Thousands of people who had saved up to pay for their funeral risk losing money after the pre-pay plan provider Safe Hands collapsed into administration.
And the company's 45,000 customers face losing their cash after the the restructuring firm appointed to handle the process said it was not able to provide immediate refunds.
Any funerals in the next fortnight will be handled on the company's behalf by Dignity, one of the UK’s biggest undertakers, but this is only to give time to explore a long-term solution, a statement by administrators FRP said.
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According to Safe Hands' website, it is “uncertain that the funeral plans will be able to be fulfilled” and customers should consider their plan “terminated with immediate effect”.
Based in West Yorkshire, Safe Hands offered pre-pay funerals, which invited customers to plan and pay for their funeral in advance, meaning their family were protected from unexpected funeral costs, and that all decisions for the funeral had already been made.
The funeral selling industry is being overhauled and from this summer any provider will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, a move that will give consumers greater protection. Safe Hands had been in discussions with the FCA before calling in administrators as the watchdog is due to oversee the currently unregulated funeral plan market from July. However, the firm stopped taking new orders and withdrew its application for FCA authorisation last month.
The administrators from FRP Advisory said their appointment "was made by the directors of the company, after a period of severe financial challenge, which has left the business unsustainable in its current form".
The company failed after severe financial challenges, including the strain caused by the pandemic, left it unsustainable in its current form, FRP said.
FRP said it would carry out a detailed investigation to discover what could be returned to creditors, including policyholders whose money is held in a trust fund, which itself has a shortfall. The administrators have said the process of realising assets and issuing partial repayments to plan holders was a significant undertaking and would take some time to complete. They pledged to contact plan holders to explain how they could register a claim and plan holders and their families can also contact the company’s customer service team on 0800 640 9928.
Have you or someone in your family paid for a funeral with Safe Hands? Let us know: catherine.furze@reachplc.com
