21/08/2026
Here’s a thing.
As an independent funeral director with our own premises, office, chapel of rest, chillers and freezers I’m quite used to families shopping around and comparing funeral directors’ prices. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Recently a caller asked me for a quote. I asked what other prices she had received and said that if she sent them over I would see whether we could match them like for like or do better.
She sent me a quote from In Memory of Life or should I say ‘Funeral Enterprises Ltd?’
I hadn’t come across them before. Their figures were easy enough to compare and I was able to better their quote by several hundred pounds. They had also omitted a limousine the family required and as far as I could see had underestimated the cemetery costs.
I submitted my quote and heard nothing more.
It’s a small industry though and I later discovered that the funeral had gone to In Memory of Life.
That prompted me to look a little more closely at their model.
In Memory of Life describes itself as an independent family-run funeral business. Its own published information also indicates that a deceased person may be cared for at its branch premises or at other non-branch premises. Interestingly their own terms specifically define “Suppliers” as third-party companies providing services directly for the company.
There is nothing necessarily wrong with that. Funeral directors have always helped one another and used third parties where appropriate.
But I do think it raises an important question for families when comparing funeral providers:
Who exactly will be looking after my loved one and who will actually carry out the funeral?
Case in point.
Today we arrived at a crematorium to conduct a funeral. The previous service had been allocated just 20 minutes and was already running over.
The funeral director was outside chatting to the chapel attendant and appeared remarkably unconcerned about the delay.
I recognised him as being from another local funeral firm so naturally assumed it was their funeral.
Then I looked at the board.
In Memory of Life.
I don’t know the contractual arrangement between those two businesses and I’m not going to pretend that I do.
But it did reinforce the question for me.
The company a family books a funeral with is not necessarily the same company or funeral director they will see conducting it on the day.
Again there is nothing inherently wrong with that — provided families understand what they are buying.
Who will collect their loved one?
Where will they actually be cared for?
Who owns and operates the mortuary facilities?
Whose vehicles and staff will be used?
And who will turn up on the day to conduct the funeral?
For me that is one of the important distinctions about being a genuinely independent funeral director with our own premises and facilities.
If we get something wrong it is our name above the door our reputation and our relationship with that family on the line.
Perhaps that’s why today bothered me.
Everyone was technically doing their job.
But from where I was standing it wasn’t entirely clear who actually owned the funeral.
Price matters. Of course it does.
But when comparing funeral directors perhaps families should ask one question before deciding:
“Who exactly am I entrusting my loved one to?”
