Healthy 72-year-old enraged by grave offers amid growing
Funeral plan insurers have joined PPI and accident claim companies in becoming some of the country’s most unwelcome nuisance callers.
Raw Deal reader Jack Mckenzie, from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, was furious when he received a number of calls on his mobile last month from a company called Fosters Funeral Directors, based in Glasgow and Ayrshire.
The firm was trying to sell a funeral plan to the 72-year-old.
“I found it offensive to be cold-called about a subject like that,” said Jack. “I am in the best of health and the last thing I need is to be thinking about a wooden box.”
Jack said he considered contacting the police.
“During the first call I asked how they got my mobile phone number, and was told that I must
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The last thing I’m thinking about is a wooden box
have entered a competition and agreed to receive marketing calls,” he said.
“I never give my mobile number out, and I certainly did not give permission to receive marking calls from anyone. I was also told that the company buys people’s phone numbers from respected data agencies.
“When I received a second call, I was annoyed and I was assured that my details would be removed from their database.
“I then received three more calls from Fosters asking me to take out a funeral plan.”
At the end of his tether, Jack asked Raw Deal for help.
We contacted the company, and the calls stopped.
Keith Annand, Fosters pre-need operations director, said: “I can confirm that Mr Mckenzie’s telephone numbers have been removed from our database.
“In addition to this I will contact Mr Mckenzie to advise him of the consent that we received to contact him and where this data was purchased. From this I will be able to provide contact details for Mr Mckenzie to update or remove his consent from this source.”
Selling practices in the funeral industry have recently come