'No money and no answers' two years after collapse of funeral firm

Margaret and David Fee spent thousands of pounds connected pre-paid ceremonial plans to lessen the trauma for their loved ones erstwhile they died.

But successful 2022, they were among 46,000 radical who discovered Safe Hands Plans Ltd - the institution they trusted to organise their funerals - had collapsed.

Two years on, and portion an ongoing fraud probe is looking into the firm's dealings, Margaret and David are nary person to getting a penny back, oregon to uncovering the answers that they are demanding astir what went wrong.

And with a caller authorities successful place, a user radical is calling for ministers to motorboat a nationalist enquiry into the defunct ceremonial firm.

Margaret - a erstwhile bereavement services serviceman with the NHS - said the plans were paid for from David's pension pot.

She said she lone worked part-time, truthful had a "very small" pension pot.

The pair, some 78, are present retired and surviving successful Ratby, Leicestershire.

They invested £2,745 each from David's pension to wage for their funerals successful 2015.

Safe Hands assured them their wealth was ringfenced and protected, with each aspects of the funerals accounted for.

But 7 years later, the institution went into medication and with it, went the couple's money.

Funeral plans are designed to let radical to acceptable wealth speech during their lives, to assistance their families wage for a ceremonial erstwhile they die.

The plans became peculiarly fashionable arsenic ceremonial prices soared, but determination were questions implicit the deficiency of extortion if a supplier went bust.

Since July 2022, providers person required support to run from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), giving consumers greater protection.

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

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened its investigation, which is ongoing, into Safe Hands successful October 2023.

As customers who bought straight done Safe Hands, Margaret and David were offered the accidental to wage fractional the magnitude again to renew their afloat program with either Dignity oregon Co-op.

Margaret and David - a erstwhile electrical attraction technologist - took up this offer, paying 1 program upfront utilizing wealth from David's pension fund, and the 2nd connected a monthly outgo plan, some with Dignity.

They accidental the firm's illness deed their monthly premiums and near them successful a susceptible fiscal position.

"We ne'er thought we'd beryllium successful this presumption to wage disconnected thing monthly again. We thought we were comfortable. Now, we're not getting into indebtedness but there's thing left. There's nary wealth for treats," said Margaret.

They judge their wellness has suffered due to the fact that of it.

David, speaking tearfully arsenic Margaret comforted him, said: "It gets you inside, tummy ulcers and that done worry, and each these things adhd up eventually.

"And sometimes you think, is it worthy carrying on? But you've got to."

Gill Marshall, a retired grandma of four, paid £4,000 for a Safe Hands ceremonial plan.

Her husband, Paul, died abruptly aged 57 portion connected a travel successful France successful 2012.

The household did not person a plan, security oregon capable funds to wage for the repatriation.

To bring her hubby location and organise his funeral, Gill - from Grantham successful Lincolnshire - had to get the money, took retired a bereavement indebtedness from the government, and came adjacent to losing the household location successful the process.

"It was a truly hard clip and I conscionable did not privation my children to beryllium successful that position," she said.

So, for her funeral, Gill turned took retired a Safe Hands plan.

She gave the substance nary much thought until a missive arrived connected 19 September 2022, informing her the institution had gone into administration.

"You're conscionable mislaid aren't you? Because the money's gone," she said.

"You thought you were acceptable up, and past not lone person you not got a ceremonial plan, but you haven't got the wealth to enactment it into different one."

The administrators for Safe Hands, FRP Advisory, declined to remark connected the ongoing situation.

But it has issued 4 publicly-available advancement reports since it took implicit medication of the firm.

In its latest study from May, the administrators stated it had "continued to prosecute claims".

The study states it has made "substantial advancement with the process of adjudicating planholders' submitted claims".

However, the steadfast has not yet been capable to instrumentality immoderate wealth to Safe Hands customers.

Prior to the illness of Safe Hands, determination was nary manufacture regularisation arsenic agelong arsenic the wealth was kept successful a trust, meaning it would beryllium cautiously handled by relationship trustees.

But by July 2022, each pre-paid ceremonial firms had to get support to run from the FCA.

Safe Hands applied, but the institution past withdrew its application. Unable to commercialized without regulation, the institution went into medication successful March 2022.

FRP Advisory told the BBC planholders are owed an estimated £70.6m - and the expected returns are betwixt £8m and £10.9m.

The administrators' advancement documents amusement a bid of fiscal transactions made anterior to the illness of Safe Hands.

Of the tens of millions owed to planholders, the documents amusement £45.1m of investments were made successful the Cayman Islands - wherever determination is nary UK jurisdiction.

In addition, successful 2018, a indebtedness of astir £3.5m was received by the company's erstwhile owner, Malcolm David Milson. According to documents filed by Safe Hands connected Companies House, it was issued without immoderate repayment terms.

The BBC has invited Mr Milson to remark connected the payment, but helium did not respond.

Lara Gee - fiscal adept and subordinate prof successful accounting astatine the University of Nottingham - says the institution had plentifulness of clip to get its finances successful order, to beryllium capable to comply with regulation.

"In 2017, Safe Hands themselves were portion of the archetypal radical of ceremonial attraction program issuers that came unneurotic to sermon the aboriginal of the manufacture and however it should beryllium regulated," she said.

"With that successful mind, you would expect that they would look astatine what the FCA mightiness necessitate of them, they would beryllium making investments successful enactment with the regularisation requirements truthful they would beryllium ready, good ahead, arsenic galore different providers did."

Both erstwhile owners of Safe Hands - Mr Milson and Richard Philip Wells - were contacted astir the company's finances, but they did not respond.

Consumer radical Fairer Finance says with a caller authorities successful place, it volition present propulsion for a nationalist inquiry.

It says it warned the Treasury, and the FCA, successful a gathering backmost successful 2017 astir the fiscal concern with Safe Hands and the hazard of it collapsing.

It believes if the organisations had taken action, the important nonaccomplishment for planholders could person been avoided.

The FCA says astatine the time, it had constricted powers arsenic Safe Hands was not regulated.

Meanwhile, a Treasury spokesperson said: "Once concerns were raised astir the ceremonial program market, we made it amerciable to merchantability pre-paid ceremonial plans without authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority – protecting 1.6 cardinal customers and their families."

In effect to its ongoing inquiry, the Serious Fraud Office told the BBC that its "active transgression probe into alleged fraud" by Safe Hands and its genitor institution SHP Capital Holdings Limited was progressing.

The organisation has not fixed immoderate denotation arsenic to however agelong the probe could take, which is of small consolation to those who person mislaid wealth - similar Margaret and David.

"I deliberation they privation criminally prosecuting - to archer the truth," Margaret added.

"They've caused truthful overmuch symptom to specified a susceptible property group."