Family made to wait to see their dead son after funeral directors could not provide coffin
A GRIEVING family claim they were robbed of spending precious time with their dead son when the funeral directors could not provide the coffin.
After their son Steven Rudderham died suddenly, David and Carol Matthews were desperate to visit him to say their final goodbyes before he was buried.
They had made the arrangements with the Co-operative Funeralcare and chosen the coffin the previous day after their 48-year-old son was found hanged in the grounds of Hessle Cemetery.
However, on the morning they were due to see the body, a member of Co-op staff rang to say his coffin was not available to lay him in for viewing.
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Instead the Co-op in Holderness Road, east Hull, offered to lay Steven on a table with a sheet over him, but warned he would not be "fully prepared".
Steven's father David, 66, of Clapham Avenue, east Hull, said: "I was in disbelief when he rang to say they didn't have the coffin.
"A funeral directors not having the coffin is surely like a sweet shop having no sweets.
"I thought someone was winding us up. I was lost for words.
"When we chose the coffin on the Thursday, at no point did the chap say it would not be available on the Friday when he said we could come back to see Steven.
"On the Friday morning when they rang they said they could not get the coffin until the Monday. We felt like they were robbing us of seeing him on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when we had family travelling to visit."
Mr Matthews then called the Co-op on the Monday at 9am and was told his son's body was still not completely ready to view, but that he would receive a call when he could go in.
He says he rang back at 3pm to be told his son had been "ready for ages".
Mr Matthews said: "When I got there, my granddaughter was already there and she said they had told her I had already been.
"That was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.
"After everything, they had not even called me to say I could go and see my son when they knew I was waiting.
"The care we received from them can only be described as devastating.
"We've since found out it is normal practice for the undertakers in Hull to move coffins around if they do not have one and have been told usually all efforts are made to make sure there is a coffin available."
Following all the heartache, Mr and Mrs Matthews chose to remove Steven from the care of the Co-Op and instructed a different funeral directors to take over.
A spokesperson for The Co-operative Funeralcare, said: "We are distressed to hear that Mr Matthews was not happy with the service.
"Our funeral home carries a full range of coffins in varying sizes but regrettably we did not have immediate access to the chosen coffin.
"Immediate arrangements were made and the desired coffin was available the next working day.
"In the meantime, we offered Mr Matthews the option of having his son prepared and presented with dignity and respect for the family to visit over the weekend, but he chose to wait until the Monday.
"On the Monday, it became evident that the family were looking for a lower-specification funeral and they decided to go elsewhere.
"We did not charge for any services provided up until the time of the cancellation."
An inquest into the death of Mr Rudderham is expected to be held in May.
11 Comments
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by HelloHull
Friday, February 22 2013, 7:19PM
“I am really sorry to hear this, you should sue them and if you don't want the money give it to dove house or something. Co op need to be taught a lesson. Also didn't they put in the paper something like 'because the family choose a cheap option' - the cheeky gets! They should say things like that!”
by Lisa111
Thursday, February 21 2013, 8:53PM
“Mally do u work for the co-op or just on commission??? Because I find your comment on the same par as the co-op rude, ignorant to the fact we are a grieving family and very un compassionate!!”
by davematthews
Thursday, February 21 2013, 8:06PM
“Mally, if you take our comments personally then so be it, we made these comments because they are a true reflection of my families treatment by the Co-op, I don't dispute that you were satisfied with them but for us they were totally unprofessional and devoid of all compassionn and yes, they were overpriced, but we did not find this out until later, money was never mentioned when we decided to move our son, we moved him because of the manner in which we were treated, For the record, despite what Co-op say, they did charge us for any work they had carried out, they did not offer to prepare and present our son with dignity, the words they used, in a very abrupt manner, were, we can lay him on a table and cover him with a sheet but he will not be fully prepared, that is why I decided to prohibit viewing until my son could be prepared in a proper manner, and for the record we too have used the Co-op on a previous occasion and were satisfied, on this occasion they fell far short of the mark.”
by ferretmonger
Thursday, February 21 2013, 3:41PM
“I agree with you Lauren i was going to use them recently when a relative of mine passed away, the first person i saw at the co/op was so ignorant and rude that i walked out on him and took my business, if i can call it that, elsewhere. Totally un-professional. And mally_hull (your last sentence) behave, trying to make someone feel guilty like that is lower than a snake's belly.”
by Mally_Hull
Thursday, February 21 2013, 12:29PM
“lauren co op carry out thousands of funerals and like anyone can make mistakes. I dispute your comments that co op do not care. They were very professional when I used them. I used them for three funerals. I would not have used them otherwise. To say they have no compassion and over priced is insulting those like me who have used them.”
by lauren111
Thursday, February 21 2013, 11:09AM
“Some people have nothing better to do with their time then post silly comments. This is a message warning people of the very unprofessional, over priced, coop funeral'care' who realy do not care and have no compassion what so ever. Heres hoping your familys do not have a tragic loss as we did and the farse that came with coop to a family at one of the hardest times they have ever had to face. Is there not any train spotting or bird watching to do to pass a bit of time rather then making silly comments for reactions from grieving familys?!?”
by Lisa111
Thursday, February 21 2013, 10:01AM
“And there liers it is untrue what they have replied to cover their own backsides, I would never use this company again, loseing someone is ba enough with out the circus that coop performed”
by Lisa111
Thursday, February 21 2013, 9:57AM
“Yes this is news for this devastated family, my family!! It's to warn others about the lack of compassion and rudeness you receive from such a large reputable company!”
by Mally_Hull
Thursday, February 21 2013, 9:50AM
“I've used Co op three times in the last 5 year and cannot praise them enough. They have always provided a first class dignified service.”
by eye_spy
Thursday, February 21 2013, 9:08AM
“What o load of tosh”