Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 28 November 2011, 15:01:32
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My father is in the final stage of terminal stomach cancer. He has a very short time left to live, we think days. My mother has asked me to arrange his funeral. I'm more than happy to do this.
She recently handed me the documents for Dad's "Funeralcare" policy which he has with the Co-operative. We both have one of these she tells me, we've paid in more than £2600 each since 1990. With interest and bonus payments she hopes the policy will realise about £4,000, maybe more.
I contacted "Funeralcare", who tell me the policy will in fact only payout £1,186.......Yes, that's right......A f**king derisory £1,186. Even if payments are made for another thousand years they will still only payout £1,186. (roughly 40% of what has been paid in)...Unbelievable... :(
My elderly parents believed this policy to be a savings plan. It is clearly nothing of the kind. >:( >:(
If you live for more than five years after the commencement of the policy, you will almost certainly get back far less than you paid in. If you die within the first two years, they are not obliged to pay out. It really is a win-win situation for them.
These "over 50 plans" are being aggressively marketed at present, by eminent coffin-dodgers such as June Whitfield and Parky.....who barely draw breath, as they tell you how wonderful and comforting these schemes are
Beware......They are a huge con... >:( >:( >:(
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So sorry to hear about your Dad I lost my mum to something similar two years ago. I know it's not the right time now but it may be worth looking into the possibility of the policies being miss sold in the future
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Sorry to hear about your dad - can empathise - mine died 8 years ago and still miss him.
Can I suggest you repeat what you have put on here to the ombudsman and even watchdog. You never know
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Really sorry to hear about your Dad, Opti. :(
People pay into these policies to avoid just the anguish you are going through. What a disgrace that they are sold short just when they can't stand up for themselves.
When you are past your current troubles and minded to do so, It'd be well worth looking into whether the policy was mis-sold, as said.
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I also have 1st hand experience of these funeral plans after my year of hell in 2009... Co-op arranged the funeral for mum but refused 4 months later to arrange my dads funeral because I did not have the money available to pay up front and would not wait for the insurance payout... So yes steer clear of them you are much better off opening a savings account and paying that money into it....
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Bad news Opti, so sorry to hear about your Dad :(
Good advice about the Funeralcare policy, I'll steer clear..
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:o Oh, dear-Opti, I`m so saddened for you and yours upon reading your post!
......Please try your hardest to set to one side, the very dubious business practices of the corporate funerary-business` and simply make these final days with your dad, as comfortable as is humanly possible under such circumstances.
You (and yours) will be in my daily thoughts and prayers. ;)
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really sorry to hear about your dad, awful thing for anyone to be going through. i'm saddened but sadly not surprised by the policy not being worth much to you, all too often this happens but you don't expect it from the co-operative funeral care service!!..thats shocking and despicable. :(
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So sorry to hear about your dad Opti, and the situation you and your mum find yourself in at this sad time. :'(
Thank you for the heads up, not something I would expect from such a trusted organisation :o , I hope everything goes as well as it can for you. ;)
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Sorry to hear about your dad Opti :(
someone must crash the heads of those companies..I cant think of a worse robbery than these companies do >:(
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So sorry to hear about your dad Opti, and the situation you and your mum find yourself in at this sad time. :'(
Thank you for the heads up, not something I would expect from such a trusted organisation :o , I hope everything goes as well as it can for you. ;)
I was always under the impression that the Co-op took a moralistic standpoint with there business ventures. Just shows how wrong you can be
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The news about your father saddens me Opti and I earnestly hope that the next step is as painless and dignified as possible for him.
I'm sure that both you and your mother will get the strength necessary to deal with this sad event so, at least, your father will have all the love and support necessary to help him through it.
My thoughts are with you and your family.
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No need to go this far Opti! :y
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15928833
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I would ask for a meeting with them as this is rotten to the core.
You need to get to the Chief Exec - this does not appear to be insurance or savings. Once you had paid in the value equivalent to the package maturity then something should have happened - a letter advising some options.
Just check for sure your family paid in the amount they said - sometimes my parents get monthly figures mixed with quarterly or annual
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http://www.funeralplanningauthority.com/ (http://www.funeralplanningauthority.com/)
In fact Co-op Funeral Plans hold themselves out as covered by Financial Services Authority.
I think you may also be protected by the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA) (call 0845 601 9619). The FPA have a dispute resolution service.
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So sorry to hear about your dad, Opti. My dad went at the age of 57, 30 years ago, and believe me or not I still miss him terribly. :(
My mum and mother in law asked me to look into these policies, mainly due to the 'June Whitfield and Parky' influence. I studied the small print, and advised against. And boy, am I glad I did, as my mum and mother in law are now both 91, and would have been thousands out of pocket. >:(
When oh when are we going to get some government or authorotive body that will look into these things for the ORDINARY man on the street !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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So sorry to hear about your dad, Opti. My dad went at the age of 57, 30 years ago, and believe me or not I still miss him terribly. :(
My mum and mother in law asked me to look into these policies, mainly due to the 'June Whitfield and Parky' influence. I studied the small print, and advised against. And boy, am I glad I did, as my mum and mother in law are now both 91, and would have been thousands out of pocket. >:(
When oh when are we going to get some government or authorotive body that will look into these things for the ORDINARY man on the street !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why was that? I was kind of considering such a policy.....
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So sorry to hear about your dad, Opti. My dad went at the age of 57, 30 years ago, and believe me or not I still miss him terribly. :(
My mum and mother in law asked me to look into these policies, mainly due to the 'June Whitfield and Parky' influence. I studied the small print, and advised against. And boy, am I glad I did, as my mum and mother in law are now both 91, and would have been thousands out of pocket. >:(
When oh when are we going to get some government or authorotive body that will look into these things for the ORDINARY man on the street !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why was that? I was kind of considering such a policy.....
