Messier Funeral Home

To Whom It May Concern:My name is [redacted] and I currently reside in Boston, Massachusetts, but was born in Holyoke and raised in Chicopee. My grandmother, [redacted], also a lifelong resident of Western MA, planned and paid for her funeral in advance of her death at Messier Funeral Home in Holyoke, MA through 2 (two) separate contracts. The first, totaling $1,395, was paid for on September 24, 1992this covered the costs of cremation, urn, internment and miscellaneous expenses. The second contract totaled $2,390 and was paid for on March 4, 1998this covered the cost of casket, viewing and preparation for viewing. My grandmother wanted to have both options paid for, but ultimately decided upon cremation. She passed away on September 12, 2014 and was indeed cremated. Mr. [redacted] of Messier Funeral Home now refuses to refund a net of 1,694.32 ($2,390 minus $755.08 in miscellaneous expenses my family has no issue with paying). My grandmother never received the services outlined in the second contract, thus, her estate should not be liable for its cost. Additionally, the funds for these contracts were placed in a trust until the time of my grandmother's death. Mr. [redacted] has refused to acknowledge the interest earned by these trusts, and no yearly statement was ever received by my family.Desired SettlementI would first and foremost like for the parties involved to refund the amount listed previously which is rightfully owed to my grandmother's estate. I am also filing this claim so that the practices and behavior of Messier Funeral Home and its proprietor are a matter of public record and others looking to do business there may be aware. Grieving a loved one is a difficult enough process without businesses like Messier, who claim themselves to be professionals, complicating the ordeal.Business Response By way of introduction, the Messier Funeral Home and I are committed to being the most professional and highest quality funeral service organization in our industry and have been serving the Hampden County area since 1928. The concepts, philosophies and practices in serving our families have always been ethical, informative, professional, compassionate, caring and fair. Customer service and satisfaction are important to us and we take this complaint seriously.First, by way of background, Mrs. [redacted] entered into a preneed contract with Messier Funeral Home on or about September 24, 1992 wherein she purchased certain guaranteed funeral and burial related merchandise and services - direct cremation and a cremation urn (the "Merchandise and Services") and non-guaranteed cash advanced items - cemetery charges, crematory charges and clergy honorarium (the "Cash Advance Items"). This preneed contract was supplemented by Mrs. [redacted] on or about February 10, 1998 when she purchased additional merchandise and services - a walnut finish casket and preparation for viewing (the "Additional Merchandise and Services"). Mrs. [redacted] paid the preneed contract in full in the amount of $1,395, and paid the Additional Merchandise and Services in full in the amount of $2,390, for a total amount paid of $3,785. In 2010, I was informed by Mrs. [redacted]'s son and Ms. [redacted] that Mrs. [redacted] desired to be cremated and would not need the Additional Merchandise and Services that she had purchased. At that time, and again when I met with Mr. and Ms. [redacted] to make Mrs. [redacted]'s final arrangements, I informed them that the funds pertaining to the Additional Merchandise and Services ($2,390) could be used towards the current cost of the Cash Advance Items, as well as for any other merchandise, services or cash advances purchased at the time of need.At the time of Mrs. [redacted]'s death, Mr. and Ms. [redacted] made arrangements for, and accepted delivery of, the Merchandise and Services and the Cash Advance Items; they also purchased additional services and cash advance items (the "At-Need Purchases"). The total cost of the At-Need Purchases not covered by the preneed contract is $1,830.08 and the total additional amount due for the non-guaranteed Cash Advance Items is $51.37 for a total due and owing for Mrs. [redacted]'s final arrangements of $1,921.45. As Ms. [redacted] notes in her complaint, they did not make arrangements for, or accept delivery of, the Additional Merchandise and Services. Yesterday, in connection with these issues regarding Mrs. [redacted]'s final arrangements, I provided to the Mayor's Office of Consumer Information (MOCI) a copy of the final Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected with addendum (SFGSS), as required by law, which shows the at-need, 2014 costs of all merchandise and services purchased and delivered in connection with Mrs. [redacted]'s final disposition, as well as a copy of the Final Statement of Allocation of Preneed Funds which explains, in more detail, how the preneed funds were applied to the costs of Mrs. [redacted]'s final disposition including the total amount of funds in the preneed trust account that were available at the time of Mrs. [redacted]'s death, the amount of those funds which was applied to the at-need 2014 costs of the Merchandise and Services and the Cash Advanced Items, as well as the cost of the At-Need Purchases. After applying a refund of the Additional Merchandise and Services per Mr. and Ms. [redacted]'s request ($2,390) to the total amount due for the final arrangements ($1,921.45), the outstanding credit due to the estate of Mrs. [redacted] is $468.55. In a good faith effort to resolve this issue, I enclosed with our response to the MOCI a copy of the refund check in the amount of $468.55 made payable to the Estate of [redacted] which we are holding pending the resolution of this matter. We have made several attempts to reach out to both Mr. and Ms. [redacted] to discuss their questions and concerns regarding the arrangements for the final disposition of Mrs. [redacted], but neither Mr. or Ms. [redacted] have returned our calls, nor have they agreed to meet with us to discuss these issues in person. We remain ready, willing and able to discuss the details regarding Mrs. [redacted]'s preneed contract, and the final Statement of Funeral Goods and Services with the [redacted]'s should they desire to do so.