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A GUIDE TO OUR FEES

Prices

When it comes to funeral costs, we believe transparency is a must. We can’t give you an exact price on our website but we can give you enough information to work out an approximate total based on your own requirements. Alternatively, our team are always available to talk you through your options.

We’ve been customising and personalising funerals for more than 100 years so we know how to make the subtle changes that can make a huge difference. And we’re used to working with every kind of budget.

Our pricing structure explained

Our funeral prices can broadly be split into two categories – ‘Our fees’ and ‘Additional fees’. ‘Our fees’ (sometimes called professional fees or Funeral Director fees) include the fees for all in-house services and everything else that we think is necessary for a basic funeral, whether that be a cremation or a burial. The Additional fees (often called disbursements) are for third party services and personalisation options. These will vary depending on the type of funeral chosen, the location and any specific options that are selected by the family.

We’ve broken down the fees as clearly as we can but you can also skip straight to the bottom of the page for some example funeral prices.

Our fees

These are sometimes called professional fees and they include the following services:

  • Support of the Harold White team (over the phone and in person)
  • Arranging, co-ordinating and conducting the funeral
  • Funeral Director and up to 4 pallbearers to carry the coffin (if required)
  • Handling all necessary documentation
  • Communicating with all third parties
  • Use of the facilities at one of our funeral homes (including visits to the chapel of rest during weekday office hours)
  • Collection of the person who has died in our private ambulance (within 20 mile radius during office hours)
  • Sensitive care and hygienic treatment of the person who has died
  • Hearse to travel from funeral home to cemetery or crematorium via mutually agreed route
  • Online area for funeral details, comments and donations
  • Phone and email bereavement support provided by SAIF
£2,495

This price is for attended funerals (burials or cremations), see Direct Cremation (further down the page) for prices of unattended cremations.

Not included in ‘Our fees’:
Cremation or burial fees
Coffin or other personalisation costs

Additional fees

Sometimes called disbursements, these are the services and products that are provided by third parties. Using ‘Our fees’ (above) as a starting point, you can then add any necessary items from the list below to get an idea of the overall cost.

Cremation fee – from £1,040* (standard adult)

The cremation fee will vary depending on the crematorium and the time, day and duration of the service.
* Most crematoriums offer a reduced fee for cremations held before 10am, direct cremations (scroll further down this page for details) and cremations for under 16s. Please ask us for details.

Doctor’s fee (cremation only) – £82

Before a cremation can take place, the crematorium is required to confirm the cause of death by law. This is not necessary if a coroner has already completed the paperwork.

Burial fee – from £3,330** (standard adult)

Burial prices tend to be more complicated than cremation prices. The cost will vary depending on the cemetery or burial ground as well as the type of grave, time, day, duration of the service, duration of the lease and whether you’re a resident in the borough. The price for a new grave will also be different to that for an existing plot. We can talk you through your options.
** Most cemeteries offer a discount for under 16s.

Personalisation options (your choices)

There are many options available to help you create a funeral that’s right for you. These include things like coffins, celebrants, orders of service, flowers, vehicles and many more that you might not have thought of. Click the ‘Personalisation’ button below to get an idea of what’s possible and in some instances, how much it will cost.

When it comes to paying for a funeral we will, where possible, include the ‘Additional fees’ within our own invoice (to keep things as simple as possible for you) however some third party suppliers prefer to deal with families directly. We will make you aware of this when the arrangements are made.

If you would like to see some examples of complete funeral costs (including both ‘Our fees’ and ‘Additional fees’), please scroll further down the page.

Direct cremation package

Direct cremations (or unattended cremations) are cremations with no service or ceremony and where mourners are not permitted to attend. These types of funerals might be chosen for any number of reasons; it could be be for financial reasons but sometimes the person who has died didn’t want a formal service or their family may choose to celebrate their life with a memorial or ceremony elsewhere or at another time.

Just like all of the funerals that we arrange at Harold White, our team is on hand to talk you through the process to make sure you’re happy with the plans. You are still able to choose a date for the cremation and we can bring the ashes back to our premises if that is convenient.

PLEASE NOTE Our price for a direct cremation package includes a coffin and the cremation fee.

