Distinct Cremations Funeral plan review

Everything you need to know about a Distinct Cremations Funeral plan

Below is a detailed review, along with everything you need to know about taking out a funeral plan with Distinct Cremations in the UK.

Different Distinct Cremations Funeral Plans On Offer

Below is a guide to the two different plans that Distinct Cremations offer, their price point and any important information you need to consider

	Unattended Cremation Plan	Intimate Cremation Plan
Price	From £1,499*	From £1,799*
Monthly payment options available?	Yes, if you are aged between 50 and 74 you can choose to pay for the plan over 5 or 10 years.	Yes, if you are aged between 50 and 74 you can choose to pay for the plan over 5 or 10 years.
Coffin and urn included?	Yes, a simple coffin and urn	Yes, a simple coffin and urn
Constraints on date and time of funeral?	Not applicable – there is no service.	Yes, your loved ones will be allocated a 10 minute early morning service at one of Distinct Cremations’ crematoriums.
Choice of crematorium?	No.	Yes.
Access to a Chapel of Rest for family and friends to visit?	No.	No.
Cortege included?	Not applicable	No.
Pallbearers included?	Not applicable	No.
Limosine included?	Not applicable	No.
Hearse included?	Not applicable	No.
Cremation fees included?	Yes	Yes.
Any extras?	Deceased can be collected 24/7, but this only applies to UK mainland.  Single doctor’s or coroner’s fee paid for. Assistance with legal and cremation paperwork. Preparation of the deceased for cremation, including removal of pacemakers and other devices. A choice of having the ashes scattered in the garden of remembrance or returned within 14 days.	Chapel attendant’s presence and support at the service. 24/7 support from Direct Cremations to assist with any queries your loved ones may have.Deceased can be collected 24/7, but this only applies to UK mainland. Single doctor’s or coroner’s fee paid for.  Assistance with legal and cremation paperwork. Preparation of the deceased for cremation, including removal of pacemakers and other devices. A choice of having the ashes scattered in the garden of remembrance or returned within 14 days.

*It is important to note that you can customise your plan to include any extras from the full price list (link to https://d2kkxm2sgumn6p.cloudfront.net/86/86c7e15ad6cc0fe8d348a2eba5308b17.pdf) which is available on their website.

What’s not included?

Here’s a list of what is not included for each of these plans…

Unattended Cremation Plan

• An attended service.
• Choice of crematorium. 
• Choice of time of the cremation.
• Embalming.
• Viewing of the deceased by relatives or loved ones.
• Celebrant or minister fees (as no service is held). 
• Cost of repatriation from areas beyond mainland UK.
• Other requests such as flowers, obituaries or memorials. 

Intimate Cremation Plan

• Choice of time of the service.
• A funeral procession.
• Embalming.
• Celebrant or minister fees.
• Viewing of the deceased by relatives or loved ones.
• Celebrant or minister fees (as no service is held) 
• Cost of repatriation from areas beyond mainland UK
• Other requests such as flowers, obituaries or memorials.

Is there an admin fee?

Distinct Cremations do not charge any administration fees for setting up or making changes to a plan. 

Do they offer a direct cremation / cremation only plan?

Distinct Cremations do not offer a direct cremation plan, but when the time comes they offer an unattended direct cremation service from as little as £895. Please note that as this is not covered by a plab this price, unlike those in their funeral plans, may be subject to change in the future. 

Distinct Cremations funeral plan offers and deals

There are currently no special offers or deals available for Distinct Cremations funeral plans.

Are Distinct Cremations plans Safe, Reliable and secure?

For protection, all single payments and instalments up to 12 months that are paid under your Distinct Cremations funeral plan are held securely in an independently managed trust. Investment managers of this trust act as trustees and are responsible for managing the long-term growth of the fund in order to meet the increasing cost of funeral services. 

Under UK law, trustees such as this are required to act in accordance with what is called a ‘fiduciary duty’. It represents the highest standard of care required under law. 

