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

“The communication was poor. One person said there way no green slip left a message by voicemail my loved one was due to be collected so I was panicking rang them straight back and they apologise and said they have it. Was miss communication 2 weeks went by and I had Hurd nothing about ashes being delivered so I called them for them to apologise to me again and say they are due to be delivered the next day they said someone should have called but no one ever. Did finally got the ashes back”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Please accept our condolences for your loss, and we are sorry to learn of your experience. This has been passed onto our Management team, they will investigate and a manager will be in touch tomorrow. Kind regards, Chloe

Posted 2 years ago

“My initial contact with Pure Cremation seemed promising, the staff were very respectful and kind to speak to. However I felt there was a huge lack of communication in terms of letting me know how the process of getting my Dad cremated was going. I constantly had to be the one to phone and chase up/try to hurry along the process. I was hardly ever called back when I was told I would be given an update. When I called I would be on hold for quite a while listening to the most depressing funeral march type hold music. When I'd get through, although the staff where kind and trying to be helpful I was often told they couldn't not help with letting me know how things were going/answer my questions as my assigned 'case worker' would need to, but she was always busy or not at work/on holiday. I'd have to call multiple time to get a call back from her, this process really took its toll on me as I'd have to be taking these calls whilst at work in a office full of people or whilst caring for my young children when its hard enough to answer the phone let alone talk about sensitive issues. Right to the last minute I felt communication lacked, my final contact after asking if the Ashes could be delivered to my Auntie was an email to say it was 'probably ok'. Again I had to call the following day to confirm this, its not like its a box of chocolates being delivered so I felt a more definite answer was needed. I never got any contact to confirm the delivery had happened, but obviously by this point I could contact my Auntie to ask her. I think most my stress was caused by it not being made clear just how long the process would take and how long between cremation happening and the hand delivery was. It was all delayed a bit as my Dad was with a coroner but the whole process still took far longer than I had expected after that, and it wasn't until late on in the process I thought I better check how long until ashes get delivered after cremation. I had naively thought a couple of days but thought I'd better double check (we wanted to plan a family ashes ceremony) after searching the pure cremation website I found out it was much longer, up to 21 days. In the end I paid the extra £150 to have them delivered within 7 days, but even that might not have happened in time if I hadn't contacted them after my Dads cremation date (I rang 7 days before we had booked the ceremony), again I had been told I would be called to organise this in plenty of time but no-one rang me. I had thought I was coping with my Fathers sudden death relatively well but I must say dealing with Pure Cremation the last month, especially the last 3 weeks once the coroner was finished have really taken their toll on me and I would never recommend Pure Cremation to anyone else. To their credit the staff were kind and respectful when I did speak to them and I don't doubt my Dad was treated respectfully but I think the office must be under staffed or the structure needs to change so its not so dependant on one assigned person (who was then on holiday/catching up from being on holiday) right when I really needed good communication. Plus please change your on hold music, I can't imagine anything you could pick that would be less depressing to sit listening to nearly every day multiple times as I tried to contact you. The one thing I hope you take on board most is PLEASE tell people the 21 day delivery timescale from the start, and mention it multiple times after...I was in shock the first time I contacted you so I think this needs to be made clear multiple times, it was the main reason it all became so stressful and time critical for me.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Please accept our condolences for your loss and our apologies for this account. We have passed your comments onto our Senior Management Team and someone will reach out to you tomorrow. Kind regards, Chloe

Posted 2 years ago

“Although initially I thought the service received was good, I later found I had cause to complain and, when I did, I didn't even receive an acknowledgement of my complaint, let alone a response!”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Dear Sir/Madam, We cannot see any details of a complaint relating to this record. Could you please contact us directly at customercare@purecremation.co.uk or on 0800 033 7737 Monday to Friday 08:00 - 18:00, Saturday 09:00 - 17:00 so we can clarify the detail and investigate your complaint fully? Kind regards, Mia

