Two charged after collapse of funeral firm Safe Hands affected 46,000 people

Two people have been charged following the collapse of a pre-paid funeral firm that left tens of thousands of people out of pocket.

About 46,000 customers lost thousands of pounds when Safe Hands Plans Ltd collapsed in 2022 and went into administration.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged two men – Richard Wells and Neil Debenham – with conspiracy to defraud. It said Wells was the former director of SHP Capital Holdings Ltd – the parent company of Safe Hands – with Debenham described as a “fellow senior executive”.

Wells and Debenham are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 5 February.

The SFO said the charges of Wells, 39, residing in Spain, and Debenham, 43, of Norwich, were a “critical step” in its investigation.

Emma Luxton, director of operations, added planholders were left “exposed, out of pocket and uncertain about their funeral arrangements”.

Since July 2022, pre-paid funeral providers have required approval to operate from the Financial Conduct Authority.

Safe Hands was one of dozens of companies operating in the previously unregulated sector, and collapsed four months before the measures came in.

The administrator for Safe Hands, FRP Advisory, initially said planholders could receive repayments of between 8.5p and 12.5p for every pound they lost by June 2025.

But after a six-month delay, the amount repaid to those affected by the funeral firm collapse proved to be much less – about 4p for every pound.

Planholders are owed an estimated £70.6m in total.

Among them are Denise Hudson, from Derby, who paid nearly £2,500 for a Safe Hands plan after seeing a TV advert in 2019, and was last year given a cheque for less than £100 by administrators.

“That was my savings. I gave it in good faith,” she said.

Hudson told the BBC she might “frame” the cheque for £96.50, using it as a reminder to keep fighting.