Prosperous-Life funeral plan

NPJ

Last June I received a cold call from Prosperous Life concerning funeral plans.  I would normally wriggle out of such calls by telling the caller that I only have a basic bank account and can't do direct debits, partly true as I didn't actually have a current account in my name until a few months ago.  However, just 8 weeks previous I had been in a coma after catching an infection during triple bypass surgery.  While in the coma, I dreamt/had visions/whatever it was, that my life was ending and that I was in a sea of bubbles and about to turn into a bubble myself (yes I know!).  But just as that was about to happen, I saw my fiance and children dressed in black coming out of our front door and climbing into a funeral limousine.  I was very surprised that the next thing I knew, I was being spoken to by a nurse telling me that it was 8am on Tuesday morning.  Suring the intervening weeks, it had played on my mind that my fiance (now wife), would struggle to pay for a funeral.  So I agreed to a representative of the company visiting that afternoon.  I was told about the rising cost of funerals and that by taking out a funeral plan, I could pay today's prices and that would cover me whatever the cost in the future.  So, I paid £500 upfront with direct debits of £55.83 a month for 8 years.  I also opened a savings account and have been paying £100 a month into that to save for a burial plot and a headstone, hoping to purchase both in advance, and then start paying the £100 per month off the funeral plan to pay it off sooner.  

However, I had a shock this morning.  The direct debits were being taken from my wife's bank account and as we were married at the end of May, the name on her bank account was changed 2 weeks ago.  So I began going through the direct debits to ensure that they are still being paid.  I couldn't see anything for GB Funeral Trust (Prosperous Life), so I looked back through the statements and discovered that the last payment made was on March 1st. So I headed for their website and discovered this  Prosperous Life | (prosperous-life.co.uk).  

The post states that Dignity Funeral Limited will write to plan holders within 28 days, and I note from a posting on here that the notice has been on the website since February (even though they took one payment from me after that time.  It also states,

 'Please do not attempt to contact Dignity until you have received a letter from Dignity with more details and next steps.'  

On this page prosperous_life_faqs.pdf (dignityfunerals.co.uk), I found this,

3. Why haven’t I heard from Dignity?

 It may be that we were unfortunately unable to offer a like-for-like plan to the plan you purchased with Prosperous Life.

Should I contact them in any case

Thank you in advance for any helpful advice.

Nigel

PS - I have found something interesting in the paperwork provided with the plan.

8.2 The funds in the trust are held separately to our funds and are managed by independent trustees to ensure your money is protected.

8.3 In the unlikely event that we cease trading or we are unable to meet our obligations under your plan, then the trust will pay you (a) the amount required to fund the funeral specified in your plan; or, if lower (b) an amount equal to the payments made towards your plan plus CPI inflation.  If there are insufficient funds in the trust to make these payments, then all payments to plan holders will be payable at a reduced pro rata rate.

The final sentence of 8.3 does seems to contradict what they claim in 8.2.

NPJ

JamesRobinson48 said:

I claim no expertise here but I'll chip in only because nobody else has yet.

If it were me, I would probably contact Dignity at this stage. 

There were clear red flags here.  First the cold call.  You don't need to "wriggle out" of a cold call by telling the caller you only have a basic bank account (or giving him any other private information).  Just hang up.  Reputable service providers do not cold call.

Second, the home visit.  This is a common feature of a hard sell, and has been typical of the more dodgy prepaid funeral plans. The salesman needs to earn a living, and you may well imagine that a large chunk of your upfront payment may have gone to him. If you wish to buy a funeral plan, better to approach a reputable provider yourself, picking a high street  business that you know and trust.  Avoid a home visit unless you are housebound.

Concerning the direct debits, I and many other MSE forumites keep a close eye on our bank accounts on a daily basis. Even some people who are evidently quite wealthy. If you allowed four months to pass before spotting any irregularity in current account outgoings, then do consider making a habit of tracking this much more closely. For example, just in case you're still paying for any services or subscriptions you no longer need or thought you had cancelled long ago.

Finally, as I'm sure you appreciate, if fraudsters suspect you may be an easy mark for cold calls or mis-selling anything under the sun, you might become a frequent target.

Thank you very much for your reply.  

