Scarborough & Hargett Funeral Home, Inc

Funeral Home did not inform me that the family member was responsible for contacting the cemetery to arrange for burial of a loved one.When my father instructed me to make final plans in the local area (they had moved from Maryland in 2006) for he and my mother in 2014, I definitely wanted to use who was considered the most prestigious funeral home in Durham, N.C. I met with [redacted] at Scarborough & Hargett to let him know my desire to use them when that time came. I purchased burial plots that year at [redacted] and when my father passed away on April 28, 2015, I entrusted his funeral services to Scarborough & Hargett Funeral Home. When I discussed my family's desires, I was repeatedly assured that the funeral home staff would take care of "everything." When I was asked for a copy of the deed for my father's plot, I was under the impression that the funeral home would contact the cemetery. I kept reiterating that I had never dealt with planning for a funeral before, so I felt it was the responsibility of the staff there to make sure all of the bases were covered. After talking to others (including staff from other funeral homes, church members and other Durham residents) I confirmed that it was indeed the responsibility of the funeral home to contact the cemetery. On the morning of my father's funeral, I decided to contact the cemetery to make sure they had not installed the memorial I had previously purchased for my mother. (I didn't want my mother to possibly see her memorial when we went to bury my father.) My family and I were devastated when we found out that the cemetery did not have a request from the funeral home to bury my father. Immediately after the funeral, I had to go to the cemetery office to arrange for my father to be buried the next day. As a result, the graveside service was barely attended because a lot of my family members, who traveled from Maine, New Jersey and Maryland had already returned home to get back to work.They had not made arrangements to stay another day. Yet others decided to stay another day and incur the hotel expense required for their extended stay.I was asked the same questions over and over again during the planning of my father's funeral so these were red flags that gave me some concern about the service. However, the service at the church was well organized, but my father's remains had to return to the funeral home for another day. I repeatedly called the funeral home to check on the status of my request and was repeatedly told someone is looking into the matter. Finally on June 19, my niece, husband and I met with [redacted] and the funeral director at the funeral home. We were again told that they at the funeral home would discuss my request and would get back to me soon. I waited to hear from them and when I didn't by July 1, I contacted [redacted] again. He informed me that he would call me back before the end of the day. Needless to say, today is July 12, 2015 and I have still not heard from anyone at the funeral home. Although I was hesitant to make this complaint because of the pristine reputation this funeral has in the community, I feel my mother deserves something for her heartache. Desired SettlementI sent the funeral home a letter on May 10 requesting a refund of $1000 which was only a small portion of the $5598.75 I paid for their services. This total amount I paid does not include the $2325 I paid for the casket and the $40 I paid for the copies of the death certificate. The refund I am requesting is only for the services. It is and never has been about the money. The most disturbing thing I remember the day of the funeral was the disappointment on my 84-year old mother's face when I told her we would have to wait another day to bury her husband/my father. That is a look I will forever remember.