Bereaved families lose £171m a year cancelling subscriptions
Research launched by UK bereavement-tech startup, Life Ledger, has revealed the negative impact that the current ‘complex and outdated’ death notification process has on the bereaved
Grieving families spend over seven million hours a year cancelling subscription services following the death of a loved one, which adds up to over £171m a year.
Research launched by UK bereavement-tech startup, Life Ledger, has revealed the negative impact that the current “complex and outdated” death notification process has on the bereaved.
Uncancelled services can also end up costing large amounts of money, with the research revealing that the average Brit has 11.47 services, subscriptions and bills in their name, costing them roughly £285.19 a month. This increases with age, with those over 65 having an average of 12 services in their name and spending £330.24 a month.
Tremayne Carew Pole, founder and CEO of , said: “Whilst you can make death notifications online for government services, there’s currently no single, streamlined, way of telling private companies about a death. Unfortunately this means that bereaved families and friends have to contact private companies individually to shut down the accounts.
“Our research revealed that it takes over an hour to get in touch with a company and ask them to close an account, I know the process can span weeks or months, Along with the administrative burden, our research also highlighted the emotional toll that this process causes – nearly a third of Brits (32%) that have made death notifications have suffered trauma as a result, confirming that this process needs to change.”
He added: “Talking about death isn’t easy or comfortable, but it is important, especially now as we live through the pandemic. The current way that death notifications are made cannot and should not continue – it’s time consuming, difficult and is emotionally traumatic for those who have been recently bereaved.
“Contacting companies to inform them of the death of someone dear to us was not only a long, drawn out and complex process that spanned weeks, but it was also emotionally draining. In many cases, there is no streamlined, easy way of informing businesses, the people you speak to haven’t received the proper training, and you can get passed between operators having to explain the situation multiple times.”
