Carer faces problems paying for a funeral
Carer calls for help over funeral plans for old friend
PLEA: Marie Dibble with a picture of Trevor Portlock.
By freddie whittaker freddie.whittaker@glosmedia.co.uk
DISTRAUGHT carer Marie Dibble has made a desperate plea for help to bury a former serviceman.
Marie, 41, faces the heartache of giving Trevor Portlock a “pauper’s funeral” because no-one can afford to pay the bill.
She said her family was very close to the 73-year-old from Barton, who suffered from complications due to asbestos poisoning. He died at the end of last month from chronic pneumonia.
Marie, from Robinswood, said: “He was the godfather to my kids and he used to look after them, he was very good to them.
“We didn’t have to look after him, we did it out of kindness.”
She said there was no money left by Mr Portlock, a former painter and decorator who served in the Army, and she couldn’t afford to pay the bills herself.
Marie, a mum-of-three who lives with husband Darren, in Beaufort Road, said he was out of contact with his remaining family.
“I’m on benefits myself, and there was no money put to one side,” she said.
“I’ve been trying to get somebody to bury him, I’ve been to speak to everyone but nobody can help me. It’s disgusting, he served his country and worked all his life.”
When there is no money or means to hold a funeral for a person who has died, the case can be passed to Gloucester City Council by the coroner or hospital where they died.
If this is the case, a basic funeral is organised by a funeral director sub-contracted by the council and paid for by the taxpayer.
But Marie would not be able to apply for this on Mr Portlock’s behalf. He was divorced and had no children.
She said: “I just don’t know what to do.” There are usually two lots of fees which are the bare minimum when paying for a funeral. These are to reimburse the funeral director who pays for the venue on the loved ones’ behalf and also the fees of the directors themselves.
Pay
Martin Cocks, senior partner at SC & BS Cocks Funeral Directors in Hucclecote, said there were ways of getting the state to pay for funerals and cremations.
However, he stressed that bureaucracy and delays made some directors uneasy about working with those relying on a grant.
He said: “If she is on benefits she can apply to the DWP for a grant towards the funeral directors’ fees and the disbursements. However, the problem has been in the past that they are so slow in their decision-making process that many funeral directors have stopped dealing with people who say they are in receipt of a grant.
“The main thing to point out is that funeral directors’ costs aren’t the expensive part.
“However, the disbursements are the expensive part, they are way ahead of inflation.”
