Name: Pure Cremation
Address: Charlton Park Crematorium Charlton Down, Charlton Park Crematorium Charlton Down, Hampshire
Rating: 4.84

“Make sure you get everything put in a email dealing with this company as anything said verbally over the phone doesn’t mean anything .”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

We are sorry to hear of your concerns. All our calls are recorded, so nothing should be overlooked regarding conversations and requests. We will investigate and respond as soon as we can. Kind regards, Scott

Posted 3 years ago

“Sadly very disappointed with the service offered. Even though it’s not a traditional funeral I still expected some kind of customer service. Despite being told someone would be contacting us no one did I had to keep contacting them to find out what was happening. Then when finally someone called they didn’t even have the decency to get my mums name correct. Would not recommend t all in your time of grief you want the process to be as painless and easy as possible. Unfortunately we did not receive that.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Karen, We will investigate the issues raised. It is really important that we keep in touch with our families and call them when are expected to, at such a difficult time knowing that we are in touch is vital. I am very sorry to hear that there was a mistake with your Mum’s name. This too will be investigated and we will be in touch as soon as we can. Kind regards, Olivia

Posted 3 years ago

“I was very disappointed in the way Pure Cremation handled some of the details for my late wife's cremation. After notification of my wife's death, they twice tried to contact my wife over the following weeks and even sent sales promotions to her after her cremation. After complaining they failed to reply to my complaint. The cremation itself and the return of the ashes was done very well”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Mr Woolley, please accept our sincere apologies for the upset caused by the receipt of marketing materials and contacts following your wife’s death. While follow up mailings are scheduled weeks in advance and cannot be stopped, I would not have expected you to receive telephone calls from our staff. I will look into this to understand what has happened so that we can do more to ensure that information is passed seamlessly between our teams in this sensitive situation. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and for your positive comments about the cremation arrangements. Kindest regards, Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“During my initial conversation, I requested that some of the ashes were put into two separate pouches, which I was told would be done. When I was called to tell me Dad had been cremated, I asked again to make sure and I was told that there was no note on his file to say I wanted this, however, I was told again that it would be done. I now have the ashes and what I asked for on two occasions has not been done, it's not like I was asking much, very poor.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Mark, I am very sorry to hear that your simple and reasonable request was not followed. I will look into this personally and ask a member of staff to contact you about the best way to achieve a dignified division of the ashes as originally requested. We strive hard to ensure that we meet each family's needs and I share your disappointment that our staff failed to live up to our standards. Yours sincerely, Catherine Powell (Co-founder and director) Updated reply: Thank you, Mark, for your gracious email today that confirmed the ashes division was the one point of dissatisfaction and that all other aspects of our service met your expectations. I greatly appreciate your offer to amend your review but we did let you down, and I apologise for that. We are taking steps to ensure that every member of our customer care team understands the importance of good notes and how to record key instructions so they cannot be missed. Kindest regards, Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Was told my mum's ashes would be ready 9th May so we arranged the funeral for the 13th, but no ashes arrived. The response from pure cremation is poor at best I would not recommend them at all. Thanks pure cremation for adding to an already hard time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Paul, Pure Cremation is committed to offering the highest standard of care and we are eager to investigate any cases where our service may have fallen short of this. We can be contacted at info@purecremation.co.uk where a member of our senior management team will carry out a full investigation. Please include the full name of your mother and her plan number or date of birth. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“From the moment of ringing them the first time it has been awful. Waiting time on phone is long, you never speak to the same person. They sent the wrong documents 4 times, they don't ring back when they say they will. I was constantly ringing them. The final touch of insult was a van turning up with 'Pure Creamtion' emblazoned on it and the delivery man telling me to ' have a good day' .No empathy, all fake false words. Would like contact from CEO please.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Ms Harris, I am very sorry to hear this account and a senior manager has been appointed to look into this further, this is not the level of service that we have set out to deliver. We will contact you personally once we have carried out a full investigation. Yours sincerely, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“Accepted payment totally messed up dates for commital . Really Upset!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Ms Bailey, A senior manager has been appointed to look into the issues that you have raised, and we will be in touch with a response. Pure Cremation is committed to offering the highest standards of care to the bereaved and their loved ones, so we are very keen to understand and investigate any situation where our care may have fallen short of this. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“Awful. Whilst our father booked a Pure Cremation, we would still liked to have marked the event, albeit from 170 miles away. Pure Cremation would not give a likely time for the committal. Surely, if this is so carefully managed, a time should be known, or is this just a case of lining up the coffins and wait your turn? Terrible for families.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Ian, Thank you for getting in touch with us. We’re sorry you were disappointed. At Pure Cremation, we always provide families with the committal day for the cremation. We cannot provide the time of the actual cremation itself though. This should have been made clear to the applicant. We are no different to other crematoria where there is a service beforehand. The actual cremation can be many hours after the service. The actual cremation duration can vary from 75 to 120 minutes so the committal time can vary considerably during the course of a day. What we recommend for families that wish to mark the event is that they choose a time on that day, to gather and celebrate the life of the person. Kind regards, Olivia