I contacted both Dignity and Prosperous Life yesterday.  No reply from Dignity yet, but Prosperous Life phoned me within 5 minutes of me receiving a receipt to confirm that my e-mail had been read.  The lady assured me that my money was safe and I would be contacted by Dignity with an offer to transfer the plan to them soon.  She requested that as soon as I receive the offer, I should phone Prosperous back and she will take me through the transfer, setting up the new direct debit etc over the phone.

I've looked back and found a facebook post that I made last June and realised that it wasn't 100% a cold call.  I had been looking at funeral plans online and registered an interest, though I had ticked a box stating that I would prefer to be contacted by e-mail rather than by phone.  But yes, I do see your point about red flags, a lesson learnt.

I do keep an eye on the bank account and check every few days, mainly looking for outgoings that I don't recognise.  I will now also be checking for regular payments that have not been paid.  

Yes, I think that I may have been considered an easy mark for cold calls for some time.  I get so many, but do not usually tend to answer unrecognised numbers.  The call from Prosperous was one of those 'once in a blue moon' that I did answer.

Once again, thank you for your advice and I shall be heeding it.  

NPJ

And so, another twist.

Nicola from Dignity phoned this morning.  They have no record of me or my plan on their system.  She told me that Prosperous should have sent me a link to click on to opt in to a transfer to them, and the deadline has now passed.  She advised that there was nothing she could do to help me at the moment and I need to contact Prosperous again.  i asked whether I would still be able to opt into a Dignity plan.  She replied that she couldn't give me an answer to that question except that if they themselves or Prosperous are to blame, then management may consider it.  Of course that got me worried that I may have missed the e-mail with the link. 

So, I phoned Prosperous.  I should have asked for the gentleman's name, but unfortunately I didn't.  However, after explaining to him, he told me that the link has not been sent to me yet, I shouldn't worry about the deadline passing and that my funds are safe.  He gave me a reference number to give to Dignity in order for them to send me the link.  

Phoned Dignity again requesting to speak to Nicola.  She was busy, so I was put through to a different Nicola (coincidentally: the lady from Prosperous who sold me the plan last June was also named Nicola).  She couldn't find anything under the reference number at all.  So she put me on hold while she had a word with management.  Eventually she returned and told me that management have agreed to the transfer, but first of all someone from IT has to create a reference number for me in order to create a link.  Once that is done, I will receive a phone call from them to take me through the transfer.  I feel a little comforted by that as I wouldn't feel comfortable giving any bank details to Prosperous Life for them to handle the transfer.  

NPJ

JamesRobinson48 said:

It occurs to me that, once you are into the transfer process (hopefully), you might wish to ascertain from Dignity what would happen in the event of your death prior to the eight years of payments having been completed. Also, what happens to your accumulated balance in the trust fund if for any reason you become unable to make the remaining future payments due.  Hopefully the paperwork from Dignity will make all of that clear.

According to my paperwork from the original plan, in the event of my death before the plan is fully paid, my next of kin will receive a statement of the balance required to make the plan fully paid.  If she can't afford to pay it and chooses to cancel the plan, then 'we will refund the net balance of trust'.

From the same paperwork:  If the payments stop being made and do not recommence, the instalments will be held in the trust unless they receive written confirmation of my instruction to cancel.  In which case, all money paid less the cancellation fee of £595 would be refunded.  Otherwise, the net balance of trust will be paid to my nominated funeral director as a contribution towards the cost.

Malthusian

NPJ said:

Yes, I think that I may have been considered an easy mark for cold calls for some time.  I get so many, but do not usually tend to answer unrecognised numbers.  The call from Prosperous was one of those 'once in a blue moon' that I did answer.

Answering cold calls "once in a blue moon" often causes people to lose every penny of their money that one time they pick up the phone. I would seriously consider changing your phone number or investing in a call blocker.

cardriver98

Wouldn't touch these schemes with a barge pole.  Save your money in the highest interest account you can find. THEY are less likely to go out of business. 

MarriedtoFinn

Re:  Cold Calling - 
Why not get registered with the Telephone Preference Service?  It's free, simple, and IT  WORKS!
There is also a Mailing Preference Service - also excellent.
Just Google them, simplify your life, and get some peace from all these nuisances.
Then whenever you need a service or product, you call them - after thorough research, of course.  And make sure you tick the box that says you don't want further info. on other products or services.
Take charge!  Good luck.