Laird Funeral Home

I was very impressed with how caring, compassionate, and accommodating the funeral home staff were when I worked with them. They made such a difficult time for my family and me much easier. They answered every question I had and made sure that every detail was taken care of. Great business to work with.

There was a noticeable lack of attention to detail, a laissez faire attitude about customer service and no updated technology to run a video of pictures honoring my father’s life (we had to bring our own technology to make the slide show possible). The other service sharing the space was allowed to smoke in front of the building so our guests had to walk through impassible clouds of smoke to enter the building (which many guest complained about), their guests were allowed to run (literally)into my father’s service and had to be asked to leave by our family. We also asked that the other family’s guests not be allowed to eat the food and refreshments we had brought for our family (they were piling up plates of food), the Laird employee suggested that since there “were enough grandchildren” present at my father’s service that we should “post” one of the grieving teenage grandchildren to “guard” our refreshments - incredibly insensitive during our time of grief. I would encourage you to please look at other options for your family during your time of grief.

Warning, you should be very wary of Laird. After reading this, do not say you weren't forewarned about Laird's underhanded strong-arm tactics to bully you into paying the same bill twice (aka double-dipping). It is with a heavy heart that Laird has forced me to dig up my deceased father's painful memories so that I can experience fresh wounds once again. I strongly recommend you seek a different funeral home. This entire experience has been incredibly painful creating additional unnecessary emotional heartache. Here's the facts: On February 3, 2012, my father died suddenly, on February 28, 2012, I paid Laird funeral home of West Dundee the full amount of $5,222.00 to cover the costs for my deceased father's services. On Mar 21, 2012, my check in the amount of $5,222.00 cleared Laird's Park National Bank account # 01890XXXXXX. I've never heard from Laird since burying my father, then fast forward nearly 5 years later, on Oct 24, 2016, I receive a threatening and intimidating letter from a lawyer at the firm of Ariano Hardy Ritt of South Elgin stating that they are representing Laird in collecting a past due debt in the amount of $5222.00 plus interest which now totals $8317.01. Laird is the most despicable, disrespectful, and disgusting excrement masquerading as a funeral home as they prey upon the feelings of the bereaved. Laird should be ashamed. If Laird were unsure whether I had paid their bill, they could have sent me a letter of inquiry asking if I could produce evidence because their records were not clear, but no, Laird didn't do that, instead, they sent an attack dog who penned an intimidating and hostile letter. As I stated, I have the cleared check, so why would they send a hostile letter instead of contacting me directly. Imagine you buried your father nearly 5 years ago, paid your bill in FULL, you're finally moving on, and then out of nowhere you get threatened that the funeral home is trying to collect the bill for a second time, and this time is looking to tack on huge additional fees. Sounds awfully fishy doesn't it? Instead, they hired a law firm to send a nasty intimidating letter in the hopes that I would pay the bill twice. Ironically, I was speaking with some banker friends who indicated that beyond 5 years, it may have been more difficult to retrieve the records. Unfortunately, I'll bet I'm not the only person who has received the same letter, for which many people probably just pay it because they're afraid or unsure or they're just confused. What a profit center? Get paid a second time plus exorbitant interest charges for the services they were already paid for 5 years earlier. This entire experience has been incredibly painful. If you wish to avoid additional pain and suffering beyond that which you are already experiencing as you grieve for your lost friend or family member, then do not say you weren't forewarned if you choose to use this terrible funeral home for the care of your most beloved's remains. Just remember though, you should expect to receive a letter perhaps 4 or 5 years from now as Laird hires a law firm to intimidate you into paying the same bill again. Let this stand as my written response per the request of Scott Richmond from Ariano harty ritt. I can't begin to tell you how much pain and suffering you have re-kindled. As I stated, I have my cleared check in the amount of $5,222.00 with Laird's account and bank stamp. You are Despicable Laird.