NO DIGNITY WITH DOVES FUNERAL HOME

We have had a very bad and traumatic experience with Doves, who promises a dignified burial for our loved ones, my mother’s was anything but that. After being told we can arrange the funeral for the upcoming Saturday and family had booked their flights to attend, we told that unfortunately the burial could only take place the following Saturday as Maitland had reached its limit for that day and were fully booked until the following Saturday. This was something that the person we dealt with should have been aware of before she met with us. It was very strange and somewhat undignified to have the funeral in the church and then for the body to be taken back to the mortuary to be brought back for burial a week later. As for the burial - this was another problem. The burial was scheduled to start at 10:30, but by that time no-one from Doves was at the gravesite, there were no chairs or tent or table for the refreshments – which we had been promised in the all -inclusive price. No one bothered to contact us to say that they were running late. After I had made two calls to the office, the vehicles finally arrived saying the they had had car problems!!! Really?- at a time like that? Did they not have another vehicle to send? Could they not have let us know there would be a delay? One does not need these problems when one had just lost a loved one. On top of all that, the Notice of Death form completed by Doves and taken to Home Affairs to register my mother’s death, was incomplete and we were issued with an incorrect Death Certificate stating that my mother was Married when the correct status should be Widowed – Doves was fullu aware of that as they had requested a copy of my late father’s Death Certificate, so they had no excuse to not complete that section. Doves now says that they are unable to correct this – even though the error was theirs. I have been told that I will have to go to DHA and correct this myself.

I would not recommend choosing Doves to take dignified care of the funeral and burial of their loved one.