Pure Cremation Reviews

Name: Pure Cremation
Address: Charlton Park Crematorium Charlton Down, Charlton Park Crematorium Charlton Down, Hampshire
Rating: 4.83

4.8 Rating 4,766 Reviews

96 %

of reviewers recommend Pure Cremation

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0800 033 7737

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info@purecremation.co.uk

Location:

Charlton Park Crematorium Charlton Down,
Charlton Park Crematorium Charlton Down
Hampshire
SP11 0TA

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Pure Cremation 5 star review on 21st March 2025

114

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Rated 2 None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“On our first phone call with Pure Cremation, we felt confident that they were going to handle the passing of our Father in a sympathetic and profession way. We were told that we would be kept informed along every step of the way from collection to cremation. We were given a date initially for when our Father was going to be collected from the hospital, and that we would be informed after that, the date of cremation. On the date that we believed our Father was being collected from the hospital, after not receiving a phone call to confirm this, we decided to call to get confirmation that this had happened. However, to our utter disbelief, we were told that our Father had already been collected a week before, and the cremation was taking place that day. At this point, being later on in the afternoon, we were upset to think that we could have missed this very special day, where we had planned to be together as a family to say our goodbyes, a day of which we had been denied. This caused us all a lot of distress and upset, at an already devastating time. During the conversation, we were told that an email had been sent to us, confirming the date of collection and cremation. Unfortunately, this had gone into my spam folder of my email, and was not picked up. At the end of the email, it asked us to confirm and reply that we had received and read this important information, which of course we hadn’t, as we didn’t know it was there. With this being so important, why did they go ahead with the cremation, considering we hadn’t responded? We expected a courtesy telephone call, considering we hadn’t replied, which never happened. We sent an email of complaint, to only receive a reply that it is their current practice to inform relatives via email. This is an inadequate and impersonal way to deal with such a delicate and sensitive matter. To top everything off, 5 weeks after the cremation, our Mother received a letter from Pure Cremation, asking her if she is still interested in using their services. This was extremely insensitive and very unprofessional. Therefore, we would not recommend using Pure Cremation to handle the loss of any loved ones in your family.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Ms Powell, Thank you for your comments. I have looked into this case and firstly I wish to apologise for the fact that you did not receive a phone call as well as the email regarding the confirmation of your father's cremation date. We always give a provisional cremation date during the very first conversation about arrangements, based on our experience, unfortunately, I believe you mistook this for the collection date and, naturally, this impacted your expectations. We never try to estimate the day of collection as there are so many variables upon which this depends. That said, I recognise that your father's record should not have been marked as 'family informed' until we had received acknowledgement of the cremation date email or spoken to you by telephone. We see our mission as helping to make things easier for the bereaved, but this was not your experience - I add my sincere apologies to those sent at the time by the team manager. I hope it is of some comfort to hear that your father's collection, care and cremation were carried out to our usual high standards, with the dignity that he deserved. I can see that we arranged priority return of your father's ashes to demonstrate our desire to express our apology in a tangible and meaningful way. We are already looking carefully at the lessons we must learn: the most important is to ensure that no cremation proceeds until we are certain that the family has received the crucial information about the date booked and secondly that we continue our strenuous efforts to match records of previous enquiries with those of the bereaved to avoid the dispatch of any further marketing materials. With kindest regards, Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Initially very good when finding out more information about their services etc and were very helpful and comforting when organising the paperwork and everything that goes along with it. Unfortunately once the invoice was paid Pure Cremations did not contact me further with any updates. I had to email them multiple times to find out if my relatives body had been picked up. Then again had to contact them to find out if they’d been cremated. And again to find out when they would be coming home. I had hoped that some form of communication would have been instigated on their behalf to keep my family in the loop but unfortunately it was quite a distressing situation to be in. Most of the time when ringing I would be put on hold or told someone would ring back when they knew what was happening. This never happened and I only got answers when ringing multiple times myself. Knowing what I know now I don’t think I would use the service again. The people I did speak to were very understanding and polite/respectful but it did all seem a bit badly organised.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Thank you for your comments. I am pleased to hear that your initial contact with us went well, but I must acknowledge that the communication and overall management of the arrangements did not meet our usual standards for timeliness. I apologise for this and for the impact on your family. While January and February 2021 saw a record number of families turn to us, each should have felt as though they were the only family we are looking after. We have since recruited and trained additional staff and modified our case management so that each touchpoint and each stage of care is achieved within strict timescales. I am sincerely sorry that we did not meet our usual high standard of communication I will revisit this case to ensure that all lessons are learned. With kindest regards, Catherine Powell

