Funeral Plans Terms and Conditions

Content

- Please note if you have a Trust-based Funeral Plan purchased before 29th July 2022, the plan is covered by these Terms and Conditions.

Over 50s Insurance-backed Funeral Plan

- Please note if you have an Over 50s Insurance-backed Funeral Plan purchased before 29th July 2022, the plan is covered by these Terms and Conditions.

Trust-based Funeral Plan

This document tells you who we are, how our plans work and how any changes can be made to your plan.

It also explains what to do if there’s a problem, as well as other important information you might need.

These terms and conditions apply only to our Trust-based Funeral Plans.

We have some words that we use throughout this document and to help you understand them we’ll explain their meaning first.

When we say “you”, “your”, “I” and “my” we mean the person the plan is for.

When we use the phrase “Pure Cremation Limited”, we’re talking about the part of our business that will provide the funeral at the time it is needed.

The word “nominated representative”, is the person who’ll arrange your funeral when you die. This may be a family member or a solicitor.

The words “Accidental Death” mean a death which occurs within 90 days of an Accident. By which we mean an event caused by violent, external bodily injury which could not be predicted and was not intentional. This excludes self inflicted injury, such as suicide, or activities where there is an inherent risk of injury (such as war, involvement in criminal acts, extreme sports, drug use, or injury while intoxicated) and death by natural causes, an illness or disease.

“We”, “us” and “our” refers to Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited. This is the part of our business that acts as a funeral plan provider and administers your funeral plan. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with Firm Reference Number 965260. Our registration details can be accessed at https://register.fca.org.uk.

When we use the phrase “our coverage area” we mean mainland England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland plus Isle of Wight and Isle of Skye.

Your plan is an agreement between you and us. Your agreement is made up of this document, your application form and your funeral plan summary. We’ll issue the funeral plan summary when you buy your plan and it will confirm what’s included.

Who can buy a plan?

You must be a UK resident and be over 18 when you buy our Trust-based Funeral Plan. There is no upper age limit when you pay for your plan in this way.

Your Nominated Representative

If you provide us with your nominated representative details, we will contact them within 5 working days advising them of the plan you have taken. If you do not wish us to contact them, you must tell us.

How does my plan work?

Your cremation will be provided by Pure Cremation Limited (our funeral provider) on your death, as long as the payment terms of the plan have been met. You’ll find details of these in the “How do I pay for my plan?” section.

Every Pure Cremation Funeral Plan includes collection of the body, day or night, from anywhere within our coverage area and cremation at a carefully selected venue that we choose.

If you are travelling abroad, we would recommend you take out a travel insurance policy which will cover the costs of returning your body to the UK. Once your body is returned, we can carry out your cremation in line with your wishes. Alternatively, we may be able to help pay towards the cost of a cremation in the place that you die but we do not guarantee to cover the entire cost of this. We DO guarantee to cover the cost of a cremation carried out by us in the UK.

We are unable to transfer people between different jurisdictions e.g. from England to Scotland.

When you buy a Trust plan from us the funds are held by Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Trust which is completely separate from the Pure Cremation business.

What’s included in my plan?

All our plans include our fees for the collection of your body within our coverage area, the coffin, and return of your ashes as well as the cost of the cremation itself and any doctor’s fees for cremation papers (these are what are commonly referred to as “third party fees or disbursements”). You are covered for Accidental Death from the day you take out your plan.

Before you buy your plan, you’ll get a funeral plan summary. This will confirm what’s in your plan. If anything that your plan includes today isn’t available at the time of your funeral, we’ll provide reasonable alternatives.

What’s not included in my plan?

Our plans are specifically designed for those who want a Pure Cremation. This is a simple, unattended cremation that takes place at a time and place of our choosing. Our plans never include the following:

The use of a hearse or limousine
A funeral ceremony at the crematorium
A minister or celebrant
The option to choose the crematorium
Mourners attending the committal at the crematorium (this can be requested and paid for at the time of need)

How do I pay for my plan?

