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An ex-funeral parlour which is being investigated for ‘mismanagement of human remains’ allegedly gave one relative the wrong ashes in a horror mix-up.
A. Milne Independent Funeral Directors is subject to a disciplinary process amid reports of grieving relatives not receiving their loved one’s remains.
One family claimed they were refused a full refund after their deceased relative was left untouched for three weeks.
Meanwhile, a grieving daughter last night told of how she kept an urn in her house for five months before she was told the ashes didn’t belong to her mother.
Police Scotland said enquiries into the Glasgow and Dumbarton based directors are at an ‘early stage’.
The Glasgow branch in Balornock saw at least five forensic officers pictured outside on Friday.
Anne Gibson thought she had the ashes of her late mother Patricia Alison (pictured) in her home for five months, but they were in fact the remains of a stranger
Police outside A. Milne funeral directors in Balornock, Glasgow on Monday
A police van pictured parked outside the ex-funeral directors in Glasgow on Friday
Police Scotland said enquiries into the Glasgow and Dumbarton based directors are at an ‘early stage’. Pictured are police at the scene on Friday
The A. Milne website is now inaccessible with an error message displayed (above)
Speaking to the BBC, Anne Gibson said she used the funeral parlour after her mother, Patricia Alison, died in April last year.
After waiting for months to receive her mother’s ashes, A Milne finally delivered them.
But when Ms Gibson went to scatter them, there was no name. When she asked the crematorium why this was, she was told her mother’s remains were still there and they didn’t know whose ashes she had.
‘The whole time her ashes were at the crematorium, ignored, as if no one loved or cared about her. My mum didn’t deserve that,’ she told the BBC.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said an investigation is ‘ongoing into to the conduct of a former funeral company that had branches in Glasgow and Dumbarton’.
This is regarding ‘the storage/return of cremated remains and allegations of financial misconduct’, GlasgowLive reported.
They added: ‘Enquiries are at an early stage.’
The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) said the business is subject to a disciplinary process.
A spokesperson told Sky News it received a ‘number of complaints’ but the firm has ‘stopped corresponding with us’.
However, they confirmed the directors have been formally notified that the complaints will be reviewed at a disciplinary meeting this month.
The A. Milne website is now inaccessible with an error message displayed.
The family of Dennis Smillie, who died in 2021, told Glasgow Live they paid £3,100 to the company for its services.
Dennis Smillie’s ashes have been missing for nearly three years, his family said
David Ereslin was left touched for three weeks and his family only received a partial refund
A. Milne Independent Funeral Directors (pictured) is subject to a disciplinary process
They were unable to collect the ashes but the couple said that Steve, the director, offered to deliver them.
But three years on, the ‘devastated’ family are still waiting – and are unable to move on.
They told GlasgowLive: ‘Three years down the line and my father-in-law’s ashes still aren’t here.
‘My family is heartbroken – the kids are asking where their papa is and we don’t have a clue. I just want him back. It would bring us all closure and relief.’
When David Breslin died aged 76, his family also used the company, paying £3,851.
But his grieving relatives were shocked to discover his body had been ‘untouched for three weeks’, still in his pyjamas.
They demanded a refund but only received less than half – £1,250.
His family told GlasgowLive: ‘The stress was unreal. I felt it was all my fault and my stomach was churning on the day.’
MailOnline has contacted A. Milne Independent Funeral Directors for comment.