Posted 2 years ago

“When my husband passed away I thought pure Cremation would be there to help! After I informed them of the death of my husband I felt reassured things would run smoothly how wrong was I.. I had to phone to find out when my husband would be collected it took two weeks and quite a few phone calls before this happened. I was promised phone calls to keep me updated but these never came I was so stressed that I had to get my sister to continue to speak to them they always apologised and said another department/ person should have called me with the information even one day my sister was speaking to someone on one line only for another person to call and apologise to me saying they would be collecting my husband the following day when my sister had just been told he had been collected and in their care! Which he was. I don’t think the communication between their staff is good. If it wasn’t for my sister taking control I could not have coped, when you are grieving the last thing you need is incompetence, my husband arranged this thinking it would be less stressful for me if only he knew! … four weeks on I now have my husband home..”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Dear Ms Hill, We are very sorry to hear that you were not happy with the communication from our staff. We have a carefully considered programme of communication that every team member is expected to follow, and we acknowledge that this was not followed perfectly. We have identified learning points that will be addressed within the team to remind staff of the importance of their role in supporting the bereaved. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 2 years ago

“We did use this service in August and was very good but sadly I used it again and was not very good that time”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Dear Jennifer, Thank you for your comments. We have looked at the detailed notes and can see that it did take longer than we all would have liked to carry out your loved one’s cremation and we are sincerely sorry if this caused distress. I can see that our staff were in regular contact with you throughout and that the ashes return was expedited to ensure that our care was completed within our usual timescales. We hope that having the ashes safely back with you has brought a measure of comfort. Kind regards, Chloe

Posted 2 years ago

“I don’t think they know the meaning of dignity in death as every time we get a day for the commital i get another phone call and tell me it is not happening, Then you get another day i don’t think having a loved one in the mortuary for 3 weeks is acceptable”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for making us aware of your concerns in relation to your loved one’s arrangements with us. Please contact us on either 0800 033 7737 or info@purecremation.co.uk so that we can look into this for you. Whilst we make every reasonable effort to achieve the provisional cremation date, we rely heavily on you and other third parties to provide the necessary information and documentation that is legally required for the cremation to take place. This is regularly reviewed taking into account all these factors, and we ensure this important information is communicated with families accordingly. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 2 years ago

“At such an emotional time I could've done without any additional stress. I was given a confirmed cremation date which then had to be re-arranged due to an issue with medical papers from the hospital. Pure Cremation did apologise admitting that this should not have happened, the apology was welcomed, but for me the emotional aspect of this was too great. I won't go into full details of my experience with Pure Cremation, but my overall feeling is that I had to do a lot of the communication/chasing up which I could well have done without. On a positive note, I will say that the people I spoke with were always very respectful & pleasant. After receiving my father's ashes, my feeling is that the container is fine if you want to scatter or bury the ashes, but if this is something you'd like to keep, the container is not very aesthetically pleasing - I wish I'd been made aware of that at the beginning.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for your review, I understand that one of our Senior Managers has been in contact to discuss your concerns. We are eager to investigate your comments further as this is not the high standard of service, we set out to achieve. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“I asked for onl a small pouch of my father's ashes to be delivered. The delivery was made while I was at work, I returned home to find that all my f his ashes had been delivered (something which I had stated I did not feel comfortable with). Very upsetting. Other than that, good service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Charlie, I am very sorry to hear that we have not followed the special instructions that you provided us. I am sorry for the unnecessary distress that this has caused you. I will ask Rebecca to contact you to see if we can rectify our error and deliver the service to you that we promised. Kind regards, Olivia

Posted 3 years ago

“Initially very good. Staff were helpful and very supportive. First problem started when we were under the impression givem by staff over the phone we would be contacted on the day of cremation that it had been done. We waited and nobody rang. The ashes were then sent to the wrong address. On both occasions we had gathered as a family and were totally let down to morn our loss. The guy that tried to deliver the ashes did go out of his way to deliver them to the right address a couple of days later. As a result I would not recommend this company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Christopher, We are eager to investigate your comments further as this is not the standard of service we set out to achieve. We can be contacted directly at customercare@purecremation.co.uk where a member of our senior management team will carry out a full investigation. Please include the full name of your loved one and their plan number or date of birth. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“The delivery of my father's remains was unacceptably late and clumsy. The rest of the service was fine.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for your positive comments. We are very sorry that the ashes return was later than the 21 days that we promise - this is being looked at to understand what happened and to ensure this does not happen in the future. We will speak with the relevant staff member about your experience and ask how we can support them to deliver excellent care for every family. Kind regards, Mia