You can pay for your plan in one of three ways:

In full (in a single lump sum)
In a fixed number of instalments over 6 months at no extra cost
In a fixed number of instalments over either 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months with an extra 4% per year to cover the lost investment income caused by paying for your plan in instalments rather than a single up front payment. If you choose this option, the total amount you’ll pay will be shown on your Funeral Plan Summary

Your plan is at risk if you do not keep up with regular payments. Please see the section What if payments are missed.

Can someone else pay for my plan?

Yes if they are over 18, and they will become your nominated representative until the plan is paid in full. If they don’t pay, you are still responsible to ensure payments are made, otherwise your plan could be at risk of cancellation by us. If you’d like to change the person who pays for your plan, you can contact us using the details at the end of this document.

We will only change the details if we have authorisation from the plan holder or their nominated representative.

Can I transfer my plan to someone else?

No, you CANNOT transfer the plan to someone else.

Can I make changes to my plan?

Please contact us if you change your name, address or bank details or any other information that may affect your plan. You can also contact us if you want to make a change to the monthly payment date of your plan.

What if I lose my plan documents?

We will send you upon request and free of charge, a copy of any information relevant to your plan. If you lose any documents just call or email us and we’ll send you a replacement.

What happens when I die?

Your nominated representative should contact Pure Cremation Limited, the funeral provider. They’ll need to provide us with the Registrar’s certificate for burial or cremation (the Green Form) and sign some simple forms that we send to them by post or email. We’ll then take care of the rest.

If you die at home or in a nursing home we’ll send a team out as soon as possible to collect your body.

If you die in hospital then we usually have to wait until we have the Green Form from the Registrar or a release form issued by the hospital.

More information about payment options

Paying in full

The total amount when paying in full (as a lump sum) is £1,795. You can pay by cheque, bank transfer, credit or debit card. We’ll send you your plan documents within 5 days, but you’ll be completely covered immediately.

Paying by instalments for up to 6 months

If you choose to pay for your plan over a period of up to 6 months, the cost of your plan (£1,795) will be split evenly over the term you have chosen. You will not pay anything extra as a result of choosing this option. Once your plan has been paid in full there will be no more to pay.

Paying by instalments over 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months

If you choose to pay for your plan over a period of 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months, the cost of your plan will be split evenly over the term you have chosen. The instalments will be collected monthly, usually by Direct Debit. Depending on the payment term, the sums you will be required to pay are as follows:

6 monthly payments of £299.16 = £1,794.96

12 monthly payments of £155.57 = £1,866.84

24 monthly payments of £80.89 = £1,941.36

36 monthly payments of £56.09 = £2,019.24

48 monthly payments of £43.75 = £2,100.00

60 monthly payments of £36.40 = £2,184.00

As you can see from the figures above, if you choose to pay over 12 months or more, the total will exceed £1,795 because an annual 4% administration charge is added to the plan to cover the lost investment income caused by paying for your plan in instalments rather than a single up front payment.

Once your plan has been paid in full there will be no more to pay.

Paying by instalments – If you die within the first 24 months from the start date of your plan

If you die as a result of an Accidental Death within 24 months from the start date of your plan there won’t be any more to pay and we will provide the cremation.

If you die within 24 months from the start date of the plan and your death was not an Accidental Death, your estate will have a choice of either a full refund of all monthly payments paid or alternatively to pay the difference of a Pure Cremation Funeral at the time.

Paying by instalments – If you die after 24 months from the start date of your plan

If you die after you have either paid in full or after 24 months from the start date of your plan then no further payments will be required and we will provide the cremation.

Can I pay a deposit towards my plan?

No. We are not requiring a deposit to be paid towards the plan.

What if payments are missed?

It’s important that you contact us as soon as you can if you (or the person paying for the plan) is finding it difficult to pay the instalments.

