeral autos and Hearses'. Pay Council tax and application costs, insurance, highway Tax on the vehicles etc etc

Answer 9

I have just had to arrange two funerals for my in laws. Both funerals cost £1,600. I thought that was very reasonable. This covered everything, the coffin (cheapest as it was being burnt) vicars fees, collection from the hospital, cremation and undertakers fees. Very good value.

Answer 10

I think you are right and would ask you to extend your overpricing to dentists in particular, I just had a quote (that cost me £55 for 10 mins) for two root canals + fillings on top its £800, so far!!

There is a funeral Directors shop(if you call it a shop??) about one hundred yards from me, I would be willing to go in there with a fictitious death and get a quote for you, I live in Bangor North Wales UK. I remember my mother struggling to pay for her mothers funeral, it seemed to me that they have the perfect opportunity to rip you off when you are struck with grief, you are almost defenceless really, it would be interesting to see their sales tactics in action, I used to be a purchaser and am used to it!!