• An initial meeting with you to discuss all aspects of the funeral and complete the paperwork. You'll be well taken care of by one of our experienced funeral directors (Louise or Isabel), who will give you the time you need to talk everything through.

• Collection of the person who has died from anywhere within the M25. If you’re outside the M25, please do get in touch as we may still be able to help.
  Please note - There's an additional charge of £250 for collecting the person who has died from a private home or nursing home, and when we are asked to collect someone immediately (ie from a private hospital or hospice).

• Gentle and sensitive care of the person who has died in our brand new, purpose built mortuary facilities in our funeral home.

• Our care and attention throughout the arrangements, including unlimited support.

• The opportunity to spend time with your loved one in our beautiful funeral home in Forest Hill. We can help you to figure out how you’d like to spend this time so it’s a helpful and meaningful experience.
  By appointment only.

• Support and guidance to carry the coffin yourself (if permitted by the cemetery or crematorium) or use of our professional bearers (£70 per bearer).

• A personalised online announcement page so you can easily share details of the funeral arrangements with family and friends. See an example.

2. Choose either cremation, traditional burial or woodland/ natural burial

The cost of cremation or burial is considered to be a disbursement - a third party cost which we pay on your behalf before the funeral takes place.

You could consider holding the funeral at an alternative funeral venue such as the Horniman Museum & Gardens in Forest Hill.

Cremation

You’re not restricted to choosing a crematorium local to you. You can explore our directory of crematoria in London here.
Cremation costs can vary significantly across London, with fees ranging from £585 to over £1000. Extra fees apply for double service time and weekend services. Early morning services are often cheaper.

TRADITIONAL BURIAL

The cost of traditional burial varies widely throughout Greater London depending on the cemetery you choose, and whether you’re resident in the borough.
Fees vary widely throughout London from around £2200 (Newham) to around £25,000 (Highgate and Kensal Green)

WOODLAND & Natural BURIAL

Woodland and natural burial grounds are a beautiful alternative to traditional cemeteries. There are several woodland and natural burial grounds within easy reach of London, set in beautiful and peaceful location. You can explore natural and woodland burial grounds in and around London here.

ALTERNATIVE VENUES for funerals

Funerals can also take place at a venue outside of the crematorium or cemetery. Explore venues in London where the funeral can take place here.

3. Choose a coffin

We have handpicked a range of beautifully designed, well-crafted and ethically sourced and produced coffins for you to choose from.

4. Choose the hearse

You can personalise every detail of the funeral. Choose from our selection of funeral vehicles including our Land Rover Discovery hearse, traditional hearses and limousines, horses, camper vans and much more.

You can choose the kind of service you’d like to have and who you’d like to lead it. You can choose a religious, non-religious, spiritual or even blended service. The service can be led by a faith leader, religious minister, or celebrant, or you may wish to lead the funeral yourself.

Funerals don’t have to follow a structure or format and you don’t have to have a formal service. You can just play a favourite song on repeat or sit in reflective silence if that feels right.

The process of putting together a ceremony can really help - sharing stories with friends and family, writing a tribute, choosing a fitting poem or reading, and gathering photos to share with others - it’s all important.

You could appoint a celebrant to help you put together the ceremony. Our trusted funeral celebrants will work with you to put together a beautiful and meaningful ceremony to honour the life of the person who has died.

It’s really important that you choose the right celebrant for you. There’s a whole spectrum of celebrants with different styles and offerings. We recommend having a chat with any of our recommended celebrants to see if they're the right person for you.

7. Decide whether the funeral WILL be live-streamed, PHOTOGRAPHED OR FILMED

IMPORTANT - Price Transparency

We pride ourselves on working ethically and transparently. We have always listed our services and prices on our website so you know exactly what to expect.

From 16th September 2021, all funeral directors are legally required to publish a Standardised Price List, an Additional Options Price List, Terms of Business, a Disclosure of Interests and Local Crematorium Price Information.

This is to help you think through your options and make choices, and to let you compare prices between different funeral directors (because prices can vary).

Direct cremation

We also offer direct cremations in South East London for those who do not wish to have a funeral service and do not wish to have anyone in attendance at the crematorium. This is a no-frills and no-fuss option ideal for those who may wish to hold a memorial or celebration of life at a later date.

Our promise to you

We pride ourselves on working transparently. All of our services and prices are clearly listed on our website.

During our meeting, we’ll talk through the options available and then send an email with an estimate of the total cost of the funeral. We’ll do everything we can to ensure you understand the range of services we offer and how much the funeral will cost including any known disbursements (the fees to be paid on your behalf to doctors, ministers, cemetery or crematoria authorities and other third parties).

If you are struggling to find the funds for the funeral, please get in touch and we’ll do everything we can to help you to have the funeral you want. You can find more information about the help available to you here.

Payment terms

• Payment must be made in full before the funeral takes place.

• We accept payment by bank transfer.

• Funeral expenses can also be paid from the estate of the person who has died by submitting the funeral invoice and an original death certificate to the bank. Payment must still be made in full before the funeral takes place.

• We reserve the right to add interest at 1.5% compound per month on all accounts outstanding after the due date. All costs incurred in recovering an outstanding account are chargeable to the debtor.

Disclosure of interests

• The ultimate owner of this business is Poetic Endings Ltd, which is owned and managed by Louise Hemmings (Winter).

• We have no interest in any price comparison site which compares Funeral Director Services and/or Crematoria Services and their respective prices.

• In the last six months, we have not made any material charitable donation, charitable contribution or payment of a gratuity to a third party connected to the funerals sector.

Quality and standards

We work with an experienced team of funeral professionals and adhere to industry codes of practice to ensure we deliver a high level of service. We are recommended by the Good Funeral Guide, the only not-for-profit independent resource for funeral advice in the UK, who inspect us regularly and hold us to account. You can learn more about the high standards expected of us as a Good Funeral Guide recommended funeral director on their website.

Our complaints procedure

We hope that you will have a positive experience of working with our team, but should the need arise, we have procedures in place to ensure your concerns are addressed to your satisfaction. Please contact us at funerals@poetic-endings.com or on 020 4525 8318 in the first instance and we will do our best to address your concerns. Your complaint will be acknowledged within three days and fully investigated within five working days.

If we are unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, you can contact The National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) by emailing standards@saif.org.uk, by calling 0845 230 6777 or 01279 726 777, or by writing to The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, SAIF Business Centre, 3 Bullfields, Sawbridgeworth, Herts CM21 9DB.

Your complaint will be acknowledged within seven days then fully investigated. Timescale for findings and final response will vary depending on each individual case and investigation. Please note that The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) will not investigate a complaint unless the internal complaints procedure of the Funeral Directors has been exhausted.

If you are still unhappy with the response and final decision of The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) you can request that your complaint be referred to The Independent Funeral Directors Arbitration Scheme. For more information and to download leaflet of the scheme please visit the SAIF website.

Get in touch

We are here to help. Please get in touch to talk through the options. We can help you to work out the right funeral for you, even if you don't know what that is right now. If we don't answer straight away, we might be with another client. Please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

It’s ok if you’re not ok

The Good Grief Trust exists to help people experiencing grief in the UK. The charity aims to be there for anyone who has been bereaved by acknowledging grief and providing reassurance, a virtual hand of friendship and ongoing support. If you’re struggling and need support and guidance, you can find specialist help by looking at the directory on their helpful website.