The funeral arrangements of more than 45,000 customers have been left in doubt after pre-pay plan provider Safe Hands collapsed into administration.
The funeral plan company will no longer take any direct debit or standing order payments after hiring FRP Advisory to oversee the insolvency process.
It won't be able to take on any new customers either.
Administrators said the business is "unsustainable in its current form" after a "period of severe financial challenge".
In a notice on the Safe Hands webiste, it said its financial difficulties are "understood to be linked to the Covid-19 pandemic".
Nedim Ailyan, partner at FRP and joint administrator of Safe Hands, has said it has agreed a deal for listed funeral firm Dignity to provide existing customers with funeral planning services for a period of 14 days.
Safe Hands said it had been in discussion with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) before calling in administrators. It withdrew its FCA application in February 2022.
New rules from the FCA to regulate the funeral plans market will come into force from July 2022.
Do you have a funeral booked with Safe Hands? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
The measures will force firms to ensure that plans are sold fairly, perform as expected and provide value for money.
Mr Ailyan added: "As joint administrators, we have been appointed by the court and will undertake a detailed statutory investigation of the financial position of the business and the events leading to the insolvency.
"This will support our work as we progress towards realising the company's assets to make returns to creditors.
"Regrettably, the administration means the company is not in a position to issue refunds at this time.
"We appreciate how upsetting this period of uncertainty will be for Safe Hands Plans' customers and their families."
Administrators said they will contact all plan holders and their personal representatives to outline for process for registering claims.
But a notice on the Safe Hands website says "it is uncertain that the funeral plans will be able to be fulfilled".
"A short-term solution has been offered by Dignity, for a period of 14 days, however, this is only a temporary measure to afford the joint administrators time to explore options for a potential longer-term solution," the statement continued.
"All plan holders should, however, consider their funeral plan with the company to have been terminated with immediate effect.
"This includes funeral plans that were part-paid and funeral plans that were being processed."
Customers will need to contact the administrators for a refund, but it is unclear how much money could be reclaimed at this stage.
"The administrators are unable to confirm any potential estimated return to plan holders at this time," the website notice said.
