On 5 July 2022, Ready4Retirement ceased trading and effectively went bust and will therefore no longer be able to carry out Funeral Plans, Powers of Attorney, Trusts or Wills.
The Liquidation will affect you in different ways, depending on the type of product(s) you hold. The positions for each type of product have been summarised by the liquidators, as follows:
- Funeral Plans dated prior to 24 August 2020
Please note that Funeral Plans sold by Ready4Retirement Limited prior to 24 August 2020 ARE NOT AFFECTED by this announcement. Plans purchased before this date are held and administered by a different company, The Independent Family Funeral Directors Limited. Please therefore check the date of your plan. If you have any queries regarding your plan(s), please contact The Independent Family Funeral Directors Limited directly on 0800 121 8090, quoting your plan number(s).
If your relative has passed and they held this type of plan, please contact The Independent Family Funeral Directors Limited directly.
- Funeral Plans payable until age 90, dated after 24 August 2020
Your plan is backed with an insurance policy and this remains intact. Your funeral plan has been transferred to another provider, Low Cost Funeral Limited. Your direct debit payments have and will continue to be collected as normal (please check your bank account). Low Cost Funeral Limited issued a letter to all plan holders directly on 28 June 2022, setting out the basis for proceeding.
Should you not have received that letter, or wish to discuss the matter, please call Low Cost Funeral Limited directly on 0800 007 3604 or contact via email at prepaid@low-cost funeral.co.uk , quoting your plan number(s).
If your relative has passed and they held this type of plan, please contact Low Cost Funeral Limited directly.
- One-off payment, 12 month or 5 to 10 year Funeral Plans dated after 24 August 2020
Unfortunately, none of the money paid into these plans was invested in a client money account, nor backed with an insurance policy, and they were therefore terminated by the liquidation. The liquidators will investigate the reason(s) as to why this was the case and will report on this in due course.
Your direct debit payments were cancelled after the date of liquidation, 9 May 2022 (please check your bank account). As the company is in liquidation, we regret to advise that no refund can be made to you and you will therefore rank as an unsecured creditor of the company for the monies which you have paid for your plan.
In recognition of your loss, another provider, Low Cost Funeral Limited has offered £1,000 discount on any Personal or Celebration of Life Funeral plan. The offer is only valid until 28 July 2022 and details were set out in our (Joint Liquidators ) letter also dated 28 June 2022. In addition, Low Cost has offered to cover the full cost of your chosen funeral, fulfilled by them, should you pass away on or before 28 July 2022. This offer is kindly put in place to allow you time to consider your options, and plan your next steps ,but will not be extended beyond this deadline. Should you wish to discuss your options, or you have not received this letter, please call Low Cost Funeral Limited 0800 007 3661.
If your relative has passed and they held this type of plan, and you are reading this notice ON OR BEFORE 28 July 2022, then please contact Low Cost Funeral Limited directly.
If your relative has passed and they held this type of plan, and you are reading this notice AFTER 28 July 2022, then unfortunately we are unable to assist with funeral arrangements.
- Wills, Power of Attorney, Trusts
All original wills held on the company’s premises are in the process of being returned to customers. We are not aware of any other Power of Attorney or Trust documents being held by the company.
If you have paid for, but not completed the consultation, drafting, approving or signing of your Will, Power of Attorney or Trust, then we regret to advise that we are unable to provide this product and no refund can be made to you. You will therefore rank as an unsecured creditor of the Company for the monies which you have paid for your product.
On 7 July 2022, Not For Profit Funeral Plans Limited also announced it will shortly go into liquidation and all existing customer plans have been terminated. Three other regulated funeral plan providers are offering to provide a free or heavily discounted funeral for any plan holders who pass away in the immediate future. But it is unlikely that this will be a long-term solution.
The company is recommending its customers contact notforprofitfuneralplanslimited@quantuma.com or phone 023 8033 6464 for more details of how to make a claim, although it is unlikely any monies will be refunded.
If you paid by credit or debit card, you may be able to make a Section 75 claim. If you paid for your plan by bank transfer, cash or cheque, you should email notforprofitfuneralplanslimited@quantuma.com
