Not upheld: Other regulated complaint complaint against Golden Charter Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs C purchased a pre-paid funeral plan from Golden Charter Limited in January 2014 with fixed monthly payments of £43.24. In early 2023, she complained that she did not understand she could potentially be making payments until her 90th birthday and was unhappy about the insurance-backed nature of the plan. GCL and the FOS investigator did not uphold the complaint. The ombudsman found that the plan documentation clearly set out all material terms, including the payment duration and insurance structure, and that Mrs C had the opportunity to cancel within the cooling-off period but did not do so. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the voluntary code of practice standards in place at the time of sale (pre-regulation of the funeral plan industry). While not disputing Mrs C's recollections, the ombudsman found that the written documentation clearly set out the plan terms, including the potential payment duration until age 90 and the insurance-backed nature of the plan. The application form indicated that Mrs C made active choices about her requirements and was aware of potential additional costs. The ombudsman concluded that the terms were clear and GCL was entitled to apply them.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website