Customer ReviewsforBest Funeral Services

My family recently had a terrible experience with ******************************** it's manager *****, and the owner *******. I hope we can save others from a similar experience. The 3 main challeges we experienced were: 1. Lack of pricing transparency 2. Conflicting messages (strong arm tactics) around process & scheduling 3. Exploitation of our situation to ****** exorbitant fees We reached out to BFS&C upon the death of our mother. They scheduled pick up and transport immediately however once they had our mother in their custody, we experienced a lack of straightforward communication regarding costs, process and scheduling. We were clear that we only needed very basic services (cremation, death certificate only) but they would not give us pricing or timelines unless we scheduled an "in person appt" and agreed to review 'all our options.' It felt as though they were holding our mother hostage as leverage to get us to come in so they could upsell us on additional options.At this point we decided to seek service from another provider. Upon contacting **** Funeral Services, we were pleasantly surprised to have all the necessary information provided during our initial 10-minute call and their approach was one of empathy and service. This ***** contrast in service only reaffirmed our decision to switch providers.Upon alerting ******************************* that we intended to change providers, they informed us that to release our mother would cost us the unreasonably high fee of $775. Other reputable funeral homes we contacted quoted a flat cost of $250 for the same service, making BFSC's fee appear unreasonably high.We filed a case with the ******* of ****** Services (case outcome pending) but this experiece is exactly like the cautionary tales we have since heard about on both *************************** Smart Living podcast and the *** podcast about the funeral industry and the unethical practices that are all too common.

Dear BBB,The ******* ********** of ****** Services reviews all consumer allegations as the regulatory body for the funeral industry in *******. After a thorough investigation On April 5th, the ******* ********** of ****** Services concluded that the allegations described by ***************************** were not supported by the factual documents and discussion outlined in the funeral home's official response. Please see response by the ******* ********** of ****** Services:******* DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES LICENSING April 05, 2024 Best Funeral Services Inc.-North Central Chapel FEST-******* ******************************************************************************* RE: Complaint Investigation ******** The ******* ********** of ****** Services, *************************** has concluded its investigation of the above referenced complaint. The Bureau reviewed the issue(s) in the complaint to determine whether the rules or statutes that regulate the practice of funeral establishment and profession in ******* were violated. Through the **********'s investigation process, an investigator collected and reviewed information pertinent to the complaint. After a thorough review, the ********** was not able to find enough evidence to substantiate the allegation(s). The matter is now closed and the ********** will not take action at this time. If you have any questions, please call the *************************** at **************. Sincerely, *********************** Bureau Chief, *************************** ********************* I Governor ************************* ********* Executive Director, Exeuctive Deputy Dirctor ********************************************************************************** P ************* F I ************ W I azhealth.gov ****** and Wellness for all Arizonans We are available at your convenience to submit all documents for additional transparent reviews.Dear ****************,The staff at Best Funeral Services take pride in providing affordable, valuable, compassionate care to our community. We are a locally owned and operated family run funeral home that has been caring for the greater Phoenix area for over 35 years. We feel that it is necessary to respond to your mischaracterization of our dedicated staff and funeral home.It is always wise to engage in the planning process ahead of a loss. Your family first reached out to our funeral home on February 5th about 9:30 am, two days before your loss. **** spoke with ****** while your mother was still under the care of ****************. She reviewed your familys needs for a simple cremation, thoroughly went over the options, procedures and cost. She also discussed the details of ***** durable power of attorney. Finally, she created a secure family portal and emailed the access link so that your family could start to prepare the information for the state required directives and authorizations. Your family completed all the information in the secure portal so that we could quickly and efficiently move forward when the time arrived.Oftentimes the stress and fatigue associated with a declining family member can cause communication shortcomings within the family. This may have been the case and our trained licensed funeral directors and staff understand this along with the grieving process. We review all of the options available so that a family has the opportunity for clarity and can be synchronized within the family members decision making process. This is oftentimes called a funeral arrangement. Afterall, a funeral is an important life cycle event regardless if a family has chosen cremation or burial. There is only one chance to get it right, and we want to help ensure everyone is educated and satisfied with the decisions.This review process or funeral arrangement can be conducted in 3 different ways to accommodate a family. 1) Most common, In person with a funeral director . 2) Web-based meeting with the family in the comfort of their own home. 3) Industry leading funeral home website and online planning tool that a family can self navigate their decisions at their convenience before or after a death has occurred. With these 3 options, we can comfortably assure that all families that we serve have an opportunity to make the decisions that are best suited for their needs.We scheduled an appointment for a web-based meeting to be held today, February 10th. This is a short duration of time after our staff completed the transportation from ****************** to our secure sheltering facility at Best Funeral Services in coordination with the hospice staff. Not 4 days. However, to further help your family, we also sent you instructions and confirmed receipt for option 3 described above. Meanwhile, we reached out to the physician and coordinated the signing of the death certificate and completed other necessary administration tasks. This is standard procedure all across the country.The work that was completed by our staff and the various resources necessary to complete the work accurately have a justified cost. However, your understanding of the cost in your comments is not correct. Every funeral home is required to have all prices outlined in a strict format by the **** These prices are available on our website as well in printed format. Furthermore, our itemized prices are lower than the provider that you eventually chose to complete the simple cremation. Please take a moment to review the General Price List.Upon notification that you had made the decision to switch funeral home providers, we quickly transferred all information to the new funeral home and transferred all state records. Furthermore, we accommodated the physical transfer of your loved-one immediately. There was no hostage holding or using leverage. Everything happened within 1 hour. Furthermore, we have not received any payment from your family.We are happy to own any misunderstandings and take responsibility when we have made a mistake or oversight. Afterall, we are humans and not perfect. However, we do not feel we made any missteps during our communication with your family.Please reach out to us if you need any additional information or clarification.

My Mother paid for her cremation ahead of time, back in 2017. She purchased it at the Best Funeral Home in ******. The contract that she signed states that transportation of her body to the funeral home for the cremation was included. When I went into the funeral home to make the final cremation arrangements they charged me an additional $746.00. Stating that was the cost of the fee for transportation of her body from ****** where she passed to Peoria. Now if I had known I had an option to have her cremated in ****** and save this fee I would have. But the option was never proposed to me. Nor is it anywhere in the Contract. When I spoke to the Funeral Home Director to complain, he said that the fee was in the Service Charge brochure. Which I didn't have, and nowhere in the contract does it say to refer to the Service Charge Brochure for anything..

Good afternoon ****************,Transportation from place of death to the funeral home includes 20 miles only. After 20 miles, we have a fee of $4 per additional mile. The additional mileage fee only is charged from the place of death to the funeral home. This is to cover the extra time needed by the funeral ******************* and the extra fuel. The total additional mileage was for 129 miles.Please know that this is the industry standard and not specific to just our funeral home. We are sorry about the confusion during a difficult time.