Posted 3 years ago

“I am leaving a poor review as we had to chase all the way through. We were not told that my husbands father had been collect from the local hospital on the Thursday. We only found out on the following Tuesday when I called. Also the cremation was planned for 10th March but was put back to 23rd March which we were not informed of. It was only when we called to check. We were told that we would be contacted and updated all the way through. This did not happen.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Joanne, I am very sorry to hear of the issues you experienced with your father-in-law’s cremation arrangements. Our staff should have contacted you once he was in our care and I share your disappointment that this did not happen. Part of our care for the bereaved is regular communication, especially if there are any issues that affect the cremation date. I apologise sincerely that our staff did not meet our usual high standards of communication and will be in touch to give you the chance to speak to me directly about your experience. Please be assured that I will address this with the individuals involved to ensure that they learn from this and, in future, deliver the standard of care Pure Cremation expects of them. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“What a disrespectful company, My sister who I spoke to every day on the phone was married to a very disrespectful person who I could not keep in contact with because of his attitude. He phoned me via a carer on the day my sister death and said it’s John, Jenny Dead!! I found out who he was dealing with for the cremation and phoned them and explained who I was, they refused to tell me anything, because he was next of kin, I pleaded with them that I only wanted to know the date of the cremation as we wanted to arrange a memorial service at the church where she used to be a warden but they still refused. I spoke to Charlton Park crematorium which they use and managed to get a date but when they asked who I was they refused to give me the time. What a terrible company as I could not go to the cremation I only wanted a time to be able to stop and think of her.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Les, Family situations like this are both painful and challenging. While we always encourage families to communicate with all affected parties, we must fulfil our legal obligations to the applicant who has engaged our services. Kind regards, Bethany

Posted 3 years ago

“Unrequested marketing received (how did they get our details!). Avoid this company . And what a dreadful trading name!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Sir/Madam, Your details were provided to us by a data collection company whose details were included in the mailing that you received (at the bottom of page 2 in the coloured panel). Including this information means any recipient can contact the data company and request removal from their database. This also ensures we comply with the best practice guidelines of the Data and Marketing Association. I can add you to our STOP file which will mean that you do not receive any further mailings from Pure Cremation. Please let me know your full name and address including postcode, you can send this to me directly at customercare@purecremation.co.uk. Please note that this will take up to 4 weeks for this to take effect. You can also register your details with the Mailing Preference Service - https://www.mpsonline.org.uk. The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service, funded by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from lists used by the industry. It is actively supported by the Royal Mail and all directly involved trade associations and fully supported by The Information Commissioners Office (ICO). Kind regards, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“Staff unable to advise and update me regarding the arrangements that had been made with other family members. Therefore I was left not knowing the time of my dad's cremation. I totally understand confidentiality but even though I was able to give and confirm every detail about my dad and his identity, I was still not kept informed by anyone at pure cremation.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Family situations like this are both painful and challenging. While we always encourage families to communicate with all affected parties, we must fulfil our legal obligations to the applicant who has engaged our services. Yours Sincerely, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“Absolute bunch of morons. Pure cremations wrote to my mother on 2nd February 2022 about their services. She passed away on 18th May 2021, how they could be more tactless or offensive I don't know. Absolute scum,”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Craig, We are sorry that you have been upset by our mailing, that is certainly not our intention. Please feel free to get in contact with us and we would be more than happy to remove your details from our mailing list, simply email us directly at customercare@purecremation.co.uk and we will ensure that your details are removed.

Posted 3 years ago

“This is a truly profit focused company without any compassion. They sent their slick promotional material to my mother who died six months ago. Disgusting!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

We are sorry that you have been upset and that is certainly not our intention. Please get in contact with us and we would be more than happy to remove your details from our mailing list, simply email us directly at customercare@purecremation.co.uk and we will ensure that your details are removed.

