LICENCE SUSPENDED
Sydney funeral home can no longer sell trust-funded plans.
A Sydney funeral home can’t sell prearranged burials for the next six months after the province discovered payments weren’t put into the proper account.
On Monday, Service Nova Scotia suspended the Chant’s Funeral Homes licence to sell prearranged funeral plans, and permanently revoked its ability to sell trust-funded plans.
Rodger Gregg, registrar of cemetery and funeral services, said the punishment came after his department investigated a Jan. 3 complaint.
He said a couple had each signed prearranged funeral plans on Oct. 6, 2010, however, their monthly payments went into the funeral home’s operating account instead of being placed in trust.
The error was exposed last year when the wife died and the family was sent an invoice for the entire cost of the funeral.
Owner Sheldon Chant apologized to the family and refunded the money for both contracts. He also agreed to set aside money for the husband’s funeral to compensate for the family’s unpleasant experience.
“It’s still very concerning that they took the money and did not place it in trust,” said Gregg. While there is no evidence Chant’s Funeral Homes mishandled other prearranged funerals, anyone with contracts from Chant’s should contact Service Nova Scotia at 902-4245819.
“We’re not able to confirm that it’s happened in any other instances. We’re sort of taking a proactive approach from a consumer protection standpoint and that’s why we’re reaching out to encourage people if they have had a prearranged funeral contract with Chant’s Funeral Homes, they can get in touch with us and we can confirm for them that their money is still there.”
Jim Delaney, managing director at Chant’s Funeral Homes, said in a written statement that the situation was the result of an accounting error by a former employee.
“First and foremost, this was not a situation where monies were taken and not applied to the credit and benefit of the family purchasing the funeral service,” he said.
“What took place was that a then-employee of Chant’s took a series of advance payments by the family by means of a debit card. This was done at the request of the family. Receipts were provided to the family, establishing that these payments were made. The debit card payments went directly into the home’s operating and not trust account. Debit payments quite properly are deposited in this manner. Once made, however, we should have applied them to our other account. We did not.”
Delaney said the family is satisfied with Chant’s response and the funeral home has taken measures to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
“We appreciate that even though our mistake was the result of an oversight, it caused this family distress,” he said.
The six-month licence suspension will begin July 1 while the revocation of the ability to sell trust-funded prearranged funeral plans is effective immediately.
Gregg said such measures against funeral homes in Nova Scotia are rare but are needed to protect consumers and maintain public confidence in the funeral profession.
“It’s not common but it has happened in the past.”
In 2017, Trevor Tracey, owner and operator of T.J. Tracey Cremation and Burial Specialists, was charged under the Cemetery and Funeral Services Act for selling prearranged funerals without a licence.
Tracey was fined, his funeral director licence was suspended for 90 days and his locations in Glace Bay and Bedford were forced to close for seven days.