Services provided by Houghtons Funeral Directors Ltd

Additional costs

1^st limousine £295.00 

Additional limousines (each) £225.00

Additional pall bearers, if required (each) £50.00

Taking deceased home or to church overnight (please contact us to confirm this service is available) £295.00

Horse-drawn hearse (starting from) £995.00

Bringing deceased into our care until repatriated £225 (24hr service)

Disbursements and Third Party Fees

Cremation disbursements (these are payments made on your behalf)

Crematorium fee at Walton Lea Crematorium - £947

Cremation fee at Widnes Crematorium - £933

Doctors’ fee (1 part cremation papers – Form 4) - £82 

Minister’s fees are as follows

Church of England - £225 approx (varies with different ministers and travel expenses)

Methodist - £225 approx (varies with different ministers)

Roman Catholic - £150 (approx this is a donation made to the church rather than a fee)

Celebrant – from £150

Organist’s fee - from £80

Soloist’s fee - from £90

Burial disbursements

The cost of burial is comparable to cremation charges however this would depend on existing grave ownership, where the deceased lived and for how long for, how an existing headstone is erected and if it has to be removed prior to interment, how many previous interments there has been within the plot,  the size that the grave needs to be opened to accomodate the coffin, the remaining depth of the grave. There could be other factors which affect the cost and availability not mentioned here and we will be able to provide an accurate estimate for exacting requirements.

Payment terms

We would usually require full payment of the funeral account 3 business days before the funeral date. If someone is struggling with paying for the funeral we can help. Please contact us for more information.

*Please note we reserve the right to substitute products and vehicles without prior consent from the applicant. We will notify the applicant of any substitutions within 28 days after the funeral date. 

Houghtons Funeral Directors Ltd Terms of Business 

When we, Houghtons Funeral Directors Ltd provide an estimate of charges we will ask the applicant to sign our estimate accepting the estimate of charges and our terms and conditions.

Below are our terms and conditions (where 'I' being the applicant)

1 The Arrangements

I acknowledge that the company is only responsible to me for those parts of the funeral arrangements which it performs itself. I accept that although the company will as a matter of course make all other necessary arrangements with third parties on my behalf (such as Clergy, Cemeteries, Crematoria, etc ) and will charge these services as disbursements on its invoice, it will do so as my agent. Accordingly the third parties involved, and not the company, will be responsible to me for provision of these services. The third parties will charge the company for these services and the company will charge me for these, shown as disbursements on the invoice at the suppliers normal rate.

2 Date/Times etc.

I accept that all dates and times for the funeral can not be guaranteed until final bookings are made and confirmed. I also acknowledge that on occasion the company is forced to make other minor changes to funeral arrangements due to circumstances beyond its control. I understand that, where possible, all such changes will be notified to me in advance, but that the company can not be held responsible for them or delays in transit caused by road works, adverse weather, traffic congestion or mechanical failure and the company’s charges will remain payable in full.

3 The Final Charges

I acknowledge that the company’s final account may vary from the estimate, to take account of the disbursements costs which are shown on the estimate as best estimates only. I agree that the company may also add on to its final account any charges for additional items requested later. The total shown on the estimate is on the basis of manual addition. When addition errors on the estimate are noticed later the company reserves the right to change the corrected total.

4 Payment arrangements

As the signatory of this contract I agree to be personally responsible for paying the company’s charges and disbursements in full. This will also be the case for any balance of charges which, in applicable places, is not discharged by the nominated payer, the DWP or from the deceased estate.

The account is due for payment in full 3 business days prior to the date of the funeral unless otherwise agreed by us in writing.     

If you fail to pay us in full on the due date we may charge you interest;

-               at a rate of 8% above our bank’s base rate from time to time in force;

-               calculated (on a daily basis) from the date of our account until payment;

-               compounded on the first day of each month; and

-               before and after any judgment (unless a court orders otherwise).

We may recover (under clause 3) the cost of taking legal action to make you pay.

5 Indemnity

You are to indemnify us in full and hold us harmless from all expenses and liabilities we may incur (directly or indirectly including financing costs and including legal costs on a full indemnity basis) following any breach by you of any of your obligations under these terms

This means that you are liable to us for losses we incur because you do not comply with these terms, for example we will charge you an administration fee where we receive a cheque from you which is subsequently not honoured or if we write to remind you that an account is overdue.  If we instruct debt collection agents we may also recover the fees we incur from you.  Further details regarding these fees are available on request.    We may claim those losses from you at any time and if we have to take legal action we will ask the court to make you pay our legal costs.

6 Data Protection

Words shown in italics are defined in the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the Act”).

We respect the confidential nature of the information given to us and, where you provide us with personal data (“data”) we will ensure that the data will be held securely, in confidence and processed for the purpose of carrying out our services. In order to provide our services we may need to pass such data to third parties and those third parties, who are performing some of the services for you, may contact you directly.  Under the Act you have the right to know what data we hold on you and you can, by applying to us in writing and paying a fee, receive copies of that data.

7 Cooling-Off Period

The Cancellation of Consumer Contracts made in the Consumer’s Home or Place of Work etc Regulations 2008 may give you the right to terminate an agreement with us in the cooling-off period of 14 days.  If you wish the performance of the agreement to which this right applies to commence before the end of the cooling-off period, you must sign the authority in the form.  In the event that you exercise the right to cancel this contract during the cooling-off period, you will be required to pay a reasonable amount for goods and services already supplied.

8 Termination

This agreement may also be terminated before the services are delivered: (1) by us if you fail to honour your obligations under these Terms and (2) by you communicating to us in writing, terminating your instructions.

If we or you terminate your instructions you, depending upon the reasons for termination, may be asked to pay a reasonable amount based upon the work carried out up to the time your termination is received.

9 Standards of Service

The National Association of Funeral Directors’ Code of Practice requires that we provide a high quality service in all aspects.  If you have any questions or concerns about the service we provide to you, please raise them in the first instance with our designated senior person.  If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction the National Association of Funeral Directors through the Funeral Arbitration Scheme (FAS) provides a low cost dispute resolution service, as an alternative to legal action.  You can contact the FAS at 618 Warwick Road, Solihull, West Midlands B91 1AA.  The FAS, and how it can be assessed, is explained in the leaflet entitled “Your Right to Put It Right” made available to you and on display in our premises.  The FAS provides independent conciliation and arbitration through IDRS Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

10 Methods of Payment

The invoice will be forwarded approximately seven days after the funeral and payment may be made in the following manner;

Cash – By hand: to any of our offices

Cheque – Made Payable to Houghtons Funeral Directors

Please include the deceased name on the back on the cheque

Debit card – in person at any of our offices or by telephone

11 Agreement

Your continuing instructions will amount to your continuing acceptance of these Terms of Business.

Your instructions will not create any right enforceable by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties Act 1999) by any person not identified as our client.

If any of these terms are unenforceable as drafted;-

-      it will not affect the enforceability of any other of these Terms; and

-      if it would be enforceable if amended, it will be treated as so amended.

Nothing in these Terms restricts or limits our liability for death or personal injury.

This agreement is subject to English Law.  If you decide to commence legal action, you may do so, in any appropriate UK Court.