Funeral Support Scheme Terms and Conditions

1. About these Terms

These Terms govern participation in the Darul Falah Funeral Support Scheme operated by DARUL FALAH CIC. Darul Falah is a Community Interest Company and uses Scheme resources for its stated community purpose.

The version shown when an applicant submits is recorded with that application. Material later changes will be communicated clearly before they apply to future participation.

2. Nature of the Scheme

The Scheme is intended to be a community contribution fund. Contributions enter a communal fund controlled by Darul Falah; they do not create a personal account, savings balance, ownership share or ring-fenced amount for an individual.

A contribution, active status, the passage of time or a previous decision does not create a right to funeral support. Darul Falah may decide that no grant should be made or may approve any amount up to the applicable ceiling after considering each request individually.

• Darul Falah does not promise to provide or secure a future funeral in return for contributions.
• The Scheme does not guarantee payment of funeral costs or any minimum amount.
• Any public description of the Scheme must remain consistent with these practical arrangements.

3. Important definitions

Active member

A registered person whose application has been accepted, whose initial contribution has cleared, whose required later contributions are not materially overdue, and whose participation has not ended or been suspended.

Applicant

The person completing a registration, whether for themselves or with proper authority for another person.

Family membership

A primary member together with accepted spouse, partner or dependent family members recorded by Darul Falah.

Support request

A request asking Darul Falah to consider a discretionary funeral grant after a registered person's death.

Community-event contribution

A contribution requested from active members after an approved qualifying community death event, subject to the rolling annual cap.

Verified eligible costs

Reasonable funeral or repatriation costs supported by evidence and accepted by Darul Falah for consideration.

Decision Panel

The authorised three-person operating structure described in Darul Falah's governance policy.

4. Who may apply

Eligibility rules and their application remain subject to Darul Falah's approved equality assessment. A person who needs an accessible format or reasonable adjustment should contact Darul Falah.

• The primary member must ordinarily reside in the United Kingdom when applying.
• A new primary member must be aged 18 to 70 inclusive when Darul Falah accepts the application. Turning 71 later does not by itself end an existing membership.
• The applicant must give complete, accurate and current information and have authority to provide information about every person included.
• A new spouse or partner must be aged 18 to 70 inclusive when accepted and normally live at the primary member’s address. A dependent child must be unmarried, under 21 and normally live at that address when accepted.
• Darul Falah may request proportionate identity, address, relationship or authority evidence when a flagged application, adult Family-member confirmation, account recovery or support request needs it. Evidence is not requested from every applicant by default.

5. Registration and truthful information

A registration is not complete merely because a form has been submitted. Objective checks assess age, UK residence, required details, Family rules, current document acceptance and possible duplicate or continuity records. An application that passes may be accepted automatically and offered secure payment; an unclear or failed check is sent for human review without requesting payment.

An innocent mistake may normally be corrected. Deliberately false information, forged evidence, concealed conflicts, impersonation or collusion may lead to suspension, refusal, termination, recovery and reporting where lawful.

• Only one active registration is permitted for the same person.
• Members must notify Darul Falah of material changes to contact, household, payer or trusted-contact details.
• A registration or expectation of support cannot be sold, assigned or transferred.

6. First 45 days

Membership becomes active when an accepted application’s initial contribution clears. The first 45 days are an early-event safeguard, not a delay to membership activation.

A support request may be submitted at any time. An event within the first 45 days is automatically flagged for enhanced human review and may require additional evidence. Genuine unforeseen circumstances can be considered, but no request creates an entitlement or guarantees any amount.

A continuously covered dependent child moving from an active Family membership to Individual membership at age 21 does not restart the 45-day period when Darul Falah verifies the matching record and uninterrupted participation. The Individual first contribution is still due.

7. Contribution amounts

A member will not be asked for more than three community-event contributions during their rolling 12-month membership period. With annual renewal, the maximum annual contribution is therefore £150 for Individual membership and £265 for Family membership. With monthly renewal after year one, the corresponding maximum is £174 and £285.

