This document and a brochure describing the Services you have chosen, an Invoice, an Order Confirmation and any paperwork you acknowledge and sign, together set out the terms and conditions that govern the contract between you and Memoria Direct Cremation, a trading name of Memoria Funeral Plans Limited when providing funeral packages.
These terms and conditions apply to any order for goods and/or services entered into from 1st December 2024 onwards. If there is any inconsistency between these terms and conditions and any other documents referred to herein, the terms and conditions below will take precedence.
Introduction
- These terms and conditions (“Terms”) govern the agreement between Memoria Funeral Plans Limited (a company registered in England and Wales with company number 10119791 and registered office at the Pool House Bicester Road, Stratton Audley, Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, OX27 9BS ) (referred to here as the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) and all customers (referred to here as “Customer”, “Client”, “you” or “your”) interested in purchasing goods and/or services offered by us on our website (https://www.memoriafunerals.co.uk/) (the “Website”).
- As these Terms impose certain legal obligations on you, it is important that you read them carefully before proceeding with your order for Funeral Arrangements from us.
- By purchasing Services from us, whether online, over the phone, or through another method, you agree to be legally bound by these Terms. These Terms will be accessible on the Website, however the Terms will not be filed by us. Please download, save and/or print out a copy of these Terms for your records as we will not save a copy for you.
- If you have any questions about this contract or any order for Funeral Arrangements you have placed, including any notices or complaints, please contact us by:
- sending written correspondence via post to Memoria Funeral Plans Limited, The Pool House Bicester Road, Stratton Audley, Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, OX27 9BS10; or
- calling us on 0800 862 0150 (our telephone lines are open between Monday to Friday: 8:00am to 17:00pm). Please note, outside these hours, your call will be directed to an out-of-hours service team who may be able to assist or take a message.
- These Terms are subject to change by the Company at any time, without prior notice to you. We will make commercially reasonable efforts to include notices of any such updates or modifications on the Website. Any changes that are made to these Terms will not apply retrospectively and will not apply to a dispute or event occurring before the change is published.
Definitions
- The following definitions and rules of interpretation apply to these Terms.
“Agreement” means the contract between the Client and us to provide the Funeral Arrangements as set out in these Terms and all other documentation related thereto.
“Cancellation Notice” has the meaning given in clause 8.1.
“Collection Point” means the place notified by us to you as the place from which the Deceased is to be collected.
“Deceased” means the individual who has passed away.
“Deposit” means a part payment of the Price to be paid by the Client when they accept the Quote prior to any Funeral Arrangements being arranged.
“Funeral Arrangements” means all actions, consultations and other assistance taken by the Company covering the entire range of the agreed Services for the funeral provision in accordance with the Agreement between us and the Client.
“Funeral Date” means the date upon which the agreed Services are to be provided.
“Invoice” means the document recording the full Price of the Funeral Arrangements requested by the Client.
“Order Confirmation” means the document confirming the Funeral Arrangements, and information about the Deceased and the Client, and lists the Services required by the Client.
“Packages” means different sets of Funeral Arrangements offered on our Website for a particular cremation or burial.
“Price” means the total cost of the Funeral Arrangements and the Services agreed between us and the Client.
“Quote” means documentation confirming the Price of the Funeral Arrangements and the Services requested by the Client.
“Services” means any of the goods and/or services offered on our Website that we have agreed to provide to you in accordance with the Agreement including all additional goods, products and services required by the Client that are not offered on our Website (if applicable).
“Third Party” means any individual or organization involved in the funeral process and providing any Services requested by you and agreed in the Quote and in the Order Confirmation in accordance with the Agreement.
“Terms” means these terms and conditions as amended from time to time.
“UK” means United Kingdom.
“VAT”: value added tax or any equivalent tax chargeable in the UK.
Clauses and paragraph headings shall not affect the interpretation of these Terms.
Funeral Arrangements and Services
- The Company is an online funeral plan provider and funeral director solely providing Services in England, Scotland, and Wales.
- The Company offers you different types of Packages so you can choose which one satisfies your demands and needs. Please note that all images of goods and/or Packages on our Website are for illustrative purposes only.