Posted 3 years ago

“My father passed away on the 3rd December and although I understand delays due to Christmas, we were told that we would receive the ashes by the 21st Jan at the latest. I was also told someone would contact me to arrange delivery and this could be sooner than the 21st. This seems already like an long time, but then by the 20th Jan I hadn't heard anything. I emailed and received a reply saying I should hear from them within 48 hours. I replied back to say I was told the ashes would be with me by the 21st at the latest. Then I was told there was a delay and they would now be delivering on the 24th Jan and someone would contact me on the 21st to arrange this. I did not receive a call, so called again them on the 21st and they then told me someone would contact me on the 24th now. On the 24th they delivered the ashes to my address, instead of my mother's where they were supposed to be going. Would not use again, caused stress at an already stressful time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Andy, I am very sorry to hear that our team fell short of our usual excellent standards of communication. I will pass this to the Managing Director of the immediate care department so this can be investigated. You will receive a call to discuss your experience and to offer a sincere apology. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“I sent the comments below as an email on the 2nd of January and no one responded and when I rang I was told someone will call me back ........I am still waiting, after you read this you can make your own mind up what to think. I am writing this to express how I found their service dealing with my father-in-law. Approximately six months ago my both my in-laws took out a package with Pure cremation. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 86 leaving his 81-year-old wife heartbroken and unable to organize the things needed to be done, I, therefore, took over the proceedings. At first, when I first reported his passing, I was greeted by some understanding people with empathy. I then had a conversation with a gentleman who informed me that he was dealing with my father-in-law and that if I needed anything to either call to speak to him or email and he would respond. This was the first and last time that I spoke to him as I emailed him on the 3rd of November and to be honest, I am still waiting for a response. Every time I called, I got somebody different as he never returned my calls. This, to be honest, made me become disheartened about the service that I could be about to receive, more so as I have never had to organize anything like this before. I then had a call from a lady who said she was now dealing with the cremation. At first, the communication was ok but then she was unavailable to answer the calls so I found myself repeating it over and over again to a different person every time as she was never available. She also never responded to my emails either. I was receiving calls from the Department of Working Pensions as we applied for the funeral support fund because they never responded to their calls either so I had to ask for a copy of the invoice so that I could forward this on if they contacted myself again in regards to the final balance. The final thing that happened was when we found out that we were not eligible for the funeral support fund and she called to pay the balance. We had already had an invoice for the final payment, however, she was given a different figure which was over £100 more than the invoice. Then no less than 3 hours later the price had changed again to £65 which was still more than that of the invoice. I called in to discuss this and was told that this was the figure and they don't know how it had changed. Eventually, at the end of the day, I received a call from finance to say that there was an error on their part and their amount was wrong. She could not explain to me why there were 2 different amounts but a refund will be issued. Everyone was always sorry, which is fine to say sorry but, in my eyes, actions speak louder than words. Surely in this business, there is no space for error. These times are emotional enough all around but having to make constant phone calls was very frustrating. Their communication is inadequate and unacceptable for their line of business speaking to a different person each time you call and having to go over all the details again and again and then the fact that you dared to change the price but were unable to explain why this happened, things like this do not happen on their own. My mother-in-law has a funeral package and to be honest, I am not looking forward to going through this whole process again when she passes, they definitely need to improve their lines of communication!!!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Paula, I am very sorry to hear about your experience which I will be investigating as a matter of urgency as this account of the care you received falls far short of that we expect our team to deliver. You will receive a personal response from me in addition to this. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“My sister wanted a no fuss cremation, but for those of us left behind it was anything but. My sister passed on Monday 25th October PC's (Pure Cremation) van broke down on way to collection. PC made arrangements for my sisters body to be collected and taken to a local undertaker until PC could collect. After 4 days still with local undertaker. Eventually collected on 5th day following phone call to PC. Cremation date given as 16th November but following a phone call told it took place on 17th, but according to the paperwork it did take place on 16th. Arrangements made for ashes to be returned on December 3rd am but no show, further phone call to PC rearranged for return of ashes on 7th which went ahead. I would not recommend PC to anyone unless they were able to give me a face to face review of having a more positive and far less stressful experience.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Ms Baulcomb, I am very sorry to hear that the administration of your sister's funeral arrangements was not conducted seamlessly, nor with the excellent communication that we expect from our staff. Please be assured that I will investigate this fully and you will receive a formal response shortly. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Don’t like to complain but you asked for comments! Things didn’t get off to a good start when awaiting collection of my aunt’s body from her care home. Planned collection time passed and when both the home and myself rang to speak to your team no one answered and the message box cut us off! Not a comforting start on an emotional day. Further communication through the process was impersonal and many emails looking for confirmation along the way went unanswered. I hoped your service was going to be smooth and reflective of our modern times and had planned to sign myself and my partner up for the future. Unfortunately that now won’t be happening.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Mr Rose we are sorry to hear about your experience as this does not meet our usual standard of care. We did experience issues with our telephone system provider which has now been changed. I will personally look into the time taken to reach the care home, and while I am aware that this was one of the most challenging periods that we have experienced during the year we insist on good communication as part of our care and I am keen to understand why our process was not followed. Each customer receives specific and personalised written communication which is standardised for consistency. I am sorry that you felt this was impersonal. I hope that the safe delivery of your aunt's ashes has given comfort. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Very lovely people under till you pay than went back of the line”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Mr Rigg, we are sorry to see this comment. Looking at the extensive notes I can see that after overcoming numerous issues that could have delayed the committal, the cremation took place as originally planned at a crematorium of your choice, which you attended. This is usually all the confirmation that a family requires. In these circumstances, we do not usually make a separate call to say that the cremation has been completed and nor does any other venue. We will revisit our communication about this to avoid any confusion in the future. I do agree that it took too long to arrange the return of your loved one's ashes and apologise for this. I can see from the records that this has now been completed, which I hope has brought you comfort. Kind regards Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Poor to no communication I had to do all the chasing up on collection of relatives body and ashes . Ashes was a lot later than they said and at this time theses are things you don’t want to do.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Amanda, I am very sorry to hear that our communication with you did not meet the standards that we all expect and that the return of your father's ashes took longer than the 21 days post-cremation that we aim for. At the time we were experiencing a very high demand that truly tested our staff and systems, and while our team worked hard to protect our families, I am sincerely sorry that this impacted you. It is always painful to hear about arrangements where we could have done better, that's why we take all feedback very seriously, using it to identify the lessons we need to learn so we can continue to deliver exceptional service. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Unfortunately the invoice had someone else's name on and then my sisters ashes were delivered to the wrong place.... the company were very apologetic and I think I would use again”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