Darul Falah must give direct notice of the amount and collection date before a variable payment is collected. No retrospective community-event charge may be taken without the payer's valid authority.

8. Payment, failed contributions and hardship

• Payments will be collected through an approved hosted payment provider. Darul Falah will not store full card details.
• A payment is treated as received only when the provider confirms cleared or settled status through the verified payment process.
• Members may cancel a recurring payment instruction through the provider or their bank; cancelling a payment method does not by itself resolve any outstanding membership decision.
• If a contribution fails or is reversed, Darul Falah will give notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct it before changing participation status, except where fraud or immediate security risk is reasonably suspected.
• A member experiencing hardship should contact Darul Falah. Any waiver, deferral or payment plan is discretionary and must be recorded consistently.

9. Cancellation and refunds

Darul Falah offers a 30-day voluntary cancellation period beginning when the first contribution is received. Where no support request has been made and no service has been consumed, Darul Falah will normally return the first contribution using the original payment route.

After that period, a member may end future participation at any time. Cleared contributions already committed to the communal fund are not normally refundable, except for payment error, duplicate collection, an applicable legal right or a specific decision by Darul Falah. Nothing in these Terms removes statutory payment or consumer rights.

10. Family, children and dependants

Only people accepted and recorded within a Family membership before the relevant death may be considered under that membership, unless Darul Falah determines that a correction or exceptional circumstance should be accepted.

The following are maximum discretionary ceilings and never promised amounts.

• An eligible late pregnancy loss, reviewed individually: up to £500.
• Birth to under 6 months: up to £500.
• 6 months to under 7 years: up to £2,500.
• 7 years to under 21 years: up to £7,000.
• A registered adult, including an existing adult member aged 70 or over: ordinary funeral support up to £7,000.
• Dependent-child coverage under Family membership ends at 21. A continuously covered child may move to Individual membership without restarting the 45-day period after Darul Falah verifies continuity.
• Darul Falah may consider exceptional circumstances sensitively and must record the reason for any departure from the normal scale.

11. How to request support

A trusted contact, next of kin, personal representative or other properly authorised person may submit a support request. Requests should normally be made within 90 days after the death, but Darul Falah may extend this where bereavement, official processes, repatriation or another reasonable circumstance caused delay.

• Provide the registration reference where available.
• Provide evidence of identity, authority or relationship.
• Provide an official death certificate or other evidence Darul Falah reasonably accepts while official documents are pending.
• Provide itemised funeral or repatriation quotations, invoices and payment evidence.
• Disclose other grants, insurance payments, government help or third-party funding relevant to the same costs.
• Authorise Darul Falah to verify material information with providers or relevant authorities where lawful and necessary.

12. Decision process

The Case Review and Compliance Officer checks the evidence and prepares a recommendation. The Scheme Lead and Decision Officer decides whether any grant is appropriate and the amount. The Finance and Payment Officer independently validates any approved recipient and payment. No person may prepare, decide and release the same grant alone.

Darul Falah considers each request individually. Relevant factors may include verified costs, need, contribution and participation history, timing, other assistance, available fund resources, exceptional circumstances, conflicts and the Scheme's community purpose. Passing a checklist does not produce an automatic grant.

13. Amount and method of support

• The ordinary ceiling is £7,000 for one death, subject to lower child/dependant ceilings where applicable.
• A grant cannot exceed verified eligible costs and may take account of other support already covering the same cost.
• Darul Falah will normally pay a verified funeral provider directly. Reimbursement may be considered against proof of payment and authority.
• An approval may include conditions, staged payment or direct settlement of specified invoices.
• A decision may be reduced, deferred or declined if available funds or evidence do not support the requested amount.

14. Catastrophic incidents

A catastrophic incident is one originating event or directly connected series of events within 24 hours causing more than one death recorded under the same Family membership. Examples may include a vehicle collision, house fire, aviation incident or major public incident.

