Customers of a B.C. funeral home are being warned their end-of-life investments are likely lost.
Consumer Protection B.C. said it’s investigating McLean’s Funeral Services & Crematorium Ltd., a funeral provider in Chilliwack, over misappropriated client funds.
“The regulator’s investigation shows the business failed to properly fund its trust account for prepaid funeral services,” said the Victoria-based agency in a news release issued Tuesday. “Information gathered so far indicates that the business will not be able to fulfil its contracts or provide refunds to customers.”
Consumer Protection B.C. said it’s now reaching out to impacted families to let them know how the business failure could affect their end-of-life plans.
The situation may be less dire for those already engaging McLean’s for funeral and cremation services. Consumer Protection says customers actively receiving funeral services should resume as planned, and it’s working with those families to ensure they get what they paid for.
However, “if you have prepaid for funeral services with McLean’s Funeral Services, you will not receive those future services and the business is most likely unable to refund you,” the agency warns. It says it’s working with a small group of McLean’s customers who might receive partial refunds, but there is no guarantee.
Those customers are advised to fill out a form at consumerprotectionbc.ca, or call 1-888-564-9963, so they can get updates from the regulator.
Anyone who has paid for future funeral services will need to make alternative arrangements with a different provider, it said. A list of licensed providers is available at the Consumer Protection B.C. website.
“As the situation unfolds, Consumer Protection B.C. has suspended McLean’s funeral and crematorium licences and issued a freeze order on remaining assets,” it says. “Despite these efforts, it is unlikely that McLean’s Funeral Services customers will be made whole again.”
The agency said last week it had also suspended the licence of Elements Cremation, Pre-Planning & Burial, a funeral service provider in Langley, “due to concerns about the financial status of the business.” It’s banned from taking on new customers while the investigation continues, but is operating as normal for existing customers.
Consumer Protection B.C. is a not-for-profit regulator that oversees certain industries and consumer transactions in the province. It licenses and inspects regulated businesses, responds to consumer complaints and inquiries, and investigates alleged violations of consumer protection laws.
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