IS THE FIRM PURE CREMATION TRUSTWORTHY?

Fatinvestor

You may have seen this firm's irritating ads on TV. I don't watch much TV, but when I do I have to put up with their repeated ads. 
A friend of mine used to work for Pure Cremation, but found the firm care more about business targets and sales as opposed to good customer service. Another friend of mine recently got a quote from Pure Cremation for a direct cremation and it was about 25% more expensive than comparable national firms but with no extras offered. Worse still, local funeral providers were almost 50% lower in price than Pure Cremation for a direct cremation. 
I worry that this firm largely target vulnerable elderly people. 
They have a high TrustPilot rating, but can such ratings, particularly, the many 5 star one liner ratings, really be trusted? 
I would be interested to hear foum member's recent thoughts, whether good or bad, regardiing this firm and their services.

LightFlare

The advertising line about how many positive customer reviews always makes me chuckle when I see this ad

5* temperature perfect 🤣

Merlin139

Not easy to find the cost of a funeral with Pure, but in the end got to the figure of £1995

This figure is for a Funeral Plan, so obviously pay now and no rise in price.  

I can a direct funeral from a local firm in Hull at a cost of £1195 

Obviously Pure has to pay salary for many more people so the costs will be higher. I am happy to pay a local firm to collect, cremate and return the ashes. That is all that I will require. 

I attended a family cremation on 23rd December and from what I understand the bill will be around £5K 
For that they got a better coffin, a service at the Crematorium, Hearse and 2 cars. 

I do know someone who did it all themselves. A big estate car, 3 friends, appropriate paperwork, informed the police of what they were doing and when. Turned up at the Crematorium at 08:15. and handed over the deceased and left. They collected the ashes 4 days later.

flaneurs_lobster

Think we get the idea, you don't like Pure Cremation for a variety of reasons.

If you think that their (or any other organisation's) advertising or marketing material is in any way misleading or fraudulent then report it to the appropriate regulator.

Just being more expensive than the competition is not a valid reason for complaint.

What are you hoping to gain by asking for other people's "thoughts" about this firm? Be aware that any suggestion that a particular firm should be "shunned" is against Forum rules.

jackieblack

I took out a Pure Cremation plan about 18 months ago after having to arrange my mother's funeral and finding it so stressful and traumatic that I never want to inflict that on my daughter.  

I looked at lots of different plans and providers and decided on Pure Cremation for two reasons. Firstly, all the local firms had additional fees payable at the time I die, whenever that happens to be, whereas there is nothing further to pay with PC. Secondly, because the money is in a trust which has to comply with FCA and is protected by the FSCS.  Another minor consideration was that, should I change my mind in the future, I can cancel and get most of my money back (less a £350 fee). 

I have since had to arrange my father's funeral and this confirmed that taking out this plan for myself was the right decision for me. It has given me tremendous peace of mind knowing that this is all sorted (assuming I die in the UK).

I have put an additional sum of money (roughly the difference between what a traditional funeral would cost and the cost of the plan) into a savings account for my daughter to use in whatever way she sees fit.  If she feels the need to have some kind of service/ceremony she can, at a time and place that suits her not the funeral directors/crematorium, but I would much prefer they use it for a lovely holiday.

DancingBadger

The problem with Pure Cremation is their aggressive advertising; it gives the impression the service they offer is unique when in fact most, if not all, funeral directors will arrange a direct cremation if asked - and usually charge much less.

Last February I paid £975 to undertakers in Bristol for a "no fuss" cremation, as opposed to the £1600 quoted by Pure Cremation.

flaneurs_lobster

DancingBadger said:

The problem with Pure Cremation is their aggressive advertising; it gives the impression the service they offer is unique when in fact most, if not all, funeral directors will arrange a direct cremation if asked - and usually charge much less.

Last February I paid £975 to undertakers in Bristol for a "no fuss" cremation, as opposed to the £1600 quoted by Pure Cremation.

I've not seen the ad(s),  "gives the impression" is rather the point of advertising - if they are actually stating that their service is unique when it isn't then that is false advertising and against the regs, but I bet they're not.

Is not the problem here that the "traditional" undertakers make their margin on all the extras and additions that are never "necessary" but are somehow considered "proper" or "respectful" or "correct". It would be against their own interests to advertise cheap, no-frills collect'n'burn services, even if they are available from them?

Fatinvestor

flaneurs_lobster said:

Think we get the idea, you don't like Pure Cremation for a variety of reasons.

If you think that their (or any other organisation's) advertising or marketing material is in any way misleading or fraudulent then report it to the appropriate regulator.

Just being more expensive than the competition is not a valid reason for complaint.

What are you hoping to gain by asking for other people's "thoughts" about this firm? Be aware that any suggestion that a particular firm should be "shunned" is against Forum rules.

Apologies for causing you any upset. That was not my intention.

From what I uinderstand this forum is meant to be an exchanging of views. And where did I use the word, complaint? Re the costs I was merely pointing out that Pure Cremation are more expensive than comparators, but they do not offer a value added service.

They also typically take money in advance, so although direct cremation costs may increase over time the client will lose out any interest they could accrue. For a typical up front direct cremation cost of about £2K at present one could lose about £80 per year. 

Anyhow, I have no complaint per se. I just wouldn't use them. 

user1977

Fatinvestor said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Think we get the idea, you don't like Pure Cremation for a variety of reasons.

If you think that their (or any other organisation's) advertising or marketing material is in any way misleading or fraudulent then report it to the appropriate regulator.

Just being more expensive than the competition is not a valid reason for complaint.

What are you hoping to gain by asking for other people's "thoughts" about this firm? Be aware that any suggestion that a particular firm should be "shunned" is against Forum rules.

From what I uinderstand this forum is meant to be an exchanging of views.

It's primarily a place for people to seek advice - questions about a particular provider are going to be assumed to be from a prospective (or past) customer.

Fatinvestor

Noted. Pleased to see that exeptions are allowed thus creating a more open and sustainable forum !

flaneurs_lobster

Fatinvestor said:

Apologies for causing you any upset. That was not my intention.

No upset caused. No apology needed.