Included in our Direct Cremation:

  • Collection of the person who has died in our private ambulance (within 20 mile radius during office hours)
  • Communicating with all third parties
  • Handling all necessary documentation
  • Sensitive care and hygienic treatment of the person who has died.
  • Use of the facilities at one of our homes (including visits to the chapel of rest during weekday office hours)
  • Transport of the deceased to the crematorium in our private ambulance
  • Support of the Harold White team (over the phone and in person)
  • Direct cremation fee (it will be a local crematorium)
  • Doctor’s fee (if applicable)
  • Basic coffin suitable for cremation
  • Choice of date for cremation
  • Online area for comments and donations
  • Phone and email bereavement support provided by SAIF
£1,695

Examples of funeral costs

Below are some example costs of complete funerals – where you can see the total of ‘Our fees’ and the ‘Additional fees’ for different types of funeral. These are only to be used as a guide so please contact us if you’d like some help calculating the exact cost of a funeral.

Cremation at City of London Crematorium - example 1

This funeral included the following:

Our fees £2,495
Rookwood elm coffin £560
Doctors papers £82
Minister fee £270
City of London cremation fee £1,040
One limousine £270
Order of service (4 pages) x 35 * £130
Simple floral posie* £65
Total £4,912

* These are 3rd party costs and in some cases, you will be invoiced directly for these services by the supplier.

Cremation at City of London Crematorium - example 2

This funeral included the following:

Our fees £2,495
Cambridge oak coffin £1,660
Doctors papers £82
Minister fee £270
City of London cremation fee £1,040
Three limousines £810
Horse drawn carriage £1,500
Order of service (12 pages) x 100* £330
Floral coffin display* £280
Total £8,467

* These are 3rd party costs and in some cases, you will be invoiced directly for these services by the supplier.

Burial at City of London Cemetery

This funeral included the following:

Our fees £2,495
Windsor oak coffin £1,090
Minister fee £270
City of London burial fee (lawn grave) £3330
One Limousine £270
Order of service (4 pages) x 35 * £130
Floral coffin display* £280
Total £7,865

* These are 3rd party costs and in some cases, you will be invoiced directly for these services by the supplier.

Direct cremation at City of London Cemetery & Crematorium

This funeral included the following:

Our fees £1,695
Simple coffin Included
Doctors papers Included
Minister fee Included
Total £1,695

Find out more about Direct cremations

Price promise

Our website contains all the information needed to build an approximate estimate for different types of funerals. We are also available to discuss your options in more detail and provide a formal estimate. During our conversation with you, we’ll make sure that you understand everything you need to know about our services and prices, including any additional third party costs (also known as disbursements).

In addition to the above, we are legally required to publish a Standardised Price List, an Additional Options Price List, Terms of Business and Local Crematorium Price Information. Prices can vary between different funeral directors and these legal documents are available to help you make a direct comparison between them. You can find ours in the footer (the dark green panel at the bottom of our website).

Payment terms

Payment is required in full no later than 72 hours prior to the funeral. The funeral account is due for payment at this time, unless otherwise agreed by us in writing. If you fail to pay us in full by the due date we may charge you interest. Our charges would be £100 on the first day after the 30 days from the funeral and every 30 days following. For an unattended funeral the invoice will be provided prior to the funeral and will be required to be paid in full before the unattended cremation or burial takes place.

Funeral expenses can sometimes be paid from the estate of the person who has died by submitting the funeral invoice and an original death certificate to the bank. If you need help paying for a funeral you can call us directly or have a look at some of the other options available here.

Quality of service and complaints procedure

We are a member of the National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) and subscribe to its Code of Practice, a copy of which is available upon request. As members of SAIF, we are required to provide a high-quality service in all aspects. If you have any questions or concerns about the service we provide to you, please contact us at info@haroldwhitefunerals.co.uk or on 0208 529 1530. If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction, the matter can be referred to either The Chairman of the Society’s Standards Committee for investigation and amicable resolution; or the Independent Consumer Arbitration Service. All correspondence should be addressed to either The Standards Chairman or The Independent Arbitration Service as appropriate at SAIF, Business Centre, 3 Bullfields, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire CM21 9DB. The ICAS provides independent conciliation and arbitration through IDRS Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Get in touch or arrange a call back

You can call us anytime on 0208 529 1530 or send us a message and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. Please let us know if you’d prefer to receive an email rather than a telephone call (or vice versa).