Funeral Plans

Hi Nakabandi,

She wasn't lying to you - the information she gave you is confirmed in a document prepared by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bereavement-information-for-spain

Kind regards,

Kim

Don't know but I suspect it's more likely to be true than not. 

Crossed posts. 

Thank you Kimmy and Movingon

I have read the link quickly and still not sure. It seems if a relative steps forward and takes some control of the funeral then they are agreeing to pay.

But what happens if no relative steps forward or the deceased has been disowned or all the relatives are as skint as the deceased. The woman at Av company seemed to be saying the relative once traced in the UK will be getting a visit from ‘’CAN’T PAY WE’LL TAKE IT AWAY’’ brigade.

I am only seeking the truth and not wanting to argue the principal. Let’s face it these funeral plan companies have a worst reputation than double glazing salesmen.

She also told me when I put a scenario to her; whoever signs acknowledgment on the death certificate is agreeing to pay for the funeral.

If everything she said is true then fair enough, but if it is lies and she is using it to everybody to pressure sell then I will contact their head office.

The question you asked was, "She (the funeral plan woman) said if you die in Spain and cannot afford or pay for your funeral costs (you have zero assets) the authorities can force any relative you have in Spain or UK to pay out of their own pocket.  Has she told me a pack of lies?"

The answer provided in the FCO document is, "If there is no insurance cover, the cost of repatriation or burial will need to be met by the family. Neither the Foreign and Commonwealth Office nor the British Consulates in Spain have budgets to meet these costs."

So, as I said previously, she didn't lie to you.

Now you're asking, "But what happens if no relative steps forward or the deceased has been disowned or all the relatives are as skint as the deceased"?  Local authorities in both Spain and the UK have responsibility for providing a "pauper's" funeral (called a "contracted" funeral in the UK) if no relatives come forward, and it's their responsibility to pursue recovery of the costs from the estate of the deceased.  Relatives can claim to have no funds, but I would expect that they'd need to prove that to the satisfaction of the local authority.

If you have concerns, why don't you contact the company's head office anyway and ask for clarifcation?  You don't have to tell them that you're concerned that their representative was telling you "a pack of lies" and I'm sure they wouldn't be so stupid as to commit anything to writing that wasn't true.

Thanks Kimmy that is useful. Perhaps I am not explaining correctly or perhaps going round the houses a bit. Let me put it another way.

Do relatives living in the UK or Spain have a legal liability that can be legally enforced to pay for funeral costs should they have a relative that dies in Spain. That is assuming the relative has the means to pay, but may not want to pay.

Is it a simple fact your skint brother has died and you are paying for the funeral like it or not, and if you don’t pay we will get a court order and send in the bailiffs to take assets equal to the debt of the funeral costs.

Sorry to be a pain, but it seems bizarre to me.

I don't know the answer to that question.  If you're concerned enough to need a definitive response, I'd still recommend contacting the company and asking that specific question.

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kimmy

Thank you for trying to help. Perhaps Jim might know.

If Jim doesn't know at present then I am sure that he will find out!

Another source for such information may be the Citizens Advice Bureau Spain website.

Luckily, when my husband passed away, we had had a funeral plan policy for several years - this was and still is not an up-front payment but a monthly payment.   Within a few minutes of the company being advised of his demise someone phoned me and took some details, then just about everything was arranged as I wanted, including the supply of the death certificate(s) - I just added one or two very small details of my own with the funeral place of my choice.   Because I did not 'go over the top' with the arrangements I was pleasantly surprised to receive a refund of some monies a short while after the funeral.   For me it took away a lot of the arrangements and money worries at the time and so was money well spent over the time that we had had the policy.

That's the document I posted yesterday. 

Nakabandi could answer his own question if he did what I suggested yesterday, i.e. contact the company's Head Office himself and ask his question.  He was happy enough to suggest that that was what he was going to do, when he thought the "Av company" representative was telling him a "pack of lies".  He's now had confirmation that she wasn't lying, so why doesn't he just raise his queries with the company?  If the "Av company" is Avalon, I could even give him the contact details, as I have a funeral plan with them.