Fraud probe into funeral firm chaos that hit thousands

THE Serious Fraud Office is investigating a funeral plan provider that collapsed last year, leaving thousands with worthless arrangements.

Safe Hands Plans and its parent company SHP Capital Holdings firms were owned by 37-year-old Richard Wells who filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.

Safe Hands was a leading seller of funeral plans to people who wanted to pay for their farewells in advance.

Such policies, costing thousands of pounds, are popular because they pay for a funeral in the future at today’s prices.

But last year, the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA) decided to begin regulating the pre-paid funeral plans market. The watchdog was concerned some customers were being exploited and that the payments they were making to firms were not being ring-fenced in a trust fund as promised.

In February last year, alarm bells began to ring when Wakefield-based Safe Hands suddenly said it would not be seeking authorisation from the FCA.

Weeks later, it fell into administration, leaving 46,000 customers with near-worthless plans. Administrators FRP Advisory revealed that the trust fund into which their payments were allegedly placed was seriously in deficit. Although the cost of funerals promised to customers was in the order of £70million, the fund’s assets are now worth no more than £10million.

It means many face the prospect of losing most of the money they gave to Safe Hands. FRP has discovered that a ‘significant proportion’ of trust fund assets were invested offshore by a company called Navigator.

The Cayman Islands firm then lent £28.7million of the trust fund money back to SHP Capital prior to Safe Hands going into administration.

The trustees of the Safe Hands trust fund were Sterling Trust Corporation. They were appointed by Mr Wells and last month went into administration. Nick Ephgrave, of the Serious Fraud Office , said yesterday: ‘ Thousands of individuals from all over the

‘Left the elderly out of pocket’

UK have lost the peace and security they sought after being sold a product on the basis it would help reduce the burden on their loved ones upon their death.’

James Daley, of consumer champion Fairer Finance, said: ‘It is important that the directors of Safe Hands Plans are held to account for the failures which left 46,000 elderly customers seriously out of pocket.’

Last year, Mr Wells said it was with ‘deep regret’ that Safe Hands had gone into administration. The FCA and FRP both declined to comment.