- When you appoint us to arrange Services, you will be provided with your own personal funeral arranger who will ensure your requirements are met and the Services you have chosen are carried out to your exact wishes.
- We may provide the Services you have chosen ourselves or instruct a Third Party on your behalf to carry out the Services.
- By placing an order for Funeral Arrangements and entering into an Agreement, you state and confirm that:-
- You are over 18 years old and have authority to make the Funeral Arrangements for the cremation or burial of the Deceased;
- You are responsible for all payments for the Funeral Arrangements we have agreed;
- You are responsible for registering the death of the Deceased in the district where the death has occurred; and
- You are not aware of any disagreement relating to the Funeral Arrangements being provided for the Deceased.
- Please note, we have no means of independently verifying who has the legal right to arrange a particular funeral and we will therefore contract with the person that purports to have the authority to make the Funeral Arrangements by virtue of being the next of kin, an executor of the estate or that they are acting on the instructions of those persons. Throughout these Terms this person is the Client.
- If there’s any claim made against us as a result of you not having authority to enter into these Terms for Funeral Arrangements being provided then the Client shall be responsible to us, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, for any losses, expenses or costs that we suffer as a result. Any such payment to be made within 30 calendar days of our request.
Ordering Services from us
- Below, we set out how a legally binding contract between you and us is made.
- If you are under the age of 18 you may not buy goods and/or Services from us.
- You can register your interest and place an order with us by sending an e-mail to info@memoriadirectcremation.co.uk or phoning 0800 862 0150 (our telephone lines are open Monday to Friday: 8:00am to 17:00pm). Please note, outside these hours, your call will be directed to an out-of-hours service team who may be able to assist or take a message.
- As soon as you confirm to us your intent to place an order for Funeral Arrangements, we will send you an e-mail (to the e-mail address you have provided to us when registering your interest) which will include the Quote and set out all the details and Price of the chosen Services.
- The e-mail acknowledgement does not, however, mean that your order for Funeral Arrangements has been accepted by us. We may contact you to say that we do not accept your order for Funeral Arrangements. This is typically for the following reasons:
- we cannot carry out the Services (this may be because, for example, we have a shortage of staff);
- you are not allowed to buy the goods and/or Services from us;
- we are not allowed to sell the goods and/or Services to you (for example, because you are underage to buy the requested Services); and/or
- there has been a mistake on the Price and/or description of the goods and/or Services.
- A Quote is deemed to be accepted when you either make a payment in full or pay the appropriate Deposit, upon which you will then receive the Company’s brochure describing the Services you have chosen, an Invoice and an Order Confirmation. At this point a legally binding contract will be in place between you and us for the Services as agreed during the order process.
- Until you have made payment in full for Funeral Arrangements or paid the relevant Deposit payment, all information with respect to date and time are estimates only and cannot be guaranteed.
- Our obligation to provide the Services at the date and time you have requested will only be confirmed when we have received your payment in full. We will not begin any part of the Funeral Arrangements until full payment is received from you.
- The Funeral Arrangements will be provided by us as detailed in the Quote and in the Order Confirmation that confirms what Services are included. Any subsequent purchase of additional Services are not included in the provision of these Terms.
- Our carrying out of the Services might be affected by an Event Outside our Reasonable Control (as defined below), including events where we are unable to fulfil our obligations to you on the date or time specified. If so, there might be a delay before we can start or restart the Services, having made reasonable efforts to limit the effect of any of those events and having kept you informed of the circumstances, but we will try to start or restart the Services as soon as those events have been fixed. Where this is the case, we will attempt to contact you in advance, using the details provided, and advise you of alternatives (if any).
- Please be aware if any changes are made to the Services before or at the Funeral Date, further charges may apply.
Price
- Prices of all goods and/or Services we offer are calculated by the Company and are specified to you when you place an order for Services with us.
- The cost of the Packages we offer does not cover the costs of repatriation.
- You agree that you are responsible for paying the order for Funeral Arrangements when such payment falls due as specified on the Invoice, before, and irrespective of the receipt of any sums due from any third party, including but not limited to any government contribution.
