Gill Marshall, a retired grandmother of four, paid £4,000 for a Safe Hands funeral plan.
Her husband, Paul, died suddenly aged 57 while on a trip in France in 2012.
The family did not have a plan, insurance or enough funds to pay for the repatriation.
To bring her husband home and organise his funeral, Gill – from Grantham in Lincolnshire – had to borrow the money, took out a bereavement loan from the government, and came close to losing the family home in the process.
“It was a really difficult time and I just did not want my children to be in that position,” she said.
So, for her funeral, Gill turned took out a Safe Hands plan.
She gave the matter no more thought until a letter arrived on 19 September 2022, informing her the company had gone into administration.
“You’re just lost aren’t you? Because the money’s gone,” she said.
“You thought you were set up, and then not only have you not got a funeral plan, but you haven’t got the money to put it into another one.”