Posted 4 years ago

“All Pure Cremation staff I spoke to over the phone were extremely polite, patient and sympathetic. However, there were mistakes made. I was telephoned the night before my father's cremation date, to inform me the contract paperwork had not been signed and which was then retracted during that same phone call, whereby shortly afterwards I received an email apologising that their system had not registered the documents and that this error would be raised with their IT department to ensure it never happens again. The email I received also referred to my father as 'my mum'. I then had to telephone Pure Cremation several times to chase up for the date of the delivery of my father's ashes. After I made several calls, a delivery date was agreed. I received no further communication back from Pure Cremation to confirm an eta for delivery; which resulted in me chasing up via further phone calls and waiting on tenterhooks all day, on the appointed date for delivery, for a call back from Pure Cremation to confirm what time my father's ashes would be delivered home to me. I was eventually called back at approx. 5pm by a lady called Harriet who apologised that the ashes delivery had not gone through the system correctly and so she herself delivered my father's ashes to me that evening and arrived approx. 7pm. Harriet deserves 5 stars as in my opinion, she went above and beyond to help rectify all the previous mistakes made. I've therefore only awarded 2 stars for the overall service which in my experience, was poor.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Dear Ellita, I am very sorry to hear of these issues which will be the subject of a thorough review. I offer my sincere apologies, as owner and co-founder, for the distress and frustration that resulted. I want to assure you that we are taking this matter seriously. Our staff all understand the responsibility we carry - reflected in Harriet's efforts to keep our promise to bring your father's ashes home to you on the date booked. Thank you for your kind and gracious words about this. I know that the team will be keen to help me candidly review, understand and swiftly address the issues that impacted your family's experience. With kindest regards, Catherine Powell

Posted 4 years ago

“The people were lovely, particularly Lucie. but I was charged £250 for 'quick pick up' of my fathers body which wasn't requested at all. also that 'quick pick up' took 4 days from the day I made contact to the day my father was collected. when phoned to question the added charge no one could tell me why! The chap who hand delivered the ashes of my father was also extremely lovely”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Dear Darren, thank you for your positive feedback and for the opportunity to review the record regarding the urgent collection charge. I can see that we had a very unusual combination of an urgent request from the hospice followed by a request for paperwork that could not be acquired for several days. I agree that this did not truly qualify as an urgent collection and so I propose to refund the urgent collection charge today. I am sorry that the person you spoke to about this didn't escalate the matter to someone with the authority to review and resolve it at the time. We will be briefing the team to ensure this doesn't happen again. Kind regards, Catherine Powell

Posted 4 years ago

“To begin with Pure Cremations were supportive and efficient. However the death certificate was delayed (due to COVID) and therefore we could not take their invoice to our deceased relative’s bank to be paid meaning that we were put under stress as her body would not be collected until payment was received. In the end we paid the invoice ourselves. Pure Cremations promised that they would keep us up to date and they did tell us when the body had arrived at their premises and also gave us a date for the actual cremation. However on that date no one got in touch to say it had been carried out so early evening I rang them & was told that it was still planned for that day. Once again nobody rang me to say it had been completed so the following day I rang at tea time and was told it had been done. I asked why we had not been informed as they had promised and there was no explanation but a grudging apology was given. I would not recommend them to anyone and nor will I be using them for my own direct cremation. Just because it was a direct cremation doesn’t mean that people don’t care about the deceased or that they aren’t grieving and I think that courtesy and attention to detail are still extremely important to relatives”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Dear Ms Bunce, I have reviewed this case and can see that the collection and cremation took place within our usual timescales and that the record shows we fulfilled your request to be informed of these events. The nature of our business means that we do not allocate a specific time for a cremation, which may take place late in the evening or even through the night during particularly busy periods, and families trust us to achieve this on the date given. Families choosing scattering rather than the return of the ashes would not usually receive any further communication, but this is something that I will look into. Kind regards Catherine Powell

Posted 4 years ago

“Disappointed and I’m still in the process. I had to chase them twice. I don’t know if it is the virus causing the lack of communication. Maybe you get a better experience if you spend more money and have an attended service. Note to owner; if you want to charge an extra £150 for a swift delivery of the ashes( presumably everyone would want them ASAP) just put it in the upfront price, it’s insensitive to be offered that after the event.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Dear Mr Sharp, I have looked into this as a matter of urgency. I can understand your disappointment as it has taken longer than we would have expected to book your loved one's cremation. I can see that we responded swiftly to bring your loved one into our care and promptly issued all of the documentation, however, it is also clear that we did not meet our usual high standards of communication in the period after this. I apologise sincerely for this. The unprecedented circumstances arising from Covid-19 have dramatically impacted both the demand for our service and the numbers of staff available to meet that demand. This has presented many challenges which required rapid review and revision of our systems plus recruiting and training additional staff to ensure that we can deliver excellent service to four times the usual number of families. I am very sorry that your loved one's arrangements were affected and would like to ensure that we can at least meet our usual service standard for the journey from initial instruction to hand delivery of the ashes. I will personally arrange for priority return of the ashes and will contact you to discuss this. Kindest regards Catherine Powell (Founder and Owner)