- If we are unable to collect any payment you owe to us we may charge you for any reasonable costs and expenses incurred by us as a result of your failure or delay to pay for the order of Funeral Arrangements as and when the payment falls due.
- Payment can either be made in full within five (5) calendar days from the day upon which the Client has received the Quote, or before we start the Funeral Arrangements.
- If the Client has paid and there is an outstanding balance this must be paid at least five (5) calendar days before the Funeral Date. The outstanding balance is the total amount due.
- In cases where Third Parties such as with Ministers, Cemeteries, Crematoria, Organists etc. are involved in the Funeral Arrangements, the Third Parties charge us directly for their services, and we then charge these costs to you as part of the Price.
- We will charge you separately for additional expenses that we incur if you request Services that are not included in the Quote and in the Order Confirmation. Such disbursements paid for on your behalf will be charged at cost plus VAT (if applicable). By entering into the Agreement you authorise the Company to incur such disbursements as it considers necessary to comply with the wishes and instructions you provided to us.
- As at the date of these Terms, some aspects of Funeral Arrangements do not incur VAT. However, if VAT or any other form of tax becomes chargeable on Funeral Arrangements or any part of it, you will be responsible for the payment of VAT or any other form of tax. If the rate of VAT changes between your Order Confirmation date and the date we supply the Funeral Arrangements, we may adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.
Payment
- We accept payment via bank transfer, cheques and/or credit cards and debit cards including Visa, Mastercard and American Express. We do not accept cash or any other method of payment.
- We will do all that we reasonably can to ensure that all of the information you give us when paying for the Funeral Arrangements is secure by using an encrypted secure payment mechanism. However, in the absence of negligence on our part, any failure by us to comply with this contract or our Privacy Policy or breach by us of our duties under applicable laws, we will not be legally responsible to you for any loss that you may suffer if a third party gains unauthorised access to any information that you give to us.
- Your credit card or debit card will only be charged when you decide to proceed with the order for Funeral Arrangements. All payments by credit card or debit card need to be authorised by the relevant card issuer.
- Nothing in this clause affects your legal rights to cancel the contract during the cancellation period as set out in clause 8.
- All prices are in pounds sterling (£)(GBP) and include VAT where applicable at the applicable rate.
Additional Requirements
- The Company, is usually, unaware of the size of the Deceased at the time the Funeral Arrangements are being arranged. The Price quoted, and availability of the Services assumes that the size of the Deceased falls below certain reasonable limits (the height of the Deceased is less than 196cm and width of less than 60cm). Once known, we will take account of the size of the Deceased as there are maximum sizes for each coffin and casket, for each hearse, for each grave and for each crematorium. An additional charge may therefore apply if the Deceased falls outside the above dimensions.
- To conform to the Manual Handling Regulations 1992 a risk assessment is carried out before each movement of the coffin. Where this indicates there is or could be an unacceptable and/ or avoidable risk, then either the coffin will be moved on a wheeled bier or arrangement for additional staff may be required, or both. Where the size exceeds any of the limits, we may, at our absolute discretion, authorise provision of additional staff, transport and equipment and changes may be made to the type of coffin/casket (or method of construction), crematorium, cemetery or to any other part of the Services and any additional costs involved in these changes are payable by you within five (5) working days of a request by the Company.
- Removal of pacemaker, prosthetic/artificial limbs, or other non-human items, from the Deceased, may incur additional costs. We will inform you of these additional costs as soon as reasonably possible and payment of such costs are payable as specified on the Invoice.
- To avoid the risk of loss or damage to any clothing, jewellery, valuables, money, or other personal items of the Deceased, we advise that any such items are removed before any collection by us is arranged. If you decide to leave any items with the Deceased, you will be doing so at your own risk and responsibility.
- The Company is not responsible for the safekeeping and does not accept any liability in the event of loss or damage to the personal items including those that may belong to any other person.
- Where reasonably possible, we will let you know what personal items are with the Deceased and facilitate a collection by you or arrange a personal courier service subject to an additional fee. If personal items remain uncollected after 90 calendar days of the funeral, we will dispose of the personal items and we will not be responsible for any personal items.