A fiduciary duty can be broken down into several elements – most importantly, a fiduciary:

• Cannot put themselves in a position where they are in a conflict of interest; and
• Cannot profit from their position. 

To add further security, Distinct Cremations are authorised and regulated by the FCA and the Funeral Planning Authority. 

What happens if Distinct Cremations goes bust?

In the event that Distinct Cremations go out of business and are not able to provide your funeral, they are required to work closely with the FCA and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to transfer your plan to another provider or to arrange compensation.

Refund & Cancellation terms

Distinct Cremations offer a full money back guarantee if you change your mind at any point after paying in full or over 12 months for your policy. 
If you decide to pay for your plan over 5 or 10 years then you have 12 months to change your mind and receive a full refund, but after this time you will not receive any of your money back which appears to be a harsh policy for consumers.

Contacting Distinct Cremations

Address	Distinct Cremations Oak Tree Court Cannock  WS11 0JN
Phone	Call 0808 273 9508 if you wish to take out a funeral plan or 0808 163 7189 if you need to arrange the funeral of a loved one.
Email	General enquiries are accepted by email info@distinctcremations.co.uk

What happens to my money?

If you have opted to pay by fixed monthly payments, Distinct Cremations will take out a ‘whole of life’ insurance policy on your behalf and the payout from the insurance policy will cover the cost of the funeral.

If you have paid in a lump sum then your money will be placed in the trust outlined above.

Distinct Cremations Funeral Plans Vs Other Plans

There are a huge variety of plans available which cater for a variety of budgets, which is why we have created a useful guide to show you some alternatives.

This year we have reviewed a number of plan providers. The most similar to Distinct Cremations is Dignity, a modern funeral plan provider who do not offer set plans.

Dignity encourage prospective customers to build their own plan either online or by speaking to a representative on the telephone, and when we did this in order to review the company we were pleasantly surprised by the quotes we were receiving.

Distinct Cremations funeral plan final thoughts

We have been impressed by the flexibility of the two plans on offer. Unlike some other providers, it is possible to personalise your plan by selecting from the options on the price list referred to earlier in this article provided that you pay the additional cost of the extra service(s).

Distinct Cremations go beyond the relatively short free cancellation periods of other providers and, depending on how you pay for your plan, you have at least 12 months to change your mind and receive a full refund. 

All crematoria are owned by Distinct Cremations’ parent company, WG, which provides continuity of service and removes the possibility of your funeral being outsourced to a funeral director that you would not have chosen yourself. 
However, the location of Distinct Cremations’ crematoriums tend to be scattered around central England – for example there are none in Ireland, only one each in Devon and Cornwall, none between Lancashire and the Scottish Borders and only three on mainland Scotland. It is important to check if their nearest one is in a convenient location for your loved ones before taking out a plan.

Due to the company being in its infancy at the time of writing, the amount of customer reviews are fewer than for some competitors. However, Distinct Cremations has still managed to earn 124 reviews for the past year on feefo, giving an average rating of 4.9/5 stars. Their plans have also been rated 5 stars by Fairer Finance. 

In summary, Distinct Cremations is a new provider of funeral plans which markets itself as having an approach focusing on simplicity and affordability. If you are seeking a direct cremation with few or no people attending then this may be the provider for you. In the Funeral Inspirations Awards we would give Distinct Cremations a respectable 4 / 5 stars. 

The deduction from full marks is being made for:

• No refund being given if a customer paying in instalments cancels their plan after 12 months;
•  The lack of plans for those seeking an attended service for more relatives or at a variety of times;
• The lack of crematoria beyond central England; and 
• Neither of their plans offer the opportunity to view the deceased, which is for many a key part of the grieving process.

In conclusion, Funeral Inspirations would recommend Distinct Cremations’ funeral plans. They are a new but fast-growing provider with established roots through their parent company and excellent customer reviews. We find their flexibility in being able to customise a plan to the customer’s needs forward-thinking, but their plans do not cater for every consumer as they only allow for direct cremations with no or small attendance at specific locations and times.