desperatly need help with funding dads funeral!!!

rodeo

My dad passed away on sunday evening Im his only surviving relative he has no estate to leave, no money what so ever, and hasnt provided for his own funeral.
I receive carers benefit topped up with income support and my partner is on incapacity and dla we struggle to pay our bills and have absolutley no money to fund a funeral.
Iv been in contact with the DSS regarding funeral payment from them which due to my circumstances in theory I should be able to claim but not untill I have the final invoice off the funeral directors,,,there is no getting around this they will not look at any claim without the final bill and the funeral directors all ask for deposits for the third party payments they have to pay out for minister,and crematorium fee which in my town are approx £645 without any flowers or obituries this is no way acheivable for me at all and no way negotiable with the funeral directors therefore Im in a no win situation I cant sort his funeral out without a deposit so he is still in the hospital and it looks like he will be there for the forseeable future:(
Also Iv asked how much the cheapest funeral would cost and the price is around £1995 thats basic and doesnt include the above mentioned fees or flowers or limosines so in total Im looking at a figure of around £2700 at least without any flowers or anything else just to cremate him how on earth am I expected to cover the cost on £75 a week benefits its just unthinkable I dont expect something for nothing but I really am at a loss as to what Im supposed to do any ideas/advise would be gratefully accepted

nellytheelephant

You're right when you say most, if not all, funeral directors will want a deposit - they don't want to run the risk that you won't pay and they will end up footing the bill and chasing you.

Do you have any other family that you could perhaps borrow the money off until you get funding for the funeral? If there's a house, I've known of funeral directors that will wait for the deposit but as you say there's no estate it's difficult.

I was under the impression that only the basic funeral would be funded - not extra for limos etc.

Cornish_piskie

Sorry for your loss. Contact your local Council, I believe they can help with funeral payments if the person responsible for arranging the funeral is on certain benefits. There should be an area on your Council's website.

nad1611

rodeo wrote: »

My dad passed away on sunday evening Im his only surviving relative he has no estate to leave, no money what so ever, and hasnt provided for his own funeral.
I receive carers benefit topped up with income support and my partner is on incapacity and dla we struggle to pay our bills and have absolutley no money to fund a funeral.
Iv been in contact with the DSS regarding funeral payment from them which due to my circumstances in theory I should be able to claim but not untill I have the final invoice off the funeral directors,,,there is no getting around this they will not look at any claim without the final bill and the funeral directors all ask for deposits for the third party payments they have to pay out for minister,and crematorium fee which in my town are approx £645 without any flowers or obituries this is no way acheivable for me at all and no way negotiable with the funeral directors therefore Im in a no win situation I cant sort his funeral out without a deposit so he is still in the hospital and it looks like he will be there for the forseeable future:(
Also Iv asked how much the cheapest funeral would cost and the price is around £1995 thats basic and doesnt include the above mentioned fees or flowers or limosines so in total Im looking at a figure of around £2700 at least without any flowers or anything else just to cremate him how on earth am I expected to cover the cost on £75 a week benefits its just unthinkable I dont expect something for nothing but I really am at a loss as to what Im supposed to do any ideas/advise would be gratefully accepted

I would shop around (sorry for the indelicate word), but many Funeral Directors do not ask for anything up front at all. If you are able to claim help with the expenses then look at other Funeral Directors. As you can imagine, if they all insisted on being paid immediately or even paying for third parties I don't think they'd be in business for long. Many families even where there is money in the Estate can't actually pay until at least some of the deceased's assets have been collected and this can take time.
If you explain your situation, I'm sure you'll be able to find someone who's understanding.

Bloomin_Freezing2

I'm very sorry for your loss.

I have no experience in this what so ever so apologies if my suggestion does not provide you with a soloution, but what about a crisis loan from the job centre (i think). Could a crisis loan cover the costs then the funeral payment pays back the crisis loan?

RAS

Hi according to this http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Bereaved/DG_10018660 you may get the money up front, but will have to repay anything in the estate to cover the costs.

nellytheelephant

nad1611 wrote: »

As you can imagine, if they all insisted on being paid immediately or even paying for third parties I don't think they'd be in business for long.

No, most them do. Most ask for the fees that they have to pay out upfront. They will stay in business because people aren't going to just stop dying because that needs to be paid first.

They will possibly do the funeral without the money IF they haven't confirmation that they will be receiving the money from the council - most won't run the risk that they will never hear from the family again.

You should be entitled to help with the costs though.
Sorry for your loss, OP. It's a difficult situation and I can understand that sometimes it's hard to get the money required for the deposits x

piggy18

we had the same problem last year my step dads brother died leaving nothing.the funeral directors we went to wanted £700 up front and apparently all funeral directors in the funeral directors association ask for the money up front.the total cost with the 1st one was £2500.i then looked in the yellow pages for one that wasnt displaying the fda logo and contacted them he told me he dindnt need the money upfront and would wait till we had claimed from the dss .the total with this one was less than £1300 but didnt include the cars but did include the minister for the service

nellytheelephant

piggy18 wrote: »

we had the same problem last year my step dads brother died leaving nothing.the funeral directors we went to wanted £700 up front and apparently all funeral directors in the funeral directors association ask for the money up front.the total cost with the 1st one was £2500.i then looked in the yellow pages for one that wasnt displaying the fda logo and contacted them he told me he dindnt need the money upfront and would wait till we had claimed from the dss .the total with this one was less than £1300 but didnt include the cars but did include the minister for the service

I'm sure there are places that can do it without the deposit first - the majority of places would want the money upfront for dispersements.

I live with someone who works for the biggest funeral arrangers in the Midlands, she says they want a minimum of £600 before they will arrange anything - because of the amount of people they have to send the debt collectors for after they don't pay. The deposit at least covers what they pay out.

Unfortunately, it's more likely the places they don't charge the deposits that are more likely to go out of business - if the customer doesn't pay they still have to pay for grave/crematorium/church/minister etc etc. BUT, most reputable funeral directors should be able to generate an invoice for you before arranging the funeral so this could go some way to helping you? Also, DWP don't tend to work too fast - varies obviously - it can take a few weeks and they make the cheques out directly to the funeral director. DWP will pay out around about £1300 - they will only fund the essentials.

I do feel quite mean for pointing this out!

suelees1

It's not much help I know but it's happening all over. They funeral directors in our area say they only demand the money they'd have to pay out for disbursements up front (doctors certificates, cemetery, grave, church or whatever etc etc etc) but this is usually around £700.

Your LA usually appoints one firm each year or so who will carry out municipal funerals

Here's a random link to just one council to give you an idea of what your council might be doing

http://www.tameside.gov.uk/bereavement/funerals/municipal

Arrange your own flowers, notice in the paper etc. you'll be surprised what you might be able to save.

I wish you all the best as it must be a terrible time for you

Mhambi

Ok this is a bit of a long shot, but was your dad a member of the Royal British Legion and has received at least 7 days pay in the Armed Forces? If so you cold go to the local Royal British Legion Branch and as to see the Branch Secretary urgently.
I know we have loaned a couple of times ex service personal family members with funeral cost when there was a need and the DSS came not through.
Just an idea that I sincerely hope helps.
Please also accept my deepest sympathy. At times like this you should not have to worry about this but sadly it is not uncommon.