Hull funeral home inquiry: 'I spent £2,700 on a fake funeral policy'

Buyers of funeral plans from a Hull funeral home already at the centre of a police inquiry said they have been told their policies are non-existent.

Rita Goldspink and Kevin Newton paid about £2,500 each for plans bought from Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in 2018 and 2012 respectively.

Each has been told separately that there is no trace of their policy on the third-party insurer's database.

Legacy funeral home has been contacted for comment.

Two people have been bailed in a police investigation of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors that began on 6 March, following a report of "concern for care of the deceased".

Rachel Marshall, from Hull, said the pre-paid funeral plan for her mother, Rita Goldspink, 76, had cost £2,700 in April 2018, six months after Legacy had organised her father's funeral.

After news emerged of the Humberside Police investigation, Ms Marshall said she contacted the insurer and discovered they could not find "my mum's name on their database".

She said she was later told by the insurer that she should have received a welcome pack containing details of the plan shortly after purchase.

"My mum was absolutely devastated and I was in total shock," said Ms Marshall.

"All that money is gone.

"I'm gutted and have started to realise through conversations [with others that] there are more of us with these fake policies."

Kevin Newton, 69, also from Hull, said he was "mortified" to learn that his pre-paid funeral plan, which had cost him £2,239, was similarly untraceable.

He said when he bought the third-party policy in 2012, he had received written confirmation and a receipt from Legacy.

Shortly afterwards a pack had arrived in the post, which he had believed contained official documents about his policy.

However, after his family raised concerns with him last week, Mr Newton said he had phoned the third-party insurer and was told there was no trace of the policy.

His daughter Kerry, 35, said: "It's absolutely shocking because it's a lot of money for my dad to fork out and it's not like he can [afford it] again.

"I know my dad's done it so me and my brother don't have to worry about him when the time comes. It's just devastating.

"It's unforgiveable."

Another woman from Hull, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she "can't get [her] head round" being told there was no record of her £2,500 pre-paid funeral plan, bought from Legacy in 2016.

She said she had bought the plan after using the company to arrange the funerals of both her parents, who had died three weeks apart.

She too had believed a pack she received was evidence of the third-party policy. But she discovered last week the policy did not exist, the woman said.

"Initially... all I was concerned about was my mum and dad. They're supposed to be buried together in the same grave. I hope they are but I just don't know now. I'm thinking: are they there?

"But now - finding this policy is worthless - it's just a cherry on the icing, really. I'm completely shocked.

"I mean, I'm still more troubled about mum and dad at the moment. But I know I'll never get any answers on that."

The BBC has seen documents given to all three families who bought the plans from Legacy.

It is unclear whether Legacy submitted the filled-in application forms to the insurer.

In a statement, the third-party insurer, Ecclesiastical Planning Services, said: "This is a deeply distressing incident for the families affected.

"We are unable to comment on individual cases but we are working with families who contact us to establish if they have a plan with us."

All three families said they had "lost trust" in the financial sector, particularly in the funeral industry, and have called for tighter regulations.

The woman said: "I think anyone setting up a funeral business should have some sort of qualification or have been trained. And there has to be regular inspections."

Ms Marshall urged anyone who had bought a pre-paid funeral plan to "check your policy".

"More or less everything goes on trust," she said.

Few details about the police investigation have been revealed but a quantity of ashes and 35 bodies were recovered from Legacy's Hessle Road premises and taken to another mortuary. The families involved have been contacted, Humberside Police have said.

A 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position. They have since been released on bail while police inquiries continue.

The force said its dedicated helpline numbers remain open.

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