Hull funeral home scandal to cost taxpayer £2m in support funds

THE HULL funeral home scandal it set to cost taxpayers up to £2million,

understands.

The Government has pledged the extra funds to support the local response a month after police announced they recovered 35 bodies from a funeral parlour operated by Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.

The money will go to Hull and East Riding councils, which are expected to put some of the funds towards burying the deceased. But families who bought apparently non-existent funeral plans from the company are concerned that nothing has been allocated to help their loved ones with funeral expenses.

Four families who paid Legacy Independent Funeral Directors thousands of pounds believing the money was being invested with a third-party insurer told

that they now believe the policies to be worthless.

Rachel Marshall said her 76-year-old mother Rita Goldspink paid Legacy £2,700 for a funeral plan that she has now been told does not exist. Ms Marshall said this money should be made accessible to people “who have been sold a fake policy to apply for funding to cover expenses”.

understands that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has agreed to provide financial support of up to £2million to two councils to cover costs directly arising from the immediate response. Hull and East Riding councils said they welcomed the financial support, describing it as a “commitment to understanding the situation and ensuring we can provide the assistance needed”.

On Thursday, Julia Weldon, Hull city council’s deputy chief executive, reassured bereaved families “that financial support would be available” and that “they do not need to worry about the costs”. But those who bought prepaid plans have told they are concerned not to hear an explicit commitment to ensure they can afford to cover funeral costs.

The four families told that they made advance payments to

Legacy on the understanding that the funds would be transferred to insurance firm Ecclesiastical Planning Services.

A spokesman for Ecclesiastical Planning Services said this was a “deeply distressing incident” and they are “working with families who contact us to establish if they have a plan with us” but can’t comment on individual cases. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of the insurance firm.

On Thursday, Asst Chief Constable Thom McLoughlin told a press conference that Humberside Police “have had a number of calls that relate to suspected financial and fraudulent activity”.

He added: “If you have concerns over a funeral plan that you or a loved one have taken out, please contact and speak to your insurance provider in the first instance and establish if the policy is legitimate or not.

“If not, please report it to the Police by calling the non-emergency number 101 or via the Humberside Police website.”