Defunct funeral firm payments 'a slap in the face'

People who mislaid thousands of pounds aft the illness of a pre-paid ceremonial steadfast person deed retired astatine the "tiny" sums they are acceptable to beryllium repaid aft 3 years of waiting.

Some 46,000 radical invested successful a money to screen the aboriginal outgo of their funerals with Safe Hands Plans Ltd earlier the institution fell into administration successful 2022.

The head for Safe Hands, FRP Advisory, has said planholders could person archetypal repayments - of betwixt 8.5p and 12.5p for each lb they mislaid - by the extremity of June.

"Getting immoderate wealth backmost is amended than thing - but it's a slap successful the face," Denise Hudson, who shelled retired astir £2,500, said.

The 58-year-old, from Derby, paid for a Safe Hands program successful 2017 aft seeing the steadfast advertised connected television, and said she thought her concern was "foolproof".

She is among planholders who are owed an estimated £70.6m successful total.

A major fraud investigation into the dealings of Safe Hands, and its genitor company, SHP Capital Holdings Ltd, was launched successful October 2023.

In October past year, successful an update to creditors, FRP Advisory said determination would beryllium repayments.

Then, connected 3 January, administrators confirmed planholders volition get immoderate wealth backmost - adding what radical volition get backmost is supra the complaint of 1p to 10p per each lb mislaid successful emblematic medication cases.

But Ms Hudson said: "We paid successful full. We request the afloat wealth back.

"We enactment our spot successful radical and we person each been fto down.

"Everyone volition inactive suffer an atrocious lot."

Ms Hudson said she had to woody with the decease of her parent Daisy and member Rupert successful 2024 arsenic she was trying to get her wealth back.

"[Mum] had a superb ceremonial program and that saved america a batch of time, everything was acceptable out," she said.

"I thought that is what would hap with me.

"Nobody would person had to spell to immoderate trouble, everything would person been sorted retired - but that wasn't to be."

She accused Safe Hands's bosses of doing "an underhanded, ruthless thing".

"It's appalling they could instrumentality people's hard-earned savings," she added.

"I did deliberation I had done everything right. I did bash my homework.

"I felt embarrassed much than thing other - that I'd handed my wealth implicit and mislaid it. Now conscionable choler is left."

Since July 2022, pre-paid ceremonial providers person required support to run from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Safe Hands was 1 of dozens of companies operating successful the antecedently unregulated sector, and collapsed 4 months earlier the measures came in.

In 2017, Sandie and David Beatty, from Bingham successful Nottinghamshire, paid Safe Hands £3,395 to screen the ceremonial costs for the archetypal of them to die.

Mrs Beatty, 73, said they felt "angry, disappointed, sick" erstwhile the steadfast collapsed.

"Compared to what we enactment in, what we'll get backmost is simply a tiny amount," she said.

"When we get it, it mightiness beryllium capable to bargain a pizza, and we'll person a small party.

"For us, it's not astir the wealth now. We conscionable privation idiosyncratic to beryllium held to account.

"Our wealth went somewhere."

Mr Beatty, 80, said: "There's thing we tin bash astir it. We privation justness but realistically we won't get our wealth back.

"People person been taken for a thrust and that stings."

Aimee Geary, 50, from Anstey successful Leicestershire, paid £3,000 to Safe Hands successful 2017.

The NHS idiosyncratic said she took retired the program due to the fact that she thought ceremonial costs would emergence successful the future.

"I felt rather happy," Ms Geary said. "Other radical thought I was young [to beryllium readying my funeral].

"They thought I was mad. I'm precise organised, and I didn't privation anyone other to person a occupation erstwhile I'm not here.

"It's bittersweet that you effort to program thing and it has been taken distant from you."

She was told, successful 2022, she would astir apt get £1 retired of each £100 back.

"I'm disappointed," she added. "Somebody other has to present find the wealth and put my ceremonial erstwhile I'm not present due to the fact that I would ne'er bargain different [funeral plan]."

Heather Mould, 77, and her spouse Mike took retired Safe Hands plans successful 2017 - each paying £3,500.

Mrs Mould, from Allington successful Lincolnshire, said: "It was rather a nonaccomplishment erstwhile you are connected a pension.

"We were told we mightiness get backmost 10p successful the pound. It's something, but it's not a lot.

"I felt fto down but we were pleased to find retired earlier either of america had died truthful we could put thing else."

FRP told the BBC the Safe Hands medication lawsuit had been "complex" and had required extended ineligible enactment some successful the UK and overseas - including successful the Cayman Islands - to hint funds that are owed to creditors.

It said it had truthful acold recovered £11.4m for planholders and was focused connected getting the champion instrumentality for them.

FRP said it was "working towards" making an archetypal organisation to planholders earlier the extremity of the 2nd fiscal 4th successful June 2025, and had ringfenced a minimum of £1.6m to that end.

"While we recognize the existent estimated instrumentality of 8.5p to 12.5p successful the lb inactive represents a important nonaccomplishment to planholders, it's important to enactment this exceeds the emblematic returns successful medication cases, wherever unsecured creditors usually person betwixt 1p to 10p successful the pound," a spokesperson said.

The head said its continuing efforts were moving parallel to the ongoing Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation.

The spokesperson added: "We afloat recognize and profoundly sympathise with the distress Safe Hands planholders are experiencing.

"The nonaccomplishment of ceremonial program savings has created important interest for galore families, and we instrumentality our work to retrieve funds for planholders highly seriously."

The SFO confirmed it was progressing an progressive transgression probe into alleged fraud by Safe Hands Plans Limited and its genitor institution SHP Capital Holdings Limited.

A spokesperson said: "We recognise determination is important nationalist involvement successful this lawsuit and are committed to sharing further accusation arsenic soon arsenic possible."

Both erstwhile owners of Safe Hands - David Milson and Richard Philip Wells - were contacted for remark by the BBC but person not responded.