- If requested as part of the Funeral Arrangements, we will collect the ashes of the Deceased following cremation and store these for a period of up to six (6) weeks from the date of cremation. If you have not collected the ashes during this time, we will contact you to arrange collection or delivery.
- Delivery of ashes to a specified location can be arranged subject to a payment of an additional fee. Ashes delivered in this manner will be made within 28 working days from the date of cremation and delivery will require a signature on delivery.
Cancellation & Changes
- You have the right to cancel your contract with us without giving any reason by submitting a Cancellation Notice to us using our contact details referred to above. However, for some goods you do not have the right to cancel or you may lose the right to cancel in certain circumstances. This is further explained in clause 8.3 below.
- We will write to you to acknowledge receipt of your Cancellation Notice as soon as possible.
- You do not have the right to cancel:-
- on the Funeral Date or if you requested for us to start providing Funeral Arrangements and/or the Funeral Arrangements are fully performed (i.e. the work is completed);
- in respect of following goods and will not be entitled to a refund unless such goods are faulty:
- goods that are made to your specifications or which are clearly personalised;
- goods which become inseparably mixed with other items after delivery (e.g. jewellery; and
- personalised goods including order of service, floral arrangements, personalised coffins and/or casket, jewellery and keepsake jewellery.
- We may cancel our contract with you at any time and do not have any further obligation to provide the Services by giving you 14 calendar days written notice if you:
- have not paid for the Services in full not less than seven (7) calendar days before the Funeral Arrangements; or
- have not provided any information we have requested to enable us to provide the Services; or
- you breach this Agreement in any other serious way and you fail to remedy such breach within seven (7) calendar days of us notifying you of the breach or do not correct the situation within seven (7) calendar days of us asking you to do so in writing, or by email.
- If the Funeral Arrangements becomes impossible to perform because of Events Outside our Reasonable Control (as defined below), we may cancel or suspend these Terms or the part of it that is impossible to perform by giving notice to you in writing or by email.
- If you wish to make a change to the Funeral Arrangements you have ordered please contact us using the contact details above whereupon we will let you know as soon as possible if the change is possible. If it is possible we will let you know about any additional fees including changes to the Price, the timing of supply or anything else which would be necessary as a result of your requested change and request for you to confirm whether you wish to go ahead with the change. If we cannot make the change or the consequences of making the change are unacceptable to you, you may be able to cancel the contract in accordance with these Terms.
- We may need to implement minor adjustments and improvements in the Services you have chosen without your consent if the total Price for the Funeral Arrangements we have agreed to provide remains the same.
Effects of cancellation
- If you cancel your contract with us, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you unless you requested for us to start providing the Services, in which case you must pay us:
- £300.00 if we have collected the Deceased from the Collection Point and you have not made any other Funeral Arrangements with us;
- for the Services we have provided up to the time the Cancellation Notice is received, which will be an amount in proportion to the Services performed up to that point in comparison with the full Price under these Terms; and/or
- the full Price under these Terms, if you lost your right to cancel this contract because the Services were fully performed (i.e. the work was completed).
- We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and no later than 14 calendar days after the day on which we receive your Cancellation Notice.
- We will make the reimbursement using the same method of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
- Once these Terms are cancelled, we will have no further obligation to fulfil any Services for you.
Personal Information, Data Protection and Confidentiality
- Our Privacy Policy is available at Privacy Policy – Memoria Direct Cremation (https://memoriadirectcremation.co.uk/privacy-policy/).
- Your privacy and personal information are important to us. Any personal information that you provide to us will be dealt with in line with our Privacy Policy, which explains what personal information we collect from you, how and why we collect, store, use and share such information, your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us and supervisory authorities if you have a query or complaint about the use of your personal information.
- We will not give your information to any third party except to provide such information to a Third Party who provides Services in accordance with these Terms and/or as required to do so by law or regulation. All third parties that process your personal data on our behalf are subject to contractual obligations to comply with data protection laws and ensure data security.
- You must not knowingly provide us with incorrect information. If you do, we reserve our right to cancel this Agreement and return your payments (including any deposit, less any costs incurred by us as described in clause 9).
