The heartbroken family of a Glasgow pensioner who died suddenly after Christmas have been forced to fork out the bill for his funeral after the pre-paid plan he took out with his local funeral service wasn't processed by the firm.
John Munro sadly passed away at his home on December 29, four years after he and his wife Hellen paid around £3,350 each to McLeans Funeral Service on Alexandra Parade in Dennistoun to cover the funeral costs.
The money was never passed on to funeral plan provider Golden Charter before McLeans went out of business last year, unbeknownst to the family, according to GlasgowLive.
John's son Jonpaul, 36, and his wife Laura, 31, were left to source another funeral director to collect John's body from his property in Royston at short notice and fear other local families could find themselves in the same position.
Laura said: "Both John and Hellen had taken out funeral plans in 2017 and 2018 and paid for them in cash. They were given receipts and a completed application form by McLeans to confirm the transaction. They took the plan out in good faith thinking that everything would be covered in the event of their deaths.
"In October, we found out that the company had gone into administration but we couldn't find any way to get through to them to check what was happening with either of the plans.
"We contacted Golden Charter who the money was supposed to be passed on to and they had no record of either of them. The money has just disappeared.
"When John died suddenly at home, the police told us to contact our funeral director and we had no idea what to do. We had to find everything from scratch.
"Hellen is severely disabled and currently lives in a care home and the sad reality is that she could pass away soon too with her plan also nowhere to be found.
"Both of them thought they had the security of their funerals being sorted. Jonpaul is an only child and we don't have any family so it's now our responsibility to pay."
Glasgow Live was privy to a copy of the application form for funeral plans from Golden Charter given to John by McLeans Funeral Services.
They were also shown two receipts for money given to the business - signed by company director Karen Louise Colleen Horn.
McLeans Funeral Services appears as 'permanently closed' online with the website and phone number both uncontactable. The shop has also been closed for a number of months.
An administrator was appointed to take control of the business from August 2020 until September 2022. Although the company status is still appearing as 'active', no accounts have been filed since June 2019.
The customer application forms or funds were never passed on to Golden Charter so the plans were not in place.
Golden Charter confirmed it is dealing with a number of families who believed they had put a funeral plan in place with McLeans Funeral Service.
Laura added: "We're just really gutted, it's been a lot of stress to deal with. You put your faith in these people, especially as it's an industry taking people's money often nearly the end of their lives.
"We're currently seeking legal advice on what we can do now. We've got two kids so having to pay for the funeral is a big and unexpected financial responsibility for us.
"We eventually contacted Allan Menzies Funeral Director who has been really helpful. He went above and beyond to make sure we were sorted for John's funeral and we can't thank him enough.
"Although Golden Charter said they had no legal obligation, they've also thankfully offered to help cover some of the costs which we're really grateful for."
A Golden Charter spokesperson commented: “We have been contacted by a small number of people who have found themselves in a very difficult set of circumstances as a result of the actions of an individual funeral director.
"As a company, supporting our customers is at the heart of what we do, and we have been working with the affected individuals to find a solution that works for them as a gesture of goodwill at a very difficult time.”
McLeans Funeral Services has been contacted for comment.
The company has reported the matter to Police Scotland.
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