Posted 3 years ago

“My father passed away on Friday 3rd December and had arranged and pre-paid his plan with you. From the start, my experience with Pure Cremation has been awful. Firstly, my husband contacted Pure Cremation to advise on my father's passing. However, I tried to contact Pure Cremation Ltd a few days later, as had not heard anything from either Pure Cremation or the hospital about the collection of dad's body. When I rang, they said that they would not speak to me, as my husband was the one who contacted them, even though my Dad had put me as next of Kin. The communication has been very poor. I have had one phone call to advise that they could bring my Dad's cremation forward to 2 January 2022, which was fine and then the "Ashes" team would be in touch to arrange the delivery of my Dad's ashes. I received an email to say that this would be within 3 weeks. I had to chase by email to see what was happening on Thursday 20 January as I had not heard from anyone. I received an email to say it would be chased up. Finally I received a call on Monday I believe to say would be delivered Tuesday. I am extremely disappointed, as I feel we have had to chase for everything, during this really difficult time, I would certainly not recommend your services, as I feel that the whole experience has been extremely distressing and stressful. Also, I was extremely disappointed with the packaging that my Dad's ashes have been sent in. I would have expected a nice ornate urn, but to be honest it looks more like a washing powder box delivered in a shopping bag.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Zoe, I am very sorry to hear that your experience of our communication has fallen short of the high standard that we are known for. Our team is expected to support the bereaved with timely updates and please be assured that I will ensure that the management of your Dad's arrangements is reviewed so we can address the cause of this deviation from the expected standard of care. You will receive a separate personal response from us about this. In reply to your comments about the ashes container: we have carefully considered the container in which the ashes and identity disc are presented. Rather than opting for the traditional plastic 'sweet jar' or the more recent cardboard box that crematoria typically supply, we have selected a biodegradable container with a stunning photo wrapper (printed with vegetable inks) which is then placed into a soft cotton bag for its protection. We are always happy to place ashes into any suitable alternative container should the family send this to us. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“I Signed myself & my mother up in the summer. Mum died at home at about 17.30 on the 2/11/21 I phoned Pure Cremation at about 19.00. I was answered by a recorded message saying phone back during office hours. I tried again and got the same response. I phoned the next morning during office hours and was transferred to a full mobile answerphone. I phoned again this time I dialed 1 to their sales line and managed to talk to a human and Mum was picked up that morning. If Mum had died over Easter or the Christmas period would she have to have lain there for 5 days. I made a formal complaint to Pure Cremations and asked for a written reply to my complaint. As yet no reply has been recieved. I am now going to try to cancel my funeral. John Keys”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear John, I want to apologise sincerely for the difficulties that you had in trying to reach us the moment you needed our service. This was caused by our telephone system provider and we have acted as swiftly as possible to change that provider and now all calls are answered in less than a minute, even out of hours. I am very disappointed to hear that you have not had a response to your complaint and I will be looking into this too. You will receive a formal response within 48 hours. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“My beloved wife died on the 3rd of November at a lovely hospice and was taken to the local hospital . You we’re informed of where to collect her from when I contacted you there was only two things I requested from you that was the date of collection and date of cremation after three days I had heard nothing so telephoned too find out was told the cremation was provisionally booked for 1st December so asked what date will you collect her from hospital and was told normally two days before cremation … which was totally unacceptable it would have meant 26 days in the morgue for her before going into your care . After complaining she was collected after 16 days which is still to long . This caused a lot of needless distress for my family and I at a very sad time . When I phoned to find out if the cremation was going to take place on said date I was told that on the system I was down as not wanting to be told !!! Outrageous !!! . When I rang the day after the cremation (they were supposed to ring me) I was told it might have the scheduling manger would ring me back . Totally shocking service . my wife only chose you because she didn’t want any fuss for us. If only she knew . Minus 5 stars if I could .”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Mr Knott, I am truly sorry to hear about your experience which appears to have fallen far short of the service that my husband and I set out to deliver. I will personally investigate how your wife's arrangements were handled, by whom, and why our standards and processes for communication were not followed. Once I have completed my review I will contact you formally. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Cancelled my Scottish Friendly policy For no good reason and did not return call when promised.Problem currently being looked into but how can you trust them.Wish I used a reliable company.Policy always paid on time and running for nearly 2years,What happens now”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Daphne, I will be investigating this mattter for you urgently. While Scottish Friendly administer the policy we want to ensure that this is done correctly for all of our Over 50's plan holders so they can receive the service they have signed up for. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“The people on the end of the phone were nice enough, but the service was shocking. I would never use them for a loved one again or even recommended them to anyone else.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Teresa, I have reviewed the arrangements and agree that the level of communication did not meet our required standard and additional training has already been put into place to address this. We have also restored our system of a named case manager to provide a consistent point of contact for the bereaved. I am very sorry that you did not have the key updates that were promised, which are usually a hallmark of our service. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Apart from you wanting money up front before you do anything ( I now know why because no one would pay for this service after) you never once did what you said you would do, communication was zero, we kept phoning you to find out what was going on, you kept saying that you were waiting for documents to come back from the hospital but the hospital phoned us and asked us what was going on and apparently they had not even been informed by yourselves that you were handling everything, when you told us you would phone back you didn’t, my last phone call to you was 2 days before the cremation date as we did not know if it was going to take place or not on the date you said, I was told I was on the list to phone later that day, but was all going ahead and that you would phone us after the cremation normally the next day or the one after just to let us know everything went ok, NOTHING, finally we heard from a man who told us he would bring the ashes back on Wednesday 24/11/2021 which he did. The only reason we used pure cremation was because my wife’s mother had no one left but us two and that we thought it would be really sad just to have 2 people at the funeral, I really wish now we had gone for a proper funeral service as I know we would have been looked after right from the start, we are both sorry we ever used you. It has made my wife quite ill and very sad.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Mr Holland, I am very sorry to read this account and have investigated how the team handled your mother's arrangements. I want to apologise for the standard of communication you received, which did indeed fall short of the standards that we expect our team to offer. I am sincerely sorry for the distress that this must have caused. While I am confident that we have addressed the root cause of these issues through our work to handle the extremely high volume of calls we are experiencing, I will take this opportunity to remind the team of the vital importance of excellent communication for every bereaved family. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

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