Did you know that Golden Charter funeral plan customers benefit from the additional protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
In this article, we’ll explain what this means for our customers.
What is the FSCS?
The FSCS exists to protect the customers of financial services firms that go out of business and are unable to fulfil the product or service purchased (or are likely to be unable to). Where this happens, the FSCS steps in to pay compensation to affected customers.
The FSCS is independent from but accountable to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which became the regulator of the funeral plan sector in July 2022. The FSCS is funded by a levy paid by the financial services industry and is free to customers.
What does FSCS protection mean for Golden Charter funeral plan customers?
When a customer makes a payment to Golden Charter for their funeral plan, the funds are transferred to the Golden Charter Trust, which is completely independent of Golden Charter. Those funds are ‘ring-fenced’ and will remain in the Trust until the time of the funeral when the money is paid to the funeral director to carry out the services included in the customer’s funeral plan. To find out more about the Golden Charter Trust, visit goldenchartertrust.co.uk
In the unlikely event that the Golden Charter Trust ceased to exist, all customers’ payments would be covered by the FSCS. This means customers could be entitled to compensation subject to FSCS limits (currently £85,000 per individual plan holder with some exceptions). Alternatively, the FSCS could arrange for a new ‘like-for-like’ plan to be set up through another authorised funeral plan provider.
What about customers who took out a Golden Charter funeral plan before the funeral plan sector became regulated in July 2022?
The protections of the FSCS are available to all Golden Charter funeral plan customers, regardless of when the plan was purchased. This means that customers who took out a Golden Charter funeral plan before the funeral plan sector became regulated by the FCA in July 2022 also benefit from FSCS protection.
Where can I find out more about the FSCS?
If you’d like to find out more about how the FSCS offers protection to funeral plan customers, visit their website at www.fscs.org.uk
