Neptune Cremation Service

Sent me direct mail addressed to my deceased father (who never lived at my address). As a marketing professional I’m disgusted by their tactics.

I wish I could give zero stars, I just want to say how utterly disgusted I am with the Neptune Society. My father passed away and had used their services and the company is STILL sending him offers for pre-​paid cremation offers. Not only that, but after he had passed the pressure the Sherman Oaks, CA office put on us to order multiple death certificates at a higher cost than thru the Department of Public Health. Do not use this company. They need to be sent to sensitivity training.

Be wary of this company. An elderly relative met with a sales rep (to save us future trouble) then woke up with second thoughts. The rep had made a home visit and attempted to sell the Neptune «package» deal. In going through the paperwork to insure that everything is cancelled, I saw that they were planning to charge $ 969 for a «memento package» which consists of a wooden urn, a chest with latch, 25 thank you cards, and a «Neptune information book». My guess is that this junk would have a collective value of about $ 20 (I’m being generous).
Doing a little research reveals why Neptune allocated so much of the budget to the «memento package». Most states require companies that make these kinds of «pre-​sales» to hold most of the money in trust so that, in the event that anything happens to the company, buyers will get a refund and be able to switch to a different company.
By shifting a large portion of the purchase to «merchandise» the company can pocket the money immediately and avoid their responsibility to hold the funds in trust. You may read about this at
or you may google these words: «DORA’s Division of Insurance Alleges Neptune Society Used „Bait and Switch“ to Lure Consumers to Purchase Pre-​Need Funeral Contracts»)
The entire package with financing was going to cost this elderly person $ 2399. I’m told that a simple cremation service can be had for around $ 1000. To top it off, online reviews do not instill confidence in the service that this company offers.

I had heard of the Neptune Society, and after seeing some TV commercials, thought it might be right for me and my «final wishes» — pre-​paid cremation and movement of my remains, all paid for in advance so my family doesn’t have to worry about a thing. I went to the web site, but there was scant details online — no prices, no real details about what they would guarantee for their services, etc. So I filled out the email form for more information. Instead of getting more information in writing, via email, I got a sales call — the rep was super pushy, wanting to tell me details right then and there on the phone, saying, «Well I can tell you anything you want to know now, just ask me.» I said I really preferred information in writing, preferably online, to read for myself and really think through. She said, «I don’t really do the Internet. I can send you something in the mail.» So I agreed. A few days later, I got two pages of information, laid out as though the person had no graphic design experience at all, and with about ¹⁄₃ of the information hand-​written by her on one of the flyers. It looked like something a person produced on a desktop computer back in the 1980s. In short — not a very professional presentation. I looked online for third-​party testimonials about the company, and couldn’t find many — and the few I found seemed negative (by relatives of people that had pre-​paid plans with the Neptune Society). So when the rep called to see if I’d reviewed the materials, I said yes, but that I felt that I needed much more information, and I asked where I could read testimonials online. She said there were none, but she thought she might have a file somewhere, and would look to see if she could find it. She called again later to say she’d gotten some testimonials from the main office, and she asked to fax them to me. I was frustrated that they were being faxed instead of emailed — again, it is 2012 — but really wanting to read more, I said yes. But they never arrived. She called about a week later to followup, and I told her I wouldn’t be going with Neptune because I felt that if a company couldn’t have detailed information online, had to fax me things instead of email them, and had to hand-​write out details rather than in a professional presentation, I’m not sure I want to trust them with my remains. She said forcefully, «Well, I could have sent you a really pretty brochure that would have looked better, but it wouldn’t have given you the details that I wrote out on those materials!» an answer which showed she still didn’t understand my point. I wasn’t sure I could explain it further, so I said I wasn’t interested, but thanks. She said, «Okay, fine then» and hung up. Based on this experience, I won’t be going with this company.

I called this office after weeks of getting mail for pre-​paid cremation and death planning for my three small children (ages 3, 2, and 10 months). This is obviously a mistake, and poor advertising? (can you call it advertising?) on their part. When I called the office, and asked to be removed from their list the women who answered was irritated and told me all she could do was send a note to corporate office. When I told her that it was disturbing to keep getting mail like this she said ‘geez, just throw it away!’ and then hung up on me.
If this company treats the clients that are dealing with the death of a loved one with the same lack of compassion or patience — you’d be best to go to a company that has some sensititvity.