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Thousands of people who lost money when pre-paid funeral firm Safe Hands Plans Ltd fell into administration in 2022 have criticized the “tiny” sums they are set to be repaid after three years of waiting. Following the firm’s collapse, about 46,000 people who had invested in the fund to cover the future costs of their funerals are owed an estimated £70.6m in total. Plan holders may receive repayments, of between 8.5p and 12.5p for each pound they lost — above the rate of 1p to 10p in typical administration cases — by the end of June 2025. A major fraud investigation is under way into the dealings of Safe Hands and its parent company.
Although getting some money back is better than nothing, it is still a slap in the face, says Denise Hudson, who shelled out nearly £2,500 for a Safe Hands plan in 2017 after seeing the firm advertised on television. She thought her investment was “foolproof.” Aimee Geary, an NHS worker from Anstey in Leicestershire, paid £3,000 to Safe Hands in 2017 because she thought funeral costs would rise in the future. She doubts she will get any of her money back, adding it is sad that someone else will now have to find the money and arrange her funeral.
People have been taken for a ride, say David and Sandie Beatty, from Bingham in Nottinghamshire, who paid Safe Hands £3,395 in 2017 to cover funeral costs. The collapse of the firm left them feeling “angry, disappointed, sick.” They say, “It might be enough to buy a pizza, and we’ll have a little party. For us, it’s not about the money now. We just want someone to be held to account.”
Safe Hands was one of dozens of companies operating in the previously unregulated pre-paid funeral sector. Since July 2022, pre-paid funeral providers have required approval to operate from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but Safe Hands collapsed four months before the measures came into effect.
The case has been “complex” and has required extensive legal action in the UK and abroad to trace funds that are due to creditors, says administrator FRP Advisory, which has so far recovered £11.4m for plan holders, adding its ongoing efforts are running parallel to the ongoing Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation
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