Unattended Cremations - What you need to know

There has been an increase in online companies offering an unattended cremation service, you may have seen a TV advert or received direct mail through your letterbox. I’d like to take the opportunity to explain what this service entails:

What is an unattended service?

The key is in the name, it is a cremation that takes places with no family or friends present. The deceased is taken directly to the crematorium without a formal ceremony and cremated in a simple coffin.

Who offers an unattended cremation?

Hillier Funeral Service, your local family run funeral director. As we are unable to compete with big corporate companies with TV adverts and unlimited advertising budgets, it is often missed by local families that we offer this service. We can offer our local knowledge, the highest standard of care and a truly personal service that we are proud of.

Read the small print

It is always important to understand what you are signing up for when you use an ‘internet’ based company, it could mean you loved one is transported around the country before finally being cremated hundreds of miles away. You should always ask the location of the company’s mortuary facilities and where your loved one will be held in their care.

What we can offer?

• Our phones are always answered by a member of our team whether its within working hours or out of hours, not by a call centre.
• Our uniformed experienced staff would bring your loved one into our care in a private ambulance.
• Your loved one will be looked after locally at our chapel of rest and will also be dressed in their own clothes or a gown. Any personal effects will be returned to you.
• The cremation will take place at Kingsdown Crematorium or North Wiltshire Crematorium.
• You will have one point of contact for all the funeral arrangements
•  The date and time of the cremation will be confirmed to the next of kin
• Your loved one will be taken to the crematorium in a private ambulance or hearse depending on the families wishes.

We are finding that more and more families are wanting to personalise the unattended cremations by following the hearse from the chapel of rest, upgrading the coffin, ordering flowers, chapel visits and even watching their loved ones coffin be carried into the crematorium.

As a family run company, we are happy to facilitate any of these requests even when it’s an unattended service and this is what makes us different from the ‘internet’ companies.

You can contact us anytime for an no obligation chat, please contact Hillier Funeral Service on 01793 522797.