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.
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.
Funeral Directors in general, do not offer price transparency
and continue to promote the package funeral. To better understand
this, an analogy could be drawn with a garage bill. If you car is
serviced, you pay an identified price for each part, oils and other
materials used. To this, they add an identifiable labour bill. In
contrast, some funeral directors prefer not to charge a ‘labour’
bill for the time they put into a funeral. They cover the cost of
their time, by apportioning it onto the cost of the coffin, use of
vehicles and other components. The coffin is one item that carries
the greatest proportion of their costs and consequently, this item
can appear expensive. The unit cost (1996) of a standard chipboard
coffin, fitted out for a funeral, might be £60.00 to £70.00. This
would typically sell for £275.00 to £300.00 and sometimes much
higher. As alternative suppliers are not readily available, it can
be difficult to avoid this cost. These concerns are also covered in
the Charter item on ‘COFFINS AND ALTERNATIVES’. It is worth noting
that funeral directors ‘direct’ funerals, which does not imply that
they have to ‘supply’ the products used as a part of their service.
You should reasonably expect to obtain a coffin, a casket, floral
tributes, memorials, etc from a source independent of a funeral
director, it you so wish.
Range of Facilities
It may be assumed that all funeral directors are large,
commercial concerns with an extensive range of facilities. This is
not so, and many funeral directors, particularly in rural areas,
are small one-person businesses. They may not have a Chapel of
Rest, or facilities to embalm and may hire the hearse and cars from
other companies. You may wish to consider these differences before
you approach a funeral director. For instance if you require an
informal funeral, you may prefer to replace the hearse with the
estate car that many funeral directors routinely use to collect
bodies from mortuaries and nursing homes. To avoid the use of
limousines, you could also use your own vehicles to meet at the
church, cemetery or crematorium. This will contrast with the formal
funeral which may be anticipated if you use the larger funeral
directing concerns which provide the complete range of services,
such as an expensive hearse with matching limousines, etc. Some
funeral directors own or have arrangement with firms that supply
floral tributes and memorials. Although this may be convenient as
part of a complete funeral package, it may prevent you from using
independent suppliers.
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.
Innovations in Funeral Directing
In various parts of the country, innovations in funeral
directing are occurring. Your Charter member may be able to advise
you regarding your local situation. Such innovations include the
‘Independent’ funeral director, who may offer a complete price
‘menu’ and help you to do as little or as much of the funeral
arrangement as you choose. There are also ‘coffin shops’ and ‘green
undertaking’ firms in some localities, who offer a price menu,
biodegradable coffins and may facilitate green funerals. In 1995,
the first ‘funeral supermarket’ opened in London, replacing similar
services in France. The Natural Death Centre (address is Appendix
C) may be able to able to update you on these services and offer
you contact details.
Municipal Funeral Services
Municipal funeral services are available in some parts of the
country. They are formed by local authorities, usually contracting
the service out to an existing funeral director. They offer fixed
price funerals, but otherwise follow traditional patterns. As the
funeral is usually sold as a package, price transparency may not be
offered. Nonetheless, the cost of the package may be less expensive
than with a private funeral director. As in all cases, it is
essential to obtain quotations before a decision is made.
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.
Paying for the Funeral
‘Which’ magazine (Feb 1995) suggested that most funeral
directors should be able to supply an estimate of a basic funeral,
and should not be used if they cannot do so. You should reasonably
expect to be given an itemised price list of the components of the
funeral, which should include disbursements. Many people are
concerned about their ability to pay for a funeral. Media reports
about the high cost of funerals reinforces the perception that
funerals are expensive. This worry can be reduced by considering
the funeral in advance. This will enable costs to be identified and
possibly reduced. The information in the Charter will enable
decisions to be made and quotations obtained in advance. Some
people alleviate the worry of paying for a funeral by purchasing a
‘Funeral Plan’. For these people, several options are available.
They require careful consideration in view of the extensive
commercial promotion that funeral plans are now receiving.
