Cost of transporting a body 110 miles-ish.

JenP85

Hello. 
My mother passed away two days ago. Her wishes were to be buried next to my father. My father is buried in Birmingham and we currently live in Somerset.
I know nobody will know an exact price but does anybody know how much the transportation will cost roughly? She sadly did not have a funeral plan paid for so my sister and I are trying to get the money together. We're speaking to the funeral planners tomorrow evening but we're both panicking about the cost as we don't have much either. 
Are we looking at thousands to transport or Hundreds? Some websites say £3-4k while others say as little as £200-£300.  
Thank you. x


Thank you for all the kind replys. You've all helped and reduced my anxiety. 
I honestly had no idea you could transport a body yourself. I had a chuckle to myself because i kept getting images of National lampoons vacation.. Basically strapping her to the roof in a sitting position lol She would have laughed at that. i will talk to them.

tooldle

My only experience was with my dad who donated his body to our local hospital. When it came to it, the local unit was not able to accept the donation. They offered to phone around other med schools subject to confirmation that transportation costs would be covered. This was ten years ago and it was suggested then to be upwards of £500. Lots of variables as with longish journeys it may necessitate staff taking extra shifts. Two people on a journey that will probably exceed a working day, plus the ambulance etc. 
Perhaps the funeral director can suggest alternatives arrangements to suit your budget.
Very best wishes to you and your sister x

elsien

You probably don’t want to do this, but in practice there’s nothing to stop you hiring a van and transporting the coffin yourself.
You could also talk to the funeral director about what transport they would be using, because if they’re thinking of using a hearse that is unnecessary and expensive, and you could tell them to use a cheaper means of transport.
My condolences on your bereavement.

Savvy_Sue

I don't know, but if you have a suitable vehicle, I don't think there's anything to stop you moving mum yourself.

Seriously, on Radio 4 years ago, they had a story from a lady who'd loaded mum into her campervan and taken her on a Cook's Tour of the country, stopping at various points to let mum and daughter admire the view and chat about old times.

Brambling

Sorry for your loss

i remember cousins moving my aunt from Liverpool to Dorset and they said it worked out cheaper to use a national company (co-op) rather than a small local one but this was about 15 years ago.  If you look at their price list (if I've read it right) it says £195 for up to 15 miles then £2 a mile.

If you move her yourself maybe make sure to have the correct paperwork with you in case you get stopped for any reason

Keep_pedalling

A local cremation followed by having her ashes interred with her husband would be a lot cheaper. She may have wished to be buried but that wish should not put you in debt to catty out.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

sorry for your loss.

You may want to add your replies to the bottom of the thread, as few will go back to read the original post.

Hoping I'm not being insensitive, but there is a lot you can arrange yourself, have a look HERE.

Robin9

JenP85 said:

Hello. 
My mother passed away two days ago. Her wishes were to be buried next to my father. My father is buried in Birmingham and we currently live in Somerset..................

The bigger cost may well be the councils charges for reopening the grave -  they generally charge double for out of area.

I used my local Funeral Director for my MIL when she died 50 miles away. They made arrangements for a local firm to handle the initial care  then took her into their care with cremation back near her home. The only extra cost was for the second FD.  

elsien

Robin9 said:

JenP85 said:

Hello. 
My mother passed away two days ago. Her wishes were to be buried next to my father. My father is buried in Birmingham and we currently live in Somerset..................

The bigger cost may well be the councils charges for reopening the grave -  they generally charge double for out of area.

I used my local Funeral Director for my MIL when she died 50 miles away. They made arrangements for a local firm to handle the initial care  then took her into their care with cremation back near her home. The only extra cost was for the second FD.  

This is true - there was a recent thread about the cost and London prices were over 2K to open up a grave to put a second person in. I'd second whether cremation then burial of the ashes would have been acceptable to mum rather than family putting themselves in debt. 

Intoodeep

One of the main Funeral Directors here in Shropshire charge £250 (30 mile radius) & then 80p per mile.

Brambling

elsien said:

This is true - there was a recent thread about the cost and London prices were over 2K to open up a grave to put a second person in. I'd second whether cremation then burial of the ashes would have been acceptable to mum rather than family putting themselves in debt.

We opened dad's grave to add mum's ashes, i wanted to discreetly scatter them around the grave but was out voted by my older sisters.  We had to arrange with the undertaker to provide a approved box and they arranged for the hole to be dug and it to be buried, it was about 11 years ago and I remember that cost several hundred to do in a Dorset village.