A senior manager has made contact to apologise for the error in delivering your sister's ashes and I add my own apologies to hers. We have spoken with the operative concerned about the need to update our records when instructions change from those originally given and to announce himself clearly. We recognise how important it is to achieve the smooth and sensitive return of loved-ones' ashes and this is something that we are usually complimented on.

Posted 3 years ago

“Although very professional the 3 earns I requested were nothing like the ones shown on there website.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

We are sorry that your overall experience was overshadowed by the issue of the urns. The urn pictures we have on the website can be found in the FAQs section https://www.purecremation.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions and our staff have confirmed that the bluebell design wrapper (shown in the first image of the three) was used for your loved one's ashes. The container itself is identical in all three images and as this is the only container we use I am confused by your comment. A member of the team will call you to try to obtain more information as we are keen to respond positively to your feedback - if this is possible. Ashes Containers

Posted 3 years ago

“Phone calls from me to them when family member died: 1st phone call gave all my details. 2nd phone call I found out none of the first call had been recorded and I had to repeat everything. 3rd call (from them to me) they got the family members name wrong. 4th call asking why they had not called me to confirm creation had taken place as promised (over a week after cremation). 5th call discovered they had recorded the wrong address for the ashes to be delivered. Very polite staff (if you can get through on the phone) but clearly they have too many customers and can’t cope with the demand. Would not recommend.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Thank you for your comments. I apologise for the issues that you encountered as your experience does not match the level of care we believe you should have received. The team manager and I will be looking into the issues that you have raised to understand why this happened and what we need to do differently. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

“Staff member very unsuppotive”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Dear Sir/Madam, as you have posted this comment in reply to a review request issued by us as the service provider my team and I have looked at the case you are referring to. While we cannot see anything that might have led to this generalised comment we are keen to understand more. Unfortunately, your anger at our attempts to discuss this matter and your refusal to engage with us mean that we are still in the dark and can do no more to understand or address this extremely unusual feedback. Yours sincerely Catherine Powell

Posted 3 years ago

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