R & H Barker
40 Wantage Road
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 0BT
Contact Numbers
Reviews
AVOID AVOID AVOID
My Husband was booked to officiate a funeral for a lovely family on the 20th December 2021. My Husbands opinion upon meeting Roger Barker could not be put on here, quickly backed up by reading reviews. After several reminders, and a firm email, he has still not paid my Husband for the service he gave, and having read the reviews it does not surprise me.
Adele Bolkonsky - 04/02/2022 | report this review
Implore you to avoid this doesn't deserve a single star rating
father passed recently ,family members selected this rogue funeral director. not from the area so I assumed he was reputable and trusted that any funeral director were professional given the sensitive nature of the service they should provide. I recently lost my mother in law and our experience with another funeral director in south Oxfordshire had been seamless and professional from start to end. No concerns fully informed and she was laid to rest at complete peace. This funeral director however is a rogue, a complete narcissist whom has no regard for anyone other than his own warped ego. To summarize our experience I start by listing the shocking inappropriate comments that left that mans mouth over recent weeks,Asked what race my father was, whom was still laying with us having just passed some few hrs earlier. We answered that he was Anglo Indian for him to say ah yes I thought he was something like that…. Although he’s a bit pale now isn’t he.I was horrified by the inappropriate insensitive absolute racist and derogatory comments. In days that followed he filled in his own details on the forms regarding a coffin, giving no options no brochures to my fathers spouse and when I questioned this he insensitively said it’s only going to burn! Again after I left my father having been to see him at the chapel of rest , they again said “ the coffins just chip board and veneer it’s only going to burn!The Funeral director is narcissistic and seems to enjoy the trauma he puts people through and has no compassion or empathy for mourners. I observed my father placed in his coffin with no dignity! No lower covering or pillow, the cardboard tag still on his finger plonked by his side and not even placed with any dignity. I’ve seen many loved ones and never have I ever seen such lack of dignity! They even made comments when seeing family to make arrangements that should have him struck off for life…. “ unless you know of anyone in London with the surname Kray who could dispose of the body?” Shocking & vile. The week that followed robbed us of the grieving period we should have had for dad by the ignorant lack of communication in us trying to confirm an order of service. they only got on to it Friday evening prior to the service on Monday a.m. and it was a total sham!A child could have composed more professionally and when attempting to discuss mr Barker would slam the phone down on us leaving us in tears and exasperation!This resulted in us having to design an order of service in the final 24 hrs ourselves and asking him to print .further attempts for them to print completely failed. They amended and repositioned all fonts and text layout when we instructed him to just print it to yet again produce another sham at 5 pm on a Sunday when our fathers service was in a.m. When we tried to communicate for the last time about it he told me” well you won’t have any order of service for your dads service tomorrow ok”. I was dumbfounded the only word I could utter to him was a reply to say “disgusting”! We were all left deflated, disgusted and ashamed that this vile sadistic monster had impacted our journey of trying to grieve and prepare for dads service. We stopped all communication with him for our own mental health, I cannot describe the emotional abuse this funeral director puts you through at such a vulnerable time of your lives trying to process the loss of your loved one. I implore you to stay far away from this horrific man and all he stands for. If I had known earlier & had the authority to ,I would have removed dad the day after he took him, god only knows the level of disregard he showed my father if his treatment of grieving loved ones is anything to go by. We are traumatized and always will be. If I can save one family from going through what we have then this is worth it. I will never forgive this man and if I ever see him again I pray it’s when his business has been shut down for the well-being of any family needing support during loss of their loved ones. At least trading standards are now aware.
vicki lee - 31/01/2022 | report this review
DIGNIFIED SERVICE
When my beloved boyfriend Fuzzy died, Roger Barker handled his funeral. He knew exactly the right things to say to put me at my ease when I was feeling fraught with emotion. I was given plenty of time to say goodbye to Fuzzy in the private chapel of rest and I was involved in the order of service. Roger conducted the funeral with the greatest dignity and respect and I would highly recommend his services.
Ruth Tagg - 25/07/2021 | report this review
Avoid!
Avoid! rude un helpful don't entrust your loved ones ashes to this company they hand them out to un authorised people to collect without informing you, you only find out when you go to collect and they are no longer there and get fed a ridiculous story as to why they are not, how cruel is that! even worse when you phone and complain the phone is slammed down on you.
Deborah-Katherine Hodgetts - 17/09/2013 | report this review
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