Fake Funeral Plan Websites Exposed

Customers searching for online funeral insurance plans have been issued with a warning about fake comparison sites that have led to victims feeling “hounded”.

With funeral costs continuing to soar and now averaging £4,000 to £7,000 according to some estimates, many people are now looking to set aside money in advance to avoid the cost falling to their loved ones.

As well as the undertakers’ cost and the wake, hidden expenses families may not budget for include florists’ bills, paying for a burial plot and buying and engraving a headstone.

But due an absence of effective regulations, a number of fake comparison websites have sprung up recently that are being dubbed “lead generators”.

Details entered into these deceptive websites by unwitting members of the public are then passed on to other companies, leading to traumatic experiences for many customers.

Sales manager Heather Bridger knows all too well about the consequences of using such sites.

She told the Mail Online: “Every time I used a comparison website I was hounded by phone calls from different companies who really just wanted me to sign up. But I did not feel confident about it.”

The Funeral Planning Authority does have its own set of rules and code of practice, but membership is only voluntary.

There have been calls for the Financial Conduct Authority to set up its own mandatory funeral plan regulations, a proposal backed up by James Daley, who founded consumer protection pressure group Fairer Finance.

As well as urging anyone looking to purchase a funeral plan to be “extremely careful”, James said: “The main problem with this market is there is no proper regulation.

“These websites, which pose as independent, verge on being criminal. In a regulated market they would be shut down.”

Tees Mutual chief executive Phil Carey is concerned about the danger of the rogue online operators giving a much-needed service a bad name.

“The comparison tables offered on these sites are often misleading and littered with inaccuracies,” he said.

“As well as giving the consumer the false confidence that they are getting the best value for their money, visiting them can also result in being relentlessly bombarded with unwanted sales calls.

“It’s extremely frustrating to hear of people being exploited in this way.

“Tees Mutual has a record going back over a century and our members can continue to rely on our products as a sensible way of saving for their funerals and trust us never to sell them products that are not suitable for their needs.”

Please note, these are the author's views only and no advice has been given.

Click here to find out more about saving for your funeral with Tees Mutual and to get a quick quote.

I took out my first policy years ago because my partner’s family were with Tees Mutual. My partner pays £24 a month for a policy that also covers my son and I pay £20 a month. It means you’re not leaving all your funeral debts to your family when you’re not here. My agent, Andrea, is fantastic.

Wendy Kirk

43, shop assistant, Thornaby

I’ve had a Whole of Life for years and I and took out a Savings Policy so my son will have something when I pass on and I also get some money back when I’m 60. I wouldn’t want to think of anyone leaving debts to me when they died, so I wouldn’t want to do it to my own family. I wish I’d started a policy years ago, but you don’t think about it when you’re younger.

Lorraine Goldup

52, Hemlington

My partner’s mam and dad were members and we heard about Tees Mutual through them. I’m getting older now and if anything happened to me, I wouldn’t want my family to have to pay for it. We’ve had no problems whatsoever and my agent, Perry, is sound. The main thing is that everything's taken care of if something happens to me.

Paul Grant

50, house-husband, Middlesbrough

If anything happens to me, my family wouldn’t be able to afford to pay to bury me. Years ago there were lots of insurance calling to the door, but Tees Mutual is the only firm still doing it now. Allison, my agent, is just like one of us and it’s handy having somebody coming to the house every week.

Carol Frost

69, Brambles Farm, Middlesbrough

My wife’s mother started a policy years ago and I decided I’d rather not leave big debts to my children and so I’d take one out myself. It’s not a very nice thing to leave for them to deal with, is it? I pay a fiver a week to make sure there’s enough to bury me when the time comes. They’ve been smashing and my caller is absolutely brilliant.

David Reed

63, Middlesbrough

We’d only had our policies for about 18 months when my wife Marion died suddenly, just a fortnight after we came back from holiday. She was only 53. Our collector, Alison, made everything as easy as possible. She brought the paperwork to the house and we got the cheque for £5,300 the next day. That made a huge difference because we knew we had the money to pay for Marion’s funeral service and burial. Our family were very pleased with how they looked after us.

Paul Bird

59, South Bank

Tees Mutual does not provide financial advice. If you are in any doubt as to whether a policy is suitable for you, you should contact an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) for advice. An IFA may charge for providing such advice and you should confirm any cost beforehand. We are covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service, whose website address is www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Tees Mutual is a trading name of The Kensington Friendly Collecting Society Limited, which is an incorporated Friendly Society under the 1992 Friendly Societies Act No. 79COL. KFCSL is Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. KFCSL’s Financial Services Register number is 110058.

The registered address of Tees Mutual and its subsidiary, Tees Mutual Services Limited, is 1-3 Kensington Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, TS5 6AL.

Tees Mutual, 1-3 Kensington Road, Middlesbrough SE16 3QT +441642850022 enquiries@teesmutual.co.uk