IS THE FIRM PURE CREMATION TRUSTWORTHY?

Cubicsrube

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81942935#Comment_81942935

I think this realisation might be behind the rise in direct cremation (as well as, perhaps even more than, the cost factor). My mum had a direct cremation, which took a bit of processing for her children to get comfortable with, but was ultimately chosen because she died at the start of the summer holidays and we knew so many important people would be unable to pay their respects due to travel plans. Instead we held a wonderful celebration of life service followed by a lovely 'afternoon tea' wake, about two months later. It was standing room only and gave us time to prepare lovely eulogies, photo presentations together, and appreciate it all with less of the fog and rawness of immediate loss. I highly recommend.

Some of the criticisms of pure cremation are giving me puzzlement: it's a company that has decided to build a national brand around a product that most funeral directors bury on the back of the menu. Part of that involves raising mass awareness that the option exists. That's not the same thing as 'implying they are unique'. Almost all advertisers in every category eschew mentioning competitors (unless comparison/taste test etc is the whole strategy). You can't expect them to advertise other people's services!

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82004531#Comment_82004531

 than some new company who are chucking shedloads of money on adverts.

Anybody I know who watches daytime TV/ more obscure channels, finds these funeral/cremation adverts pretty ridiculous. They all seem so happy planning their own funeral, as if they are planning their Summer holidays .😂

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82004878#Comment_82004878

Pretty standard advertising, people don't buy your stuff (soap powder/holiday/car/funeral plan) if it makes you miserable. It has to be aspirational in some way, even if it's just Asda's back-pocket of extra loose change.

I've not seen the ads, assume it's not disco dancing and champagne?

KxMx

Now everything is done I am overall very impressed with Pure Cremation.

Her ashes were hand delivered back to me by a staff member one week after the cremation.

The local independent family firm I mentioned that let us down on several aspects with Nan's attended cremation in 2021 (after having had previously good experiences with them), took weeks to get her ashes back and then sent them to the wrong branch.

This is one of the reasons that Mum chose Pure Cremation.

Investmentexpert

My point is that it is about choice. There has been a lot in the press lately about funeral directors not adhering to standards, keeping bodies in below standard conditions, fraud etc. At least when you deal with a national company such as Pure Cremation, they are large and have a brand to protect, they will deliver a consistent service. The reality is some local funeral directors have only just started to talk about direct cremations because they have had to because that’s what. Lot of customers want, but for years they have sold high margin, high price funerals to families at their most vulnerable time. This is now thankfully changing and a lot of the daytime TV has woken customers up that they now have a choice. Would I rather have a Pure Cremation and celebrate my loved ones life how I want to or go down the crematoria, which I personally find depressing and have a funeral director try and sell me the use of out dated limousines. It’s about choice, for some people they would prefer a traditional service and don’t mind paying all the money and for others they want a celebration of life in their own time and to save some money in the process. Personally I think companies like Pure Cremation serve a real need. The review sites like Trustpilot and Reviews.io seem to agree- can’t find a not one in the UK with more positive reviews by the look of it.

Grumpy_chap

A local funeral director can provide the same service as all these companies spending money on advertising on TV.

I think the difference might be that Pure Cremation have created their whole business model around providing a value proposition for post-end-of-life-care.

The local companies offering post-end-of-life-care can offer the value proposition but also offer the full-service proposition and the natural business desire to "upsell" will come into play. Whoever made the reference upthread to it being like the holiday business might be closer to the truth than they thought - why promote the value proposition when the full-service five star option is more attractive for the business?

Intoodeep

They were featured on You and Yours on Radio 4 yesterday (Monday 8th June)

They are under investigation by the Advertising Standards Board.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82028766#Comment_82028766

That would be the Advertising Standards Authority.

Hard to find out exactly what the nature of the investigation is but it seems to rest with the definition of/expectation given by the word "funeral".

Seems that some do not understand that Pure Cremation's post-end-of-life-care (to use @Grumpy_chap's phrase) can best be described as body disposal. People have complained that the term "funeral" implies/means a ceremony of some sort and that people do not understand the nature of the service they are buying.

There are also some allegations (mainly on The Socials) of pressure selling to vulnerable older people.

Intoodeep

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82028795#Comment_82028795

Sorry for the error, I really must do better, it would appear there are concerns about the lack of emphasis on the fact there is no "actual funeral service", this is only in the small print at the bottom of the screen for 7 seconds apparently.

Investmentexpert

I have seen the ad, it features a woman who has just has the wake in her house and says lovely send off, seemed pretty obvious to me that was the send off and not at the crematoria. Pure Cremation seem to pride themselves on the fact that they don’t offer a service in a crematoria which is why their costs are lower. Just for the family to organise there own wake how they see fit and as Cubiscrube said- more flexibility. Would seem odd if they think customers thought they were buying a traditional funeral. Does seem definitional- no doubt they will just adjust it. Far worse things going on with local funeral directors like that Hull chap who is going to be sentenced than ad copy