Arbor Memorial Reviews 7

I am looking for follow-up on Wayne Gorniak charges and arrest warrant, there is nothing online that indicates that he was ever arrested or made to pay restitution, the story has disappeared online.
The reason I am curious is that I have heard more unfortunate talk about goings on at Leydens in Calgary.

First of all, Trustpilot has Arbor listed as a non-profit company. That is not true. They are very much a for profit company. I worked for them for 5 years in a Pre-Planning role. We were taught to upsell on pretty much anything and were discouraged on selling less expensive options. Not hard to do, as they pay their sales staff 100% commission. It's no wonder they try to upsell. The fact that they are paid 100% commission is immoral for families that are going through the most difficult time of their lives. They preach that we are supposed to be supporting our "families", but at every opportunity we are screwing them out of thousands of dollars. Let's not forget the bullying and poor managing skills they have at all levels. It is no wonder that the turn around for sales people is so high. Managers have literally no managerial experience, they are just plucked from the sales team, usually the ones that either sell a lot, or those that kiss a lot of butt. Family owned bunch of rich men that could care less about your family and more about their wallets. Go elsewhere and save your money.

Inflationary tactics to sell is just plain awful. Would recommend small scale and local versus this giant corp.

I am waiting for a refund (with interest) from Westlawn which is owned by Arbor, for my mother’s prepaid arrangements. My province has an entity called the Alberta Funeral Services Regulatory Board where I have filed a complaint, I am assuming each province has such a place.

I thought I was stuck with Westlawn (Arbor) due to my mother’s prepaid arrangements, and was having a difficult time with them. This company has been investigated multiple times for scamming people and putting a lot of pressure on grieving people to pay extra fees.

She was on disability, English was her second language, basically she was an easy sale for their salesman in 2008. As I was arriving at her place he was just leaving. I asked what he was doing there, he refused to speak to me and started to walk away. I told him to stop, and he wouldn’t. He knew I’d ruin his sale. The salesman told her she was paying for everything, but in 2024 a social worker at the hospital helped her find out it was just for a plot and an urn.

What could have been sarcasm by the funeral home manager, welcoming me to take my business elsewhere, led me to another place that saved me thousands of dollars. My mother was already at Westlawn, so I didn’t think that moving her elsewhere was a thing, that it was possible, and the thought of it shocked me at first.

I googled “cheap cremations Edmonton” and clicked on an ad for $940 cremations. I called the place and they said Arbor’s “policy” for me to identity my mother is to make me to pay to embalm her, the doctors at the hospitals identify the deceased and there is an ID tag tied to them, there is no requirement for me to identify my mother. They told me I could get her money refunded with interest. When I told them about the $1,375 wooden cremation casket Arbor wanted me to buy, she told me they use a cardboard box. They directed me to where I could file a complaint. They picked up my mother, and saved me a lot of money and grief.

Arbor is stalling with the refund. They did not need me to prove I am next of kin to try to take my money or try to embalm and then cremate her, but now they want proof to issue her estate the refund. They don’t even know what they need for me to prove that I am next of kin, but told me that my local courthouse might be able to help me. Same last name, same address, 23 years younger. Not good enough.

They’re just playing games at this point. They don’t want to pay interest because it’s for “physical items” and not “services.”

Also when I called to say the new place will be picking up my mother, the manager said I still have to pay the $600 transfer fee from the hospital. I said she can deduct it from what they owe us. She said she can’t do that, and she’ll send me to collections. Once my mother was picked up, they took down her complimentary obituary. If they’re not making thousands of dollars off someone, they can really show their true colours.

Arbor is well known as bullies, they have been investigated multiple times with hidden cameras, there are news articles and videos on YouTube about them scamming people. They want your money, as much of it as possible. I’m happy I can share that people are not stuck with them, and they can shop around for a more trustworthy business to deal with. I know it’s hard to fathom “shopping around” during such a difficult time, but it is worth it in the long run.

I learned a lot about Arbor in a 7.5 minute video on Yotube titled “Standing Up To Big Funeral Bullies.” The video is by a mortician named Caitlin Doughty, and she shares another woman’s story. CBC Marketplace on YouTube also investigated them.

I pre-planned my cremation in 2008. At that time, during the process, I was prompted to purchase an urn. At no time was I told I don’t have to buy an urn. At no time were any eventualities explained (eg moving).

Fast forward 15 years, my kids are adults, living abroad and they said they will not keep an urn or visit on site. So I call to cancel the thousand dollar urn that the very good salesgirl sold me 15 years ago. By the way, that salesgirl is now the manager.

I was told too bad, I bought it. It’s mine. But I no longer want it. It’s been ordered, they said, it’s mine. But I can’t have it until I die. I have moved out of province. They won’t ship. Bottom line is that plans change after a decade and a half. They suggest that I gift it to someone. They will however refund me the cremation fees but somehow it doesn’t add up and I’d be out $1500.

Dignity Memorial is incredulous that Arbor won’t refund me in full. The funeral home in my new province said they have had pre-planners order a $13,000 casket and then years later decide they want to be cremated instead and they’ve refunded the difference ($10,000!)

Something is so very wrong with what Arbor is doing.

I feel as though I’ve been swindled.

The prices of the funeral home in my new province are 30% cheaper now than Arbor’s were 15 years ago, AND they offer more services. How can that be?

I have been HAD😩 and I regret pre-planning with Arbor Memorial.

Calling the Bereavement Authority of Ontario tomorrow, to see what can be done, if anything. Beyond upset about all of this😞

Terrible company to deal with. Customer service is a disgrace. I tried to get a place near my dad and they just gave me the run-around. I tried to get a cost of a small columbarium, I had appt w/ the office manager but when I showed up for appt he did not have anything for me, and did not talk to me in person but sent out his receptionist to get rid of me. They never have gotten back to me as to the cost or availability of the product near my dad. All of this was done at the Chapel Lawn Memorial Garden Cemetery in Winnipeg. I finally gave up on this place and got at spot of the local church cemetery.. not close to my dad but at least close to my grandparents. Really not happy with this company. And in addition all their "services and products" are soo expensive and the grounds are not well maintained for the prices they charge. Many damaged markers, mostly having the date/name plates coming off, and some damaged by lawn mower (my brothers was damaged like that but they did repair it after I brought it to their attn). And btw, if anyone looking to buy a plot there you should first look on Kijiji as they always have plots there for sale at a lot less than the company would charge you. But for the most part I would avoid dealing w/ this company if possible!!