Read opti's original post. :y :y
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So sorry to hear about your dad, Opti. My dad went at the age of 57, 30 years ago, and believe me or not I still miss him terribly. :(
My mum and mother in law asked me to look into these policies, mainly due to the 'June Whitfield and Parky' influence. I studied the small print, and advised against. And boy, am I glad I did, as my mum and mother in law are now both 91, and would have been thousands out of pocket. >:(
When oh when are we going to get some government or authorotive body that will look into these things for the ORDINARY man on the street !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why was that? I was kind of considering such a policy.....
Read opti's original post. :y :y
But they guarantee a fixed some of money, after 2 years, from what I remember, not looked too recently...obviously need to look further into it, and I wanted a Parker pen as well...... :D :-\ :-\
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So sorry to hear about your dad, Opti. My dad went at the age of 57, 30 years ago, and believe me or not I still miss him terribly. :(
My mum and mother in law asked me to look into these policies, mainly due to the 'June Whitfield and Parky' influence. I studied the small print, and advised against. And boy, am I glad I did, as my mum and mother in law are now both 91, and would have been thousands out of pocket. >:(
When oh when are we going to get some government or authorotive body that will look into these things for the ORDINARY man on the street !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why was that? I was kind of considering such a policy.....
If you look at what you pay in, say you start at fifty, then look at the payout.....you will probably find that after 10 years paying in, when you are sixty, you will have paid in the amount they will pay out. After that, you have to keep paying in, or the policy is cancelled ( you get nothing back). My mum would have paid in another 30 years of payments as she is 91 and still going strong, and on death, the payout would be the total amout paid in over the first ten years. !!!!! >:(
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Grim news on all counts, Opti. I feel for you. :( :( :'(
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So sorry to hear about your dad, Opti. My dad went at the age of 57, 30 years ago, and believe me or not I still miss him terribly. :(
My mum and mother in law asked me to look into these policies, mainly due to the 'June Whitfield and Parky' influence. I studied the small print, and advised against. And boy, am I glad I did, as my mum and mother in law are now both 91, and would have been thousands out of pocket. >:(
When oh when are we going to get some government or authorotive body that will look into these things for the ORDINARY man on the street !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why was that? I was kind of considering such a policy.....
If you look at what you pay in, say you start at fifty, then look at the payout.....you will probably find that after 10 years paying in, when you are sixty, you will have paid in the amount they will pay out. After that, you have to keep paying in, or the policy is cancelled ( you get nothing back). My mum would have paid in another 40 years of payments as she is 91 and still going strong, and on death, the payout would be the total amout paid in over the first ten years. !!!!! >:(
Point taken, so best with a savaings scheme...... :)
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Mike, I don't want to put you off taking out some scheme, but , please mate, go into it in depth. Don't end up like Opti, or like my mum would have been after my dad died, if I had not put my foot down. Death is pain enough, without these insurance companies ripping you off :y
EDIT* To be honest, Parky and June Whitfield and others, should be ashamed of themselves. They get paid for the misery they cause!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:(
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Our thoughts and very best wishes are with you mate.
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>:(
The best service for a pay in advance is definitely that provided by 'Dignity'. They go out of their way to ensure your needs are met in full and all choices are yours....they are not forced on you. We are with them....join us and be sure that your service will be what is should be.
This over 50's malarky is best done with tongue in cheek cos you will probably pay more than you will ever get back. Put it into a savings account instead and reap the interest yourself instead of them.
The Coop! Used them once and will never do so again.....
I was in that line of work for a good few years and the traing I received from a very reputable company demonstrated to me that the service I received from the coop was far under what it should have been. Very amateurish and the rabble who bore the casket looked like dads army failures. All were of very different heights which made the 'shouldering' look ridiculous.
Add to that lot that the cost was well over what others were charging for the same level of service and like I said.....never again. :'(
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Thinking of you all at this time mate :(
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Sorry to hear your news Opti :(
I took out a policy with Michael Parkinson a few years back, it's robbery-£18 a month for £4,400 when I finally go, but it's all I could get because I left it so late.
They write to me every six months to 'offer' me the chance to sign over the policy to the co-op, thus saving my loved ones any hassle at that sad time. Yeah, right.
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>:(
The best service for a pay in advance is definitely that provided by 'Dignity'. They go out of their way to ensure your needs are met in full and all choices are yours....they are not forced on you. We are with them....join us and be sure that your service will be what is should be.
This over 50's malarky is best done with tongue in cheek cos you will probably
pay more than you will ever get back. Put it into a savings account instead and reap the interest yourself instead of them.
The Coop! Used them once and will never do so again.....
I was in that line of work for a good few years and the traing I received from a very reputable company demonstrated to me that the service I received from the coop was far under what it should have been. Very amateurish and the rabble who bore the casket looked like dads army failures. All were of very different heights which made the 'shouldering' look ridiculous.
Add to that lot that the cost was well over what others were charging for the same level of service and like I said.....never again. :'(
I would imagine that most people would take your hand off for that deal. I certainly hope that I pay in more than I get back.
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EDIT* To be honest, Parky and June Whitfield and others, should be ashamed of themselves. They get paid for the misery they cause!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:(
I would happily agree with that Terb - then, what the opps do they care when there is a cheque waiting in recognition of their tawdry efforts.
This is yet another fine example of the exploitation of cheap celebrities for financial gain by the lauded financial services industry.