Funeral director welcomes inquiry

A FUNERAL director has welcomed national investigations into '˜rip-off' pre-paid funeral plans that fail to provide emotionally vulnerable people with clear information on prices and services.

James Keen from A H Freemantle,based in Titchfield, Park Gate and Botley, said the pre-paid funeral plan sector had largely been unregulated for years with some third-party sellers acting unethically.

The Competition and Markets Authority announced that it had launched an investigation at the same time as the Treasury has turned its spotlight on the funeral plan industry.

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James said: ‘Families don’t always understand that with some funeral plan sellers they are taking on something that won’t cover their funeral for them later. Some of the people selling funeral plans are simply intermediaries more interested in the sale than in the care for the family. I see cases like these all the time and it is very distressing for the relatives that are left to arrange the funeral.’