Posted 4 years ago

“At a difficult time my experience of pure cremation was not what I expected, from the initial phone call which sounded like the person who answered was in the pub it was so loud ( I have asked for the call to be listened too as you say all calls are recorded) I was told I would receive the paperwork to sign the next morning the only email I received was asking for payment, the invoice had the wrong name on. I called to pay the invoice and asked about the paperwork I had to sign, was told I would be sent all the necessary paperwork by email, this still never arrived so had to call again this was then sent whilst I was on the phone. I had to phone several times just to get a date for the cremation, every time I phoned felt like I was being an inconvenience, even when I picked the ashes up You got the name wrong, I don’t think it’s very professional just to hand the ashes over standing in the doorway of your office.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Dear Mr Quinn, I am sorry to hear about the issues that you experienced. The member of staff who dealt with your initial call and documentation is no longer with us as they did not meet our exacting standards. While I am satisfied that the arrangements progressed as quickly as possible, I am not happy that there were avoidable errors and apologise for the distress this caused. We usually book appointments for the collection of ashes from our busy offices so that we can ensure this is performed with dignity. I will look into this. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 4 years ago

“At an already difficult time, we had to follow up on documentation that we were promised would be sent out but wasn't, although this was thereafter rectified. In addition, we would have greatly appreciated being told that the body would be transported from the hospital to Pure Cremation's facilities in Newbury before then being transported to our crematorium of choice for cremation. We found out after the fact by accident and were somewhat distressed by this as we wouldn't have wanted our mother's body to be treated like so much haulage. No-one from Pure Cremation subsequently bothered to get in touch with us after we'd picked up the ashes from the crematorium. Sensitive follow up or 'closure' would have demonstrated a little more care. However, we appreciate that the service is very reasonably priced and does go a long way to meeting a need.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

I have reviewed the details of the service that you received and would like to make the following observations: your mother was a plan holder and purchased her Pure Cremation plan while living in County Durham, nearly 300 miles away from our office, and presumably had no qualms herself about travelling this distance after her death. You notified us of your mother's death on Saturday 26th January and all documentation was sent to you on Tuesday 29th. Because of your stated wish for swift completion of arrangements, we transferred your mother into our care at the earliest possible opportunity on February 1st and the cremation was completed on February 7th, just 9 working days from your first call. Unattended cremations usually take place at our own crematorium, a short distance away from our office, within 2-4 days of collecting the body and families can then choose to collect ashes from us or have priority delivery for a small extra charge. However, you opted instead for cremation at a venue more than 80 miles from our office. Nevertheless, I can assure you that our well-trained and compassionate staff would not dream of using the term "haulage" to describe how your mother was looked after. I am satisfied that my team was sensitive and responsive in the execution of the service that your mother had chosen. I note your comment about a courtesy call to families who opt to collect ashes from the crematorium themselves and will be happy to modify our customer care process accordingly.

Posted 6 years ago

“Ashes were delivered in a BOX, dented and damp. The scruffy driver didnt help either.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Thank you for your comments which we are looking into. We always aim to be very clear about the smart purple biodegradable box that ashes are placed into and this features in our brochure so that there are no surprises for bereaved families. We will ensure that an image of the box is also placed in the Help and Advice section of our website today. Our entire team is fully aware of the emotional significance of the ashes and trained to handle every set with care and respect. All are packed in a soft cotton bag and our procedures state that they should be secured within the van to prevent movement in transit. We will speak with the driver today to understand your observations about damage and dampness. We provide uniform to all of our drivers to ensure they are smartly presented and usually receive positive comments about this. We can see that the driver left our office at 6.57am on the day of delivery and arrived at your address 5.5 hours later, which may have been a factor. Please be assured we will look into this too.

Posted 6 years ago

“the lady was absolutely lovely and helpful but i didnt recieve the form i needed for the cremation so asked for another and that never came? so had to go through the traditional route which i didnt want.dissapointed”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Dear Julie, We are always disappointed to receive a negative review and have looked into the details of your interaction with us. I can assure you that all documents were sent by post on the 21st March to the address given because you were unable to print them out from email. On the 31st March we sent an email to confirm that hospital paperwork was complete and that we needed the green form issued to you by the Registrar in order to bring mum into our care. On the 11th April following numerous telephone conversations about your wishes, you finally revealed that you had not received the paperwork and your brother had made alternative arrangements. We are very aware that some families struggle to move things forward and so are careful not to make them feel under any additional pressure. However in future we will ask customers to acknowledge receipt of posted documents.

Posted 8 years ago

Pure Cremation is rated 4.8 based on 4,766 reviews