Limitation on our liability
- Except for any legal responsibility that we cannot exclude in law (such as for death or personal injury) or arising under applicable laws relating to the protection of your personal information, we are not legally responsible for any:
- losses that were not foreseeable to you and us when the contract was formed;
- losses that were not caused by any breach on our part;
- business losses; or
- losses to non-consumers.
Event Outside our Reasonable Control means an event or sequence of events beyond a party’s reasonable control preventing or delaying it from performing its obligations under this these Terms including without limitation strikes, lock-outs, labour disputes, acts of God, natural disasters, war, riots, civil commotion, malicious damage, imposition of sanctions, embargo, law, governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, local authority measures, accident, fire, explosion, building collapse, flood, drought, storm, pandemic or epidemic, nuclear or chemical or biological contamination, terrorism.
- Subject to clause 11.1, neither party shall have any liability for any failure or delay in performance of these Terms to the extent the same results from an Event Outside our Reasonable Control. The party affected by such an Event Outside our Reasonable Control shall promptly notify the other party in writing when such Event Outside our Reasonable Control causes a delay or failure in performance and when it ceases to do so. If the Event Outside our Reasonable Control continues for a continuous period of more than three months, either party may terminate these Terms by written notice to the other party.
Responsibility
- We are only responsible for those parts of the Funeral Arrangements that we perform ourselves. We make all other necessary arrangements with Third Parties, such as with Ministers, Cemeteries, Crematoria, Organists etc., on behalf of Clients. By agreeing to these Terms, you authorise us to engage any Third Party on your behalf, that are required to provide the Services as per the Funeral Arrangements you have ordered and paid for. Accordingly, the Third Parties involved (and not us) is responsible to the Client for the provision of those Services.
- We will have no liability for any Services delivered by any Third Party.
- Please note that the Company will not under any circumstances be liable to the Client for any losses, claims or requirements of whatever nature caused by the acts, omissions, or failure of any Third Party.
- You shall be responsible to us for all losses, costs, expenses and liabilities we may incur (directly or indirectly including financing costs and including legal costs on a full indemnity basis) caused by any breach by you of any of your obligations under these Terms an/or the Agreement.
- To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the maximum aggregate liability of us to the Client, for any direct or indirect losses arising out of one or a series of linked events or omissions shall be limited to the Price of the Funeral Arrangements we provided you under the Agreement between us.
- If we are providing Services to the specification that you provide to us and/or making or supplying goods including but not limited to coffins, caskets, grave markers and/or memorial stones and bespoke flower arrangements, using measurements you provide to us, you are responsible for making sure these specifications and/or measurements are correct. Please contact us if you have any questions in relation to this.
- You must ensure that any images provided to us for any services and/or goods are of a good quality. We are not responsible for poor print quality of an image where the image provided to us was of poor quality.
- You will remain responsible for the clothing and accessories for the Deceased and we do not accept any responsibility to ensure the items fit the Deceased.
Complaints and Disputes
- We will try to resolve any disputes with you quickly and efficiently. If you are unhappy with the services we have provided or any other matter, please contact us as soon as possible using the contact details set out on our website (https://https://memoriadirectcremation.co.uk/complaints).
- The laws of England and Wales apply to these Terms and any disputes will be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
Third Party Rights
- Unless it expressly states otherwise, no one other than a party to this contract or a party referred to herein has any right to enforce any term of this contract.
General terms
- These Terms constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes and extinguishes all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter.
- Anything which is not documented in writing in these Terms will not be effective. If there is any ambiguity between these Terms and other documents related to the Funeral Arrangements, the terms set out in these Terms take precedence over the others.
- If any provision or part-provision of these Terms are or become invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed deleted, but that shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of this agreement.
- Any failure to exercise or delay in enforcing our rights (such as our right to cancel these Terms in the event of unpaid instalments), will not restrict our rights to do so, and a waiver of any such rights or of any breach of any term will not be deemed to be a waiver of any other right or any other later breach.
- If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking these Terms, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things, and it will not prevent us taking steps against you later.
- No waiver by us of any breach of the conditions by you shall be considered as a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same of any other condition.
- If more than one person is jointly instructing us, each of you will be jointly and severally liable to perform your obligations under these Terms.
