Help with Funeral Costs

They say you learn something every day!

It was brought to my attention yesterday that a £2000 one-off, lump-sum, tax-free payment may be available if your husband, wife or civil partner has died, and you are under state pension age, or your partner was not entitled to Category A state retirement benefit when he or she died.

This is called the Bereavement Payment, and only has a few criteria attached to it.

Full details can be found by following this link

A big thank you to the client who told me about this. In many years of arranging funerals, I have not heard about this before. I shall certainly make sure that any future client who may be entitled to this is told about it.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent Funeral Directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2011 and by The Natural Death Centre, and we are the only funeral directors to feature on The Best of St Neots. For more information or if you require any help, please telephone us on (01480) 471001 or e-mail info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk.

A Funeral Ceremony in Central St Neots

We are very pleased and proud that our Ceremony Room in St Neots is attracting increasing interest from the local community.

The benefits of using the room within Gate Lodge are immense.

The funeral ceremony can be held in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, with no time restraints. No clock watching. Space to share memories. The ability to decorate the room as you wish and make the ceremony totally personal.

It's much cheaper too! You don't need to use expensive vehicles, so you save the cost of these. We don't need to provide bearers, so this cost is negated as well. There is no need to travel out of St Neots at all. You hold the full ceremony at Gate Lodge, in a peaceful and relaxed setting.

And it's much greener. You don't have to make the journey to Bedford or Cambridge, which cuts out all those unneccesary miles. We don't have to use very uneconomical large vehicles, so everyone is a winner.

Our Ceremony Room can seat up to 30 people, making it ideal for a small, personal gathering.

A complete funeral at Gate Lodge, including external fees (disbursements) for burial or cremation costs just £1995. Feedback from clients who have used our facilities has been very positive.

If you would like more information please contact us on (01480) 471001 or use our online contact form.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent Funeral Directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2011 and by The Natural Death Centre, and we are the only funeral directors to feature on The Best of St Neots. For more information or if you require any help, please telephone us on (01480) 471001 or e-mail info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk.

Pride of Place at Tesco for Christmas

Twelve of The Best of St Neots businesses have sponsored the huge billboard at Tesco St Neots for the six weeks running up to Christmas. Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services takes its place amongst other exceptional businesses in the town.

The billboard is huge, and the quality is excellent. It's very difficult to miss!

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent Funeral Directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2011 and by The Natural Death Centre, and we are the only funeral directors to feature on The Best of St Neots. For more information or if you require any help, please telephone us on (01480) 471001 or e-mail info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk.

Funeral Director wins Top Listing

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are in The St Neots News and Crier this week.

We are immensely proud to have been recommended in The Natural Death Handbook which is being published later this month.

The Natural Death Centre (NDC) is a charity which gives advice on bereavement, funerals and consumer rights, and inclusion in their handbook is a real privilege.

Our inclusions in The Good Funeral Guide and on The Best of St Neots are now complemented by the NDC recommendation, giving us both local and national recognition as Funeral Directors.

The entirely personal, non-commercial approach we have to the profession is becoming known, and it is our privilege to help and guide our clients through the difficult times they encounter. Every funeral we arrange is unique. We do not sell packages, we listen to our clients' requirements and tailor our service to their needs.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent Funeral Directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2011 and by The Natural Death Centre, and we are the only funeral directors to feature on The Best of St Neots. For more information or if you require any help, please telephone us on (01480) 471001 or e-mail info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk.

The Average Cost of Funerals

There have been a couple of reports published recently, regarding the average cost of funerals.

An average has, by definition, to take in national highs and lows, regional fluctuations, and, of course, Corporates and Independents.

The price of Corporates versus Independents has been discussed elsewhere on this blog (Independents are almost always cheaper) - but the average cost of a funeral also raises significant differences.

Ipsos MORI figures quoted by SAIF in February 2010 showed that the average overall cost for a funeral was £2648. This includes a cremation, transportation, a hearse, one limousine, viewing of the deceased and the simplest available coffin, but excludes floral tributes and newspaper notices.

The BBC, in September 2011, quoted a Sun Life Direct Survey saying that "... the average cost of a cremation in the UK was £2720."

The discrepancy between the two figures quoted above can be explained by the year-and-a-bit difference between the research.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are very proud to publish our figures for the end of our first year of serving the communities of St Neots and the surrounding areas. These figures show that for the same service, our average charge was £2508, some £212 less than the national average, and £130 less than the regional average of £2638.

The actual average cost of a funeral arranged was significantly lower than this at £2262, because many clients do not need, and therefore are not charged for limousines, and because we are very willing to reduce our fees significantly when only a very basic service is required. This does not mean that our standard of care differs at all, it is simply reflective of our outgoings. We feel this is the fairest way to set our charges.

Couple this with our 100% client-satisfaction rate (read some of our testimonials by clicking here) and our unique guarantee of complete personal attention, and the reason for our increasing reputation, despite being such a new business, becomes clear.

Kingfisher Independent Funeral Services are proud to be the only locally-owned, fully independent Funeral Directors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. We are recommended in The Good Funeral Guide 2011 and by The Natural Death Centre, and we are the only funeral directors to feature on The Best of St Neots. For more information or if you require any help, please telephone us on (01480) 471001 or e-mail info@kingfisherfunerals.co.uk.

Funeral Directors Collecting for The Poppy Appeal

Congratulations to Nigel and Andrea of T L Cobbold Funeral Directors, St Neots, for stepping into co-ordinate this year's Poppy Appeal Collection in St Neots.

The Hunts Post reports how the former organiser, Viv O'Neill, had to step aside recently, and that the town was in danger of losing its collection (which raised over £18,000 last year) unless new support was found.

Nigel and Andrea agreed to oversee the St Neots appeal, to ensure that the vital fundraising for the Royal British Legion was not lost this year.

Well done to both Nigel and Andrea. It is great to see community spirit from Funeral Directors, and your hard work in helping will surely be a huge boost for the appeal.