If you miss 2 consecutive instalments in a row and fail to settle the payment shortfall upon request from us, we may cancel your plan and give you back the money paid, less our plan set up fee of £350. However, if you contact us we will consider pausing your plan for a mutually agreed period of time.

Please note that if there are insufficient funds in your account to make a payment on the nominated day we will reapply for the payment 10 days later.

Can I make additional payments to pay off my plan more quickly?

We do not currently offer the facility to make top up payments to pay off the plan more quickly. However, you can pay the full outstanding balance on your plan at any time.

If you wish to do so, you can contact us using the details at the end of this document and we can tell you the balance left to pay if you make full settlement before the next monthly instalment is due.

We’ll work out the balance by taking the amount you have already paid from the total amount that would have been paid if you’d chosen this shorter period in the first place.

Refunds made by us

If we need to pay any money back to you we will refund directly to the account we have been taking payments from. We will not refund to any other method of payment or individual.

Price and Funeral Plan Disclosure Statement

The total cost of your funeral plan is £1,795.

From this total cost £1,050 is placed in an independent trust. This amount is used to provide you with the direct cremation funeral described at the time of your death, whenever in the future that may occur. Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited has negotiated this charge with the provider of the direct cremation and guarantees that you will not be charged more than this amount for your direct cremation funeral when the time arrives.

The additional £745 that you pay over and above the £1,050 placed in trust for your direct cremation is retained by Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited to cover the cost of marketing, setting up and then administering your funeral plan.

If you were to approach Pure Cremation Limited and request a funeral that was needed today, what is referred to as an ‘at need’ service, you would pay £1,295.

How we keep your money safe

All Trust Plan payments are placed into the Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Trust. This has been established and is managed in strict accordance with Rules set out by Financial Conduct Authority using their statutory powers derived from the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

The Trust is completely separate from the Pure Cremation business and is managed by four trustees, three of whom are independent of the Pure group of companies.

When you die, funds are released from the trust so that the cremation can be provided.

If you have chosen to pay in a single lump sum or in monthly instalments then money can also be released in other circumstances; for instance, if you or we cancel your plan, your money (less the plan set up fee applicable at the time of purchase) will be refunded to you.

Managing the Trust’s money

The Trust’s money is managed by a fund manager that is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. They invest the money in accordance with the investment policy of the Trust. This policy is reviewed each year to ensure a cautious and ethical approach is maintained by the fund manager. The Trustees regularly review the fund manager’s performance, and the Trust is audited each year and undergoes an actuarial valuation at least every 12 months to confirm that there are sufficient funds to meet regulatory requirements.

What if we go out of business?

In the unlikely event Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited (PCFP) were to go out of business, there are arrangements in place that make it likely your funeral plan contract will continue to be provided by a new firm whilst keeping the terms and service that were agreed.

In the event that the your funeral plan contract could not be carried out by PCFP or another firm that was appointed, you would promptly receive a refund of all the money held on your behalf within the independent trust without any further deduction.

You should be aware that in the event that your funeral plan could not continue to be carried out by PCFP or the new provider identified, your funeral plan would cease and you may incur additional costs in making new arrangements with a new provider.

What else may affect my plan?

If there is a change in the law or tax rules that affects the way cremations are carried out, we may need to either apply additional charges or pay you money back. We will carefully consider whether to apply any additional charges and commit to keeping them as low as possible. If that is the case, we will contact you to advise you of any additional charges.

How do I cancel my plan?

Please read the funeral plan contract documentation carefully before the end of the cancellation period to ensure that the funeral plan is suitable for you.

What if I don’t use my plan?

We’ll stay in regular contact with you using the contact details that we have. If your plan hasn’t been claimed 12 months after your death or your 110th birthday we’ll assume that your nominated representative has chosen not to claim the plan benefits. We’ll then have the right to cancel your plan and retain any payments you’ve made.

