Payment Policy

The Funeral Account

Every funeral invoice from Lamb & Hayward is individualised. It will generally include professional service fees, mortuary services, vehicle transfers and a casket. Other items may be included and will be itemised such as: crematorium and cemetery fees, ashes and memorial fees, doctor’s fees, newspaper notices, flowers, printing, catering, a death certificate, gratuities and donations, multimedia and audio-visual, and monumental options.

Our Professional Service Fee

When Lamb & Hayward is engaged by a family to arrange and conduct a funeral service, we charge a professional service fee. This is a fixed charge for engaging our company and reflects the overall amenities, guidance, and expertise that we provide. Depending on individual needs these services may vary from family to family. The fee covers and makes available to the family all of Lamb & Hayward’s resources, professional guidance, after care bereavement service, our time and availability whenever needed.

Some families may choose to arrange various elements of the funeral themselves. In this case our team does not relinquish any responsibility and will always follow up with any given provider to ensure that items or services are delivered correctly and on time. This means that the overall quality of the funeral experience remains our priority, underpinning our primary role to ensure that all aspects meet or exceed your expectations.

Our Price Guarantee

A quote is provided for every funeral. We provide you a written quote of the funeral that you have arranged with your funeral director. Price transparency is important and this quote is our price guarantee, no hidden costs. Simply stated, if you request no variations to the funeral arrangement the quoted price which includes GST is what you will pay. If you change your requirements the price will also change.

Payment for the Funeral

Payment of the funeral will be made by you, the person(s) who has signed the Funeral Services Agreement. The price to pay includes GST and will be invoiced to you 14 days following the date of the funeral, and payment is due approximately four weeks from the date of the funeral. The due date will be shown on the invoice.

Your account can be paid via internet banking, Eftpos, or by credit card. If paying by credit card a credit card fee of 1.7% including GST will apply.

In some circumstances Lamb & Hayward may request a deposit or full payment prior to any funeral arrangements being completed.

If Lamb & Hayward does not receive payment by the due date an Account Recovery fee of $500 including GST may be applied. You will receive an updated account statement confirming the charge of the Account Recovery fee.

If the account remains unpaid in full at eight weeks from the date of the funeral, an interest rate of 12% per annum or 1% per month may be charged on your unpaid debt. At this time your debt may be passed on to our debt collection agency Funeral Debt Recovery Ltd, interest charges will continue.

If legal action is required to recover your debt you may be charged any legal costs (including solicitor’s fees and disbursements) or debt collection agency costs.

Financial Assistance

Lamb & Hayward offers a full range of services to accommodate most budgets. Please ring us to discuss your specific requirements. We can advise on the range of assistance available for families requiring help with funeral costs. Assistance and advice can be given on the closing of bank accounts and applications for funeral grants from Work and Income and the Accident Compensation Corporation.