H Biffen & Sons Ltd

Our family was looked after beautifully by the whole team at Biffens, from the first appointment right through to the day of the funeral a month later. The funeral itself went without a hitch and every little detail we requested was looked after. A special mention must go to Emily who was absolutely wonderful to deal with and nothing was too much trouble or any question too stupid, the way she looked after us was caring, compassionate and friendly - would we recommend Biffens? Yes without hesitation - thank you to the whole team you really did make it a very personal service and helped us to say goodbye to Betty with the utmost dignity and care.
Jan 25th, 2023

Ive recently used Biffens after the loss of my Dad and can total say we were given a first class service with Nothing being to much trouble from the first call to the end I can't recommend The Biffens team enough Thank you all x
Aug 24th, 2022

I can very much recommend Biffen's. Nothing is too much trouble for them, and I very much appreciate all that they did with regards to our recent bereavement.
Jul 31st, 2022

Unfortunately we did not have a good experience with H Biffens & Sons Ltd. We felt they lacked compassion and empathy and this was simply another funeral and another business transaction for them. It felt from the start that we were arranging the funeral at their convenience and ease. To put this in context, it started with them suggested it was easier for them and would save on time to go to a different crematorium than listed on the funeral plan, as it was closer to their premises. When we requested a time close to lunch time (as some family were travelling from London on the day) either 11am, midday or 1pm for the funeral, we received the response that these were very popular times so this may be difficult. A comprehensive funeral plan was already in place and yet Mr Biffen wanted to charge the family extra for the loss he was going to incur, as prices had risen so much since the funeral plan had been taken out in 2006. Once he had spoken to the funeral plan company, he confirmed he couldn't charge us extra as the plan was guaranteed and rather than apologising, he continued to tell us that he was going to make a loss on this service! At John Biffens request, the family travelled to his office for a 4:30pm meeting to discuss the funeral arrangements. During this meeting he wasted time talking about other peoples loved ones, for example, the inconvenience of still having someone's ashes on his desk after a few months and the fact he was having to order a XL coffin from America for an obese person that had recently passed. This meant he ran out of time to put a date/time in the diary and also displayed a complete lack of confidentiality. More importantly, it left us feeling upset, as this is likely how he would talk about our family to others afterwards. John insists on having pallbearer training for those undertaking the role. Whilst we do respect that he takes his H&S responsibilities seriously, it is another clear indication of him not understanding the emotions that families experience on the day of the funeral. We asked if this could take place on a day before the actual service day but they said it doesn't make any difference and they are closed on Saturdays anyway! We felt this time could have been better spent supporting each other as a family and not wasting over an hour at the yard before the funeral particularly as the training only took 15 minutes! Unfortunately this isn't the first time we have had to organise a funeral for a loved one but this is the first time we have had a really bad experience with a funeral director and it was a stark contrast to the compassion and kindness that other funeral directors have shown to us and the person that has passed. We cannot recommend using H Biffen and Sons.
Jul 9th, 2022

Excellent service and very professional. Extremely helpful.
Jan 28th, 2022