A FUNERAL director has been excluded from the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) after "client complaints".

William Bevan, based in Ross-on-Wye, is accused of breaches of conduct including not treating "vulnerable" clients and prospective clients fairly, with respect and dignity, and not providing competent and timely services.

The decision was made by the organisation's disciplinary committee, including chair Barry Picken, lay member Linda Ford and funeral director representative Gerrard Boyle.

The committee said that William Bevan did not cooperate fully with the organisation or the disciplinary investigation.

The committee ruled that the funeral directors, in Gloucester Road, is excluded from the professional body and won't be able to reapply for membership for a period of three years.

Allegations raised comprised a mixture of breaches of the funeral director code, including a "pattern of behaviour not compatible with the code".

The infringements cover multiple principles and outcomes of the code detailing the requirements for funeral businesses.

Code provisions allegedly violated by William Bevan include acting in the best interests of each client and prospective client, providing the best possible level of care to bereaved people, keeping in mind the specific needs of each client and family, acting transparently with honesty and integrity, and behaving in a way that promotes and maintains trust in their business, and the funeral directing profession and industry.

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More specific alleged breaches involved treating clients and prospective clients unfairly and without respect and dignity, not having resources to carry out instructions, incompetent service delivered in an untimely manner, client complaints not being dealt with fairly, openly and effectively, and not cooperating fully with the regulator.

The NAFD's committee considered each alleged breach individually and determined that cumulