The story of how we came to be here and our charity giving.

Whilst working for a local funeral directors, which had over 25 branches masquerading as small independent family businesses, but which were in fact part of the same large business, I was shocked to personally witness the level of financial exploitation and vague pricing which bereaved families were exposed to.

Families were charged for services which were either not necessary or not even provided. And the level of upselling was very upsetting to witness. People were clearly being mislead and even lied to about what their final bill would be.

The most simple coffin they sold was charged at £525 to the customer ( it cost the funeral director £150 to buy). A charge of £70 was made to simple wash and dress a loved one. They even added their own fee to flowers the family bought. Even after the family had been charged  a grotesque profit margin  of every aspect of the funeral  they were then charged a further £3,250 for 'funeral directors services'. What on earth are these? If you have paid for every component of the funeral then why were they paying another £3,250. So I started doing some research, and what I learned over a year of industry research opened my eyes.

We have all seen endless TV adverts about the average cost of a funeral. in 2022/2023 it was £5,267. So considering the overheads of running a funeral business, wages, lighting & heating, insurance, utilities, fleet maintenance etc., the ACTUAL cost incurred by the funeral director to undertake a typical service was £1,780. The rest is pure profit (or greed)

This is when I decided to set up Fairer Funerals (previously called People Before Profit Funerals), to be an honest, transparent and fair funeral service. Treating people with dignity and respect and the word is spreading fast that people are being exploited at the time they are the most vulnerable.

'Do you make a profit?' you ask. Yes, we do and we DONATE A LARGE PART TO LOCAL GOOD CAUSES. Last year our causes were The Waterwell Foundation which is a local mental health and suicide prevention charity. Tia Chi In The Park which are regular FREE outdoor events open to all to encourage people to stay well and active. Bury Choral Society making music accessible and enjoyable to all and The Noble Hearts Foundation.

We are always on the lookout for local groups that we may be able to help during our next round of 'giving back'

 Thanks for reading...

Andrew Halfacre