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A Devon crematorium has been criticised as ‘profiting’ from the bereaved because it issues fines when services overrun by five minutes or more.

Last month a Devon woman held the funeral of her partner at North Devon Crematorium in Barnstaple and was unaware they had gone over their allocated 30 minute slot until she received a £210 fine.

As she was so upset on the day of the funeral she cannot recall how long the service overran by but doesn’t believe it was long, and says there was not another family waiting for the service to end as the crematorium has two chapels.

(Image: Mike Southon)

However, not all crematoriums in the county issue fines such as Exeter and Devon Crematorium because it allows families more time.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said: “The threat of a fine is almost like blackmailing families into booking a double slot.

“I know it’s a business but it just sees to me they are profiting from the bereaved. They just seem so money hungry.

“A funeral is not like a wedding; You can’t give invitations so you’ve no control over whether 10 people turn up or 250. We nearly filled the chapel so there must have been around 230 people.

“Nobody wants to keep bereaved people waiting. I’m not entirely sure how much we were over as you’re not really aware of what’s going on, but I was told if you overrun by five minutes you get fined.

“We could afford the fine but what about people who can’t? I know you have to have rues but it just seems very punitive.

“Instead of scaring people into booking a double slot it would be kinder to have a bit more of a gap in between services.”

(Image: Mike Southon)

The concept of 30 minutes services were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s when cremation became more commonplace.

At the time it was adequate as the majority of funerals were held at a place of worship prior to a committal at a crematorium that only the immediate family and their religious leader attended.

These days the majority of funeral services take place at a crematorium and therefore the size of congregations are much larger so some crematoriums have chosen to allow longer for services to take place.

The decision to impose fines when services overrun was made by North Devon Joint Crematorium Committee in 2013.

A charge can be imposed after a five minute overrun, and there is a 10 minute gap between services.

A spokesperson for the crematorium said: “The charge was brought in to prevent services from running over the allotted time and impacting on the following service. The 10 minutes between services is required for removing flowers, coffin movement, tidying the chapel and preparing for the next service.”

The cost of a 30 minute service is £560, and the charge to extend it to 70 minutes is an additional £160. The charge when a service overruns is £210.

The spokesperson continued: “It is the funeral director’s responsibility to manage services and book additional time if required. In the case of a service overrunning, the funeral director is informed of the overrun on the day of the funeral and advised that they can make representations to the crematorium manager.

“Where representations are made, due consideration is given by the crematorium manager, who will make the final decision on the charge.

“It is extremely regrettable when a charge for an overrun service is applied, and the crematorium staff always endeavour to avoid situations in which a service overruns by liaising with the funeral directors ahead of the service taking place.

“However, the crematorium must give equal consideration to each family using the crematorium, and the impact of an overrun on each service. The charge is applied to the funeral directors account and not direct to the family. There are some funeral directors who choose not to pass on the charge to the family as it is their responsibility to manage the service.

To date this year, three services have overran at the crematorium, with one challenge upheld out of 179 services.

For the previous 12 months from April 2017 to March 2018, out of 1,697 services there were 16 services which overran and nine challenges were upheld.

The spokesperson added: “North Devon Crematorium staff work extremely hard to accommodate last minute changes and help out where possible, and there can be many reasons why a service overruns.

“However, sometimes, due to the amount of content or tributes planned for a service, an overrun is unavoidable. The crematorium staff always do their best to minimise the impact the overrun has on the next service start time.

“Service times are reviewed periodically, and there are no plans to change the current timing of services.”

In Plymouth, at Weston Mill Cemetery and Crematorium and Efford Cemetery and Crematorium, it now allows families longer services, but does on the rare occasion issue fines.

A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: “We introduced 45 minute slots last year to allow families a full 30 minutes for the service itself and 15 minutes to enter and leave the chapel. We also offer one hour slots.

“We remind all funeral directors and officiants of the importance of keeping services on time to avoid delays and distress to other families.

“We also make them aware that we may add a discretionary 15 minute charge if a service does over-run and impact on the next family – unless this is due to circumstances beyond their control.

“In 2017 we made just two additional 15 minute charges, both of which were accepted by the funeral director. We have not issued any so far this year.”

It has not yet been confirmed what charge it imposes.

Elsewhere in the county, Exeter and Devon Crematorium says it does not impose any fines. Instead it has hourly intervals between services which provides families with approximately 45 minutes in the chapel for the funeral.

A spokesperson for Exeter and Devon Crematorium said: “There is no additional fee if a service overruns at any crematorium operated by Dignity. We do not find it necessary to have such a policy if there is service length of at least 45 minutes.

“The feedback we have from families is that they appreciate the additional time we offer as it avoids the funeral ‘feeling rushed’ or ‘like being on a conveyor belt’.”

East Devon Crematorium also confirmed it does not impose fines.

A spokesperson for Southern Co-op, which runs the crematorium, said: “Southern Co-op has been providing care and support across the south for over 75 years, taking care of all aspects of funeral planning and arrangements in a sensitive and compassionate way.

“At our crematoria, we give our clients the choice of two options with regards to the length of service and it is not our policy to impose fines if services overrun.”