Reed Funeral Home Inc

Regarding the forgotten memorial cards and guest book, we did not forget to put them outThey were declined.The initial arrangement meeting took place with the Funeral Director (refer to as FD), and the responsible party, (refer to as GB), as well as other extended family members throughout the
roomThe deceased had pre-arrangements from and it was explained the Non-Guaranteed section which was set up using estimates and based on final selections or additions there may be an amount owed in this section of the contractGD stated we’d have to try to make it work because there was no additional funds availableAs arrangements continued, various family members requested the obituary also be placed in the *** *** *** ***GD asked how much more that would costFD explained that there were several things he could do to help rebalance the prefunded selections to help cover the any additional.First step was to run the longer obituary on our website at no charge and run an announcement type of obituary in the other papersSecond was to select a more modest casket spray of flowers, Third was to forgo the funeral services at the funeral home, have calling hours for one hour and a graveside the following day; Fourth it was conveyed that many families when switching to this more basic format elect to not use the memorial package since there are no formal funeral servicesGD approved and was hopefully to get everything covered.The only conversation regarding the amount due was prompted by GD to the FD at the graveside following the committal serviceGD asked how things looked regarding the amount she would oweHe took no financial information with him but he was only anticipating around $The actual amount owed on the account was $but he did not have that information with him at the timeThat was the only reference to the $and it was asked by GD and was spoken by the FD at the graveside not at calling hoursShe was concernedWe do not collect final payment or reference final payment if the down payment policy (60% of funeral home charges) has been met at any time during our fulfillment of services and that includes the pre-arranged funerals and certainly not that small of an amountPeriod.Now, also following close to that conversation GD asked if her sister had asked about the memorial foldersFD along with GD re-stated the conversation arrived at during arrangementsGD stated that she wasn’t thinking and didn’t know that others would want them.FD offered to print some at no charge since the original amount had already been applied to additional charges due on the obituariesHe could have them printed and waiting for them at our *** *** *** Upon GDs arrival at our *** *** ***, the deceased’s belongings were still sitting below the reception desk area and while this reception area is close to the front door we were either waiting on a hospice program, a nursing home or *** to pick them up as the family had requested them to be donatedThat is unfortunate but they were received by one of those groups all of whom regularly works with our funeral home and stops by to see if there is anything from time to time.With regards to their proposed settlement towards mailing costs, postage is $and FD thinks he provided memorial folders at no charge so the cost would be $We’re willing to discount her entire account balance of the newspaper obituaries in the amount of $which is greater upon acceptance of this settlement and her full balance will be taken care of. Submitted by:*** ***Reed Funeral Home

I can no longer use Revdex.com to respond to this complaint except
for two items. The sequence of events as well as who the ashes were designated
to be received by is being severely taken out of context and the degree of
perception of an emotional situation is growing skewed. Consumer asks: "Why
didn't Reed Funeral Home request to talk to the next of kin before allowing any
arrangements to be made?"  The very
first meeting with Reed Funeral Home and our director took place
with the mother of the deceased and two daughters, I believe were [redacted] and
[redacted], which was legally appropriate to begin arrangements. In reference to the
coffee: I referred the group and did not reference any person because we had no
knowledge of who did it from the group of children. The consumer now references
that her daughter did not throw the coffee. At this point I suggest the legal
next of kin (the children) need to seek legal counsel or mediation for any
additional resolution they feel appropriate. This matter should not be allowed on
Revdex.com forum with the amount of hearsay and subjective information. The factual consumer
request to receive credit has been fulfilled. I regret that I must decline any
further opportunity to respond to this complaint.Sincerely,[redacted]Reed Funeral Home

Greetings -I have extensively interviewed any of our staff involved and was in observation and coaching the funeral director behind the scenes when the initial meeting with all children occurred and they wanted to know their rights in moving their father. The emotional conflict for this family...

started some considerable time prior to Reed Funeral Home's initial engagement in this case. We question if the children were opposed to using Reed who signed or verbally designated Reed to the coroner's office. This was a coroner's case so we do not have that information but technically it would have been a legal next of kin which would have been any adult child. We actually had hoped they would utilize another firm once the conflict came to the surface. They made it known that they disagreed with their father being here and asked their right to move their father.  and that too was clearly explained that its been done before between two funeral firms with no professional or legal issues.During that meeting with the children, Mike [redacted]'s (initial funeral director) primary directive from me was to inform the children of their rights to move their father - that they had the highest legal authority to make that decision regardless of their grandmother's wishes to have him at Reed Funeral Home and for her to pay expenses. Even though she was offering to pay if the services were at Reed made no difference to their position as the legal next of kin. We clearly explained that moving their father had been done before between two funeral firms with no professional or legal issues. Lengthy discussion was held in our parking lot amongst the children. They departed without answer but a day or two later conceded to have the services through Reed Funeral Home and the grandmother would pay. Who pays the bill continues to be absolutely totally separate of the legal right of the next of kin which was our obligation to enforce. They also were explained that even though they were under no financial obligation as the legal next of kin they did have a participation obligation in seeing that the cremation authorization was signed. They asked not to sign until after the funeral service and instead they took off that night after throwing coffee at the back of our chapel staining the walls and carpeting. It was either the next day or the following day that they finally signed the cremation authorization and their father was able to be cremated.The reference of no final respects, they had this the entire evening of the services as they made changes and asked for different accommodations including private time in the room with no one else at the end of the evening; while this may have been their perception or accusation or if I don't know the scenario, it is skewed. We were under professional obligation to make sure they understood that without their agreed participation as the legal next of kin, in signing the cremation authorization he could not be cremated even though all was paid. This is a legal statement of fact for both the funeral industry and the crematory state licensing agencies.Regarding not having seats in front, an entire row was set up for them in front of the grandmother's row which already had extra chairs but we did this because they wanted to be in the first row. We agreed to set these up just prior to the service beginning so no one else would sit in their row. Once the staff set up those chairs they all moved to the back of the room leaving them empty.There was a lot of mistrust with the children as to who would receive the ashes. Again, the legal next of kin or the children would receive the ashes not who paid the funeral bill unless through the cremation authorization they designated someone else. The children wanted the ashes mailed directly to the son from the crematory which is why the former spouse paid for him to have this done and continues to feel they were charged for it. They were not charged for shipping because they notified us that they just wanted to pick the ashes up as soon as they were available. We complied. The former wife was then asked to contact myself or my administrator for proper credit for the $130 that still was applied to the account because my general staff does not know how and is not permitted to post credits against credit cards. She never contacted us. Instead she disputed her credit card transaction and I allowed for the dispute to clear because she had already filed this Revdex.com complaint.The credit to the plaintiff's credit card has been resolved but not as initially instructed to do.You may contact me below for further clarification or resolve.Sincerely,[redacted]Reed Funeral Home

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I would like to point out that I contacted the Revdex.com in accordance with their mission and vision which is:  Revdex.com’s mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust.  Vision: An ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers trust each other. (Taken from Revdex.com website.) So, I would like to thank the Revdex.com for their efforts.The business did not apologize to my children for treating them poorly so I can not accept their final words to us as a resolution.This wasn't about the $130, so this just further serves as proof to me that Reed Funeral Home thinks of money first, not customer care. 
Regards,
[redacted]