Not upheld: Other regulated complaint complaint against Co-op Funeral Plans Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs B complained that Co-op Funeral Plans Limited continued collecting monthly payments for her pre-paid funeral plan despite her having paid more than the funeral would cost. She had purchased the plan in 2016 with fixed monthly payments required until age 90 or death. When her direct debit stopped in 2024 due to a technical issue, Co-op staff speculated the plan was fully paid, but payments restarted. Co-op maintained that the contract terms required continued payments until age 90, with cancellation and no refund if payments stopped. The ombudsman found Co-op had not acted wrongly in applying the clear contractual terms that Mrs B had chosen and understood, and noted Co-op had offered to assist if she struggled with payments in future.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Co-op was simply applying the contractual terms that Mrs B chose and understood when she purchased the plan. The clause clearly sets out payment obligations and consequences of non-payment. The ombudsman reasoned that fairness to both parties requires Mrs B to abide by the terms if she expects Co-op to provide services, and conversely, Co-op must provide services if Mrs B maintains payments regardless of cost. While sympathetic to Mrs B's concern about future affordability, the ombudsman distinguished between Co-op's reasonable offer to discuss assistance if needed versus committing to a particular course of action in a hypothetical situation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website