‘Funeral scam’ haunted my sister on her deathbed

Brian Allison travelled greater than 200 miles from Manchester to Glasgow to scatter his sister’s ashes on the household grave.

As he stood on the gravestone in St Kentigern’s cemetery, the place his father, mom and three different siblings already lay, he took a second to recollect Anne.

Her last weeks had been “haunted” by an unexplained mix-up with the ashes of their mom, Patricia, who died in April 2023.

A number of months after Patricia’s dying, on the age of 100, it emerged the household had been given the incorrect urn by funeral administrators who at the moment are the main target of a significant police investigation.

Brian and Anne found the error simply days earlier than they deliberate to return to Scotland to scatter their mom’s ashes.

“We had them for 5 months, then I discovered it wasn’t my mum, it was a complete stranger,” stated Brian.

“I might been kissing this complete stranger goodnight each night time and clearly it is affected my psychological well being.”

The siblings have been knowledgeable of the error after they contacted Clydebank Crematorium after questioning the dearth of paperwork they’d acquired with the urn from the previous A Milne Funeral Administrators.

Brian stated: “Anne referred to as Clydebank Crematorium and we have been advised [my mum’s] ashes have been by no means collected and have been nonetheless being held there virtually a 12 months after her dying.”

Throughout this time, the household additionally discovered that the invoice for Patricia’s cremation was nonetheless excellent, regardless of the pensioner having bought a funeral plan on the agency’s Dumbarton workplace.

Anne had additionally taken out a funeral plan with the identical firm and located hers to be invalid too, prompting her to contact Police Scotland.

In Might 2024, one of the largest ongoing financial police investigations was launched into the practices of the previous A Milne Impartial Funeral Administrators.

Operation Koine is at the moment wanting into greater than 70 studies relating to practices on the agency.

Final summer time two ladies, aged 37 and 55, and a 56-year-old man have been arrested in reference to the investigation and launched pending additional inquiries.

Brian stated the necessity for solutions “haunted” his sister after she was identified with terminal most cancers final December.

“It affected Anne’s well being with the most cancers as a result of she was fearful,” he stated.

Brian added that the information he can be the one left to pay for her funeral, regardless of having a plan, weighed on her.

“Even on her deathbed within the hospital, she stated to me, ‘I am sorry you have been left with this’.”

Final month, police issued an enchantment for anybody with issues relating to the dealing with of cremated stays or pre-paid funeral plans with the previous funeral administrators – which additionally ran a premises in Springburn – to contact them.

Det Supt Robert Bowie advised BBC Scotland Information officers have been working by “a whole lot of traces of inquiry.”

Since that enchantment, police confirmed they’d “acquired extra studies that are at the moment being assessed”.

Brian Allison paid 1000’s of kilos of his personal cash for Anne’s cremation after she died in August.

Her last request was to be introduced again to Scotland, however Brian additionally has a memorial for each his mom and sister at his dwelling in Manchester.

Brian stated: “I maintain a little bit shelf in the lounge with candles and every part across the each of them.

“So [some of] the ashes I did not put down immediately, they’re going to come again to Manchester and so they’ll be stored there in the home in order that I do know I can converse to the 2 of them.”

He added: “I do know it sounds unusual if you’re speaking to a lifeless particular person however I speak to them each night time.

“I say goodnight, I speak to them if I’ve had a foul day, inform them I like them.”

Anne, who was 67 when she died, had moved from Dumbarton to stay with Brian following the dying of their mom.

He stated they’d all the time been shut rising up.

Dropping each his mom and sister within the final two years has put a pressure on the 62-year-old’s psychological well being.

“Once I’m at work I go away the psychological well being facet of me at dwelling, however once I’m not working I do not go away the home now.”

Brian’s last promise to Anne was to proceed to struggle for solutions on what went incorrect with the plans she and her mom bought.

He stated: “I am going to carry this on till my dying day if I’ve to, as a result of I feel it is all incorrect.

“It is not simply my mum and my sister. It is all these different harmless folks.

“You may’t simply let it go. To me it isn’t concerning the cash, it is about respect.”