Cancelling within cancellation period

If you pay for your funeral plan contract in one lump sum, you can cancel your plan within 30 days of the date your plan documents were received without giving any reason and receive a full refund.

If you have paid for your plan by instalments, you can cancel your plan within 24 months, without giving any reason and receive a full refund.

Cancelling your plan after the cancellation period

If you ask us to cancel your plan after the cancellation period (either 30 days or 24 months depending on whether you paid in full or by instalments), we’ll pay you back the payments made for your plan less our £350 plan set up fee.

If you’ve paid less than £350 when you cancel, you’ll receive nothing.

Our right to cancel your plan

We may cancel your plan if you don’t keep up the monthly instalments on your plan and these remain unpaid for a period of 2 consecutive months or more.

If your plan is cancelled by us within 24 months you will receive a full refund.

If your plan is cancelled by us after 24 months we’ll pay you back the payments made for your plan less our £350 plan set up fee.

If you’ve paid less than £350 when we cancel, you’ll receive nothing.

You can cancel your plan by using the details below to get in touch.

By email: [email protected] purecremation.co.uk

By phone: 0800 033 7737

How do I make a complaint?

If you want to make a complaint, you should contact us by phone, email or post.

By phone: 0800 033 7737

Email: [email protected]

Post: Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited, Complaints Department, Eagle House, Joule Road, Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX

If you’re not happy with our response to your complaint, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look into it. This is a free, independent and impartial service that helps resolve disputes.

Although you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at any time, they’ll ask for our permission to investigate complaints where:

you haven’t complained to us first, to give us the chance to put things right; or
you have complained to us, but we haven’t given you our final response yet and we’re still within our timescales.

How we manage your complaint

We will send you a prompt written acknowledgment or a summary resolution communication (if the complaint can be resolved within 3 business days). We’ll also let you know about the Financial Ombudsman Service at this time. For more complex complaints, we’ll send you our final response as soon as we’ve completed our investigation and no later than within 56 days. We’ll also keep you informed in writing along the way so you’ll know when to expect to hear from us.

If we haven’t been able to finalise our investigation by 56 days we’ll send you a letter letting you know and what steps you can take. These will include letting you know you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you’d prefer not to wait until we’ve finalised our investigation. The contact details for the Financial Ombudsman Service are below.

Web: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0800 0 234 567 (free from UK landlines and mobiles)

Post: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR

What if I need to contact you?

You can contact us in the following ways for plan sales, lost plan documents, plan enquiries and general enquiries. We will send you a plan statement every 3 years to keep you updated on your plan.

By phone: 0800 033 7737

By email: [email protected] purecremation.co.uk

Post: Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited, Eagle House, Joule Road, Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX

The funeral plan contract is between you and Pure Cremation Funeral Planning Limited (registered in England and Wales, company number 09906976).

Our Registered office is at: Charlton Park Crematorium, Charlton Down, Andover, England, SP11 0TA.

Our VAT registration number is GB273 6544 83.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

What is Financial Services Compensation Scheme?

We are a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”). FSCS can pay compensation to customers if they are eligible and a regulated firm is unable to pay claims against it, usually if the firm stops trading or is insolvent. Compensation limits apply depending on the type of claim.

FSCS is required to pay compensation to the extent that the FSCS considers that the payment of compensation is essential in order to provide the claimant with fair compensation. FSCS has discretion on how to quantify the compensation due for individual claims, which it will quantify under its own quantification policies. For funeral plan contracts, the FSCS will cover up to £85,000.

Please note that FSCS may also make payment to a funeral director to cover the cost of a funeral in certain circumstances, if appropriate.

Further information

For further information about the compensation provided by the FSCS please refer to the FSCS website at www.fscs.org.uk.

Over 50s Insurance-backed Funeral Plan

This document tells you who we are, how our plans work and how any changes can be made to your plan.

It also explains what to do if there’s a problem, as well as other important information you might need.

These terms and conditions apply only to our Over 50s Insurance-backed funeral plans.