In an unregulated industry, promises are readily made knowing that traumatized people easily accept poor service delivery. We at East Rand Funeral Directors ensure that our clients are met with integrity and character; we are transparent in everything we do. We pay attention to the finer details.
A funeral policy always stays the property of the beneficiary and should have a cash value that pays out to the beneficiary, regardless of the funeral undertaker conducting the service. There are a few instances where a policy is not a cash-back policy, and a family then has to make use of the undertaker that issued the policy, or they forfeit a large percentage of the policy payout.
Please reconsider the value offered by your policy should the above not be the case. A client should always have the freedom to choose the best service provider and should never be bound to sub-standard service.
When a loved one is collected by another funeral director, other than East Rand Funeral Directors, and the family wishes for us to conduct the funeral service, we will simply collect the person, and we will reimburse the funeral undertaker for services rendered.
Always make informed decisions. Do not allow anyone to rush your decision. Some medical care institutions would like you to think that you have to use a certain funeral undertaker. This is not the case; you are free to choose the undertaker of your choice. By using the undertaker they want you to use, it is going to cost you money, and you may not be happy with the decision you were forced to take.
No deceased person can be taken to an undertaker prior to a paramedic or medical practitioner formally declaring the death.
A medical practitioner, not the funeral undertaker, has to issue a notification of death (BI1663 or DHA1663) to facilitate the issue of a death certificate. The burial or cremation will be delayed if such a practitioner cannot be established, or takes unusually long to complete the document. This does not apply to the funeral church service, which can be done prior to obtaining the death
In the absence of a suitable medical practitioner, the district surgeon will have to conduct a private autopsy at the funeral director's facility, and the district surgeon will then issue all the necessary documentation to enable us to register the death at Home Affairs. This will be at the expense of the next of kin.
Many myths surround cremations, none of which have been proved. Cremations are strictly regulated, and you can rest assured that the procedure is done in a respectful and dignified manner.
A deceased person's body has to be cremated in an approved coffin on its own. No more than one deceased person is cremated at any time.
At least 72 hours' notice is required to prepare a grave for a burial. There is a penalty fee, payable to the town council, if shorter notice is required.
Up to three persons can be buried on top of each other in the same grave. These persons have to be related, and permission from the next of kin of the first internment is required.
Graves cannot be reserved for future use anymore. Although you may in fact own a reserved grave, you will still have to pay the fee for a new grave when you want to bury a relative in that grave.
It is preferable to bury or cremate a person within the municipal boundaries where the deceased lived. The applicable municipality will charge considerably more if a person from another area is making use of their cemetery or crematorium. This does not apply to private cemeteries and crematoriums.
"The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today." H. Jackson Brown, Jr."