We regularly receive, and always ecourage, feedback from families we have helped, here are just a few of the most recent. If you would like to submit your own, you can do so quickly and easily by clicking here

Andrew Singh Bogan 
Barrister-at-Law & AAFS Legal Co-ordinator

In 2006 we were indebted to the services of Carl Marlow (Go As You Please Funerals) He really is quite a trailblazer up here in the North East and has a 'Best of the Best' commendation in the Good Funeral Guide, with this entry:

"What you get from them is empowerment. They will make you aware of all the choices available-a rare thing in this business.  The biggest breath of fresh air you've ever seen. Incredibly good value for money.  They are dedicated to getting it right for you."

The matter he assisted us with really very exceptional and I know of no other funeral director that could or would have helped us the way Carl did.   It involved the traditional funeral pyre of a Sikh man (Mr Rajpal Mehat) on private farmland in Northumberland.

Carl assisted us and the deceased's family with every stage of the process - which was reported on by a selected pool of national and local media representatives - including BBC North East, who have footage of this 'natural cremation'.

Carl performed throughout with impeccable sensitivity, understanding and commitment to our charitable work - he never asked for a penny and we simply could not have managed it without him.  He speaks very passionately on behalf of a new breed of funeral directors who understand and also understand the societal changes that are making the 'traditional funeral' less and less relevant to people in the UK. 
 Andrew 

Sharon Paris

My Dad died about this time last year and I wanted to organise his funeral myself, so I went on the internet and found Carl. I am in London, but that didn't matter because whenever I needed help I just called Carl and he told me what I needed to do. The funeral was amazing, everybody was so impressed, even the Crematorium and Hospital staff thought it was a good idea, the man at the morgue said he would hope that his family would do it for him. It ended up being a fantastic family get together. It was a sad time, but the Send Off was definitely what my Dad would have wanted. I am now known as the family undertaker and would not be afraid to do it again, with Carl's help of course. To say that I would recommend Carl's service is an understatement, he is approachable, helpful and very knowledgeable and I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU!!!

Julian Stweart Lindsay

I can't thank you enough for your invaluable help with the funeral arrangements for both my mother and my father. You treated us all with the dignity that both occasions merited the personal service that you offer is so much more personal than I could have expected from one of the high street funeral directors. The wonderful thing was that nothing was too much trouble. I hope that they dont need your services but I shall have no hesitation in recommending you to all my friends and in particular because you cover the whole of the country.

Testimonial To Exceptionally Good Service

With my Father in Law reaching the end stages of his battle with cancer we contacted several funeral directors regarding funeral planning. Carl, one of the very few who responded, suggested we meet him for a chat, without any obligation. It's the best thing we could have done.

From assuming that the only choices we would have would be burial or cremation and to choose from a limited number of hymns, our eyes were opened to the range of possibilities. All without any obligation - Carl even made the point that we didn't actually need funeral directors.

Mindful of Carl's advice we planned the celebration of his life that my father in law envisaged. When he died, on a bank holiday weekend, we phoned Go As You Please, a lady called Alison answered and arranged to come out and collect his body. Alison looked after the family and ensured what we had planned actually happened - we'd assumed that some of what we hoped for wouldn't be able to be done, but nothing seems to be too much trouble for this firm.

They are friendly, yet consummate professionals. They believe that traditional values and service are important, but most importantly they deliver on their promise "that a funeral should be a personal and special occasion, where you dictate what happens". Alison's attention to detail ensured that the funeral was everything my father in law and his family wanted.

If you think this sort of service comes at a price, it does. Not only did Go As You Please provide the cheapest quote by a large margin, the final bill was actually below the price quoted. Would I recommend them on price? Actually I wouldn't - I am recommending them because they give a service that couldn't have been beaten at any price.

Jymn Trotter, Blyth, Northumberland

Isobel Bartlett, (Solihul, West Midlands):

I am writing to let you know how grateful I am for your assistance with my father's recent funeral. The quality of the coffin exceeded our expectations, and your company's service was excellent. Most of all, thank you so much for the invaluable advice you gave me regarding arranging funerals - you inspired me to arrange a very personal funeral at a reasonable cost, which was exactly what Dad would have wanted.
Carl, it was largely thanks to you that I didn't get sucked into making it more solemn and traditional (and expensive!) by the funeral directors. I really admire what you are doing within the funeral industry, and I wish you and your companies much success in the future. Many thanks again from myself and my family. Isobel

Keith Seymour (Warrington, Cheshire):
At what was a very difficult time, the service and advice provided by the Coffin Company was second to none. Not only was the coffin you supplied of excellent quality and value, but you 'debunked' much of the formality and overpricing of the funeral industry. You provided the encouragement to personalize my late father's funeral to reflect his true character. I can't recommend your service and products enough. Sincere thanks. Keith

Joan Woolard, (Lincolnshire):
The local funeral director looked at me sternly, saying; “I’ve never met anyone like you before.” People in this sleepy part of Lincolnshire don’t ask questions and especially if they’ve just been bereaved. That’s a time for being too distraught to care about costs, too helpless to go it alone. Half a century’s experience of life with a complete maverick taught me to question everything, challenge all the accepted mantras; don’t take anything for granted – and don’t say Yes for an answer.
My husband died very suddenly in hospital. He was 76 and had been ailing for some time. With our family all living in distant places it was down to me to organize the funeral. No use losing it and dissolving into jelly. I owed it to my life’s partner to control emotions and costs with equal rigor. Opening a large book of sepulchral images the funeral director assured me I would not find a coffin more suitable than his, wood veneer with brass-effect handles beginning at £1580. To my enquiry about wickerwork or basket-weave his eyebrows rose in astonishment: “Goodness, no, they’re much more expensive!” I wondered how he knew. He obviously made good enough profits without the aid of computers.
At home Google revealed the true cost of eco-coffins from about £100 upwards. But among the more winsome sarcophagi was a brightly coloured Union Jack affair on offer from the Original Coffin Company . Admittedly near the top of the range at £595 this in-your-face expression of jingoism matched my late husband’s blatant disregard for the sensitivities of the politically correct lobby. I had to have it. Or rather, he had to have it.
On the phone there soothing Geordie tones convinced me my husband’s body would be in capable hands if there team delivered the coffin complete with cargo to the church for safe-keeping overnight in the cold stone-flagged building. I hope he would have been proud of me for keeping my head and his money in reasonable order, not losing either.
My thanks for making it possible.