The aggregate Family ceiling is £17,000. Darul Falah may require police, coroner, hospital, emergency-service or other official evidence. The three-person team must agree a catastrophic decision and may reduce, defer or pro-rate support to protect the communal fund.

15. Providers and repatriation

• A provider listing or introduction is not a guarantee or endorsement of quality, price or availability.
• Claimants remain responsible for instructing a funeral provider unless Darul Falah expressly agrees a limited administrative role.
• Darul Falah may verify provider identity, ownership, prices, bank details, conflicts and invoices before payment.
• International repatriation may require foreign death documents, translations, permits, airline arrangements and destination-country evidence.
• Overseas or higher-risk payments may require additional due diligence or lawful sanctions checks.

16. Misuse, investigation and recovery

Darul Falah may pause registration, a support request or payment while it completes reasonable checks. It will explain the issue where lawful and practical, avoid unnecessary delay in time-sensitive funeral cases and keep an investigation record.

• Material deliberate deception, forged documents, impersonation, duplicate claims, concealed connected providers, bribery or collusion may lead to refusal or termination.
• Darul Falah may recover money obtained through proven fraud or material deliberate misrepresentation, including reasonable recovery costs where lawful and proportionate.
• Innocent error, confusion or an immaterial omission will not automatically be treated as fraud and should normally be corrected.
• Information may be preserved or shared with payment providers, professional advisers or public authorities only where lawful and described in the Privacy Notice.

17. Conflicts and conduct

• A team member must declare and withdraw from a case involving themselves, a close relative, a connected provider or another material personal interest.
• If fewer than two independent authorised people remain, the decision pauses until the board appoints a temporary substitute.
• Threats, harassment, bribery, staff impersonation or interference with evidence verification may lead to communication restrictions, investigation or termination, applied proportionately.

18. Suspension and ending participation

Darul Falah may suspend or end participation for a serious or repeated breach, deliberate misuse, unresolved material non-payment, loss of eligibility or legal necessity. Except where immediate action is reasonably needed for security or fraud prevention, Darul Falah will give the reason, effective date and opportunity to respond.

Ending participation stops future contribution requests after the effective date. It does not retrospectively create or remove a grant entitlement, and it does not prevent proportionate investigation or recovery of proven fraud.

19. Changes to contributions or Terms

Darul Falah may propose changes for fund sustainability, legal requirements, payment-provider changes or operational improvement. It must use objective reasons, provide the change in a durable notice before it takes effect, explain the member's options and allow cancellation of future participation.

A change will not retrospectively alter an already approved grant or remove a support request already submitted before the change, unless the law requires it or the request was affected by deliberate fraud. Silence will not be treated as consent where active consent is legally required.

20. Privacy and security

Darul Falah handles personal information under the Privacy Notice. Funeral-support work may involve religious-belief, health, bereavement and identity information that requires additional protection. Darul Falah will collect only what is reasonably needed, restrict staff access, use private document storage and retain information according to an approved schedule.

Service communications are separate from optional marketing. Members can change marketing preferences without losing essential registration, contribution or support-request messages.

21. Decisions, complaints and reconsideration

A claimant may request reconsideration of a grant decision by explaining what is disputed and providing any additional evidence. The three-person team will review the record; the original decision-maker cannot dismiss the request alone.

A separate complaint may be sent to info@darulfalah.org. Darul Falah will acknowledge it promptly, provide a target response time, preserve relevant records and explain any applicable external redress route.

22. Responsibility and statutory rights

Nothing in these Terms excludes responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded, including responsibility for fraud by Darul Falah or for death or personal injury caused by negligence where applicable. Darul Falah is not responsible for an independent provider's acts merely because it verified an invoice or paid an approved grant directly to that provider.

Nothing in these Terms removes statutory consumer, payment, data-protection or equality rights. If a court finds one provision unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue so far as legally possible. England and Wales law governs these Terms, subject to any mandatory right to bring proceedings elsewhere.

23. Contact

DARUL FALAH CIC, company number 14867627. Centre address: Darul Falah Centre, Town Road, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 1QE. Email: info@darulfalah.org.