co-op funeral plan - how to get a refund?

winalot2

my lovely mum died three days ago. everyone has been great about trying to move things along, except the co-op who my mum pre-purchased a funeral plan with about 8 years ago. the care home rang them repeatedly to get them to pick up the body and we kept getting put through to a manchester call centre that all branches now go through to. eventually a car took her and said they would take her to battersea the next day which is where her funeral plan was. the next day i stopped off at the battersea branch and there is a sign to say it has permanently closed.  i won't go on but there has been a lot more very alarming *service* from the other branches we have tried to contact to try and sort this out, they continued to say battersea was still open on their system and would definitely deal with it.  we asked the main one earlsfied if they might be able to do it and the guy said erm i don't know. we went down there and it is also shut down (or appt only)  i don't think she has been embalmed yet despite having paid for it. anyway we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to pay someone else to do the funeral, the co-op have just proved themselves to be complety incompetent and impossible to contact. we haven't  spoken to the same person twice. my question is do we have any hope of getting a full refund and what *a* funeral plan with the co-op - is it actually an investment account? what would we expect to get - i assume they must invest the money for the plan to be able to pay current prices - would it have a defined monetary value and in theory should we get all of that back (or transferred to the new funeral directors). any tips as to what to do would be much appreciated. it is just impossible to find anyone who will take responsibility at co-op.  i doubt we are going to get anything back going on the co-op's current behaviour. Please if anyone here has a funeral plan with the co-op do look into moving it elsewhere in case you find yourself in the same position we are. It has caused so much un-necessary extra stress. i can only assume they must be going bust. 

poppystar

Sorry you are experiencing this dreadful service at a time when you could do without it. I can’t help on the refund sadly. We went into the coop when my mother died and ran for the hills - their service was atrocious! 

tooldle

Good experiences for us with Coop Funeral Bonds. 5 purchased with only one left to use. 

It’s not clear from your post, where is Mum at the moment? 

My parent’s bond was purchased from a different location to where he ended up and this did not present a problem. If you know where mum is, can an appointment be booked to discuss arrangements?

Devongardener

What a horrible situation!  Do you know where your poor Mum is at the moment?  If the CoOp can’t tell you then I hope you have escalated a complaint somehow.   

You should have had every expectation of the body being treated with respect and dignity and they have failed to do this causing you distress at such a difficult time.  It’s unthinkable to have her being shuffled between funeral homes that may or may not have open!

Spendless

Isn't there a main co op number you could ring and explain the issue to them? I would try that first before going ahead with a different FD as you may find you'll pay out to them and won't be eligible for any refund as you 'chose to go elsewhere' 

My MIL had a 'plan' with them but it  was more of a contribution to the costs with a couple of things included. I looked it up at the time of her death (2020) but can no longer see what she had listed, so maybe query what  your Mum purchased. Google fetched up this number though which I'd give a call to 0808  239 4240  Why choose a Co-op funeral plan? - Co-op Funeralcare (coop.co.uk)  

May I also make the suggestion that you have someone  close and  trusting with you for any arrangements or to talk to (if you give permission you can go on loudspeak for any friend to listen in). When my Nan died earlier this year, my Mum was overwhelmed by it all and I made sure  I accompanied her to anything official and took notes because she was in no fit state to take anything in.

Condolences to you.

sleepymans

I am sorry for your loss. Your Mum died very recently and I do understand your wish to do the best for her and sort all the arrangements speedily at such a sad time.

My Mum died earlier this year and like your Mum, she had a CoOp funeral plan in place.

Having said that, I can honestly say the CoOp funeral office nearest to Mums location could not have been more helpful. I initially didn’t know which office I needed to make the arrangements for Mum, the local office and Manchester head office soon smoothed everything out and we had a very positive experience.

I wouldn’t recommend engaging any other FD because I’m sure CoOp Funeralcare will see you right despite these early hiccoughs. Have you got a paper copy of the plan? My Mums paperwork set all the t&c’s and Mum had completed a space I. It for her wishes as tomethods, services, notices, even the hymns she wanted!

I sincerely hope this gets sorted quickly.

Pollycat

I wouldn't engage another firm either.
I hope you get assistance from the contact number above.

It's probably far from your mind right now but Coop Funeral Services is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Once you have things organised for your Mum maybe you would feel like a formal complaint.

I'm sorry you are going through through this unnecessary and distressing hassle right now.
I hope you have support from family members and/or friends.
I am just at the end of a formal complaint regarding the treatment of my Mum in a care home before she died.
It has been going on for almost 2 years and the ombudsman has given their 'final decision'.
It has helped us come to terms with the sad circumstances surrounding Mum's death and hopefully saved other people from similar treatment.

Sending you hugs and condolences.

Sarahspangles

My in-laws both had bonds that had been transferred into Cooperative Funeral Services. Both times the Coop struggled to find the records which isn’t something you want to have to deal with when you’re recently bereaved. So I would say their HQ operation needs improvement.

But from the point that we were dealing with the local funeral service they couldn’t have been more caring and helpful. I hope this is your experience too.

tooldle

I’ve a ‘Bond Certificate’. This is all I had to provide when arranging the funeral.
The OP says the death occurred three days ago and has posted on Sunday evening, so hopefully this is an issue with the shops not being open on the weekend, and things are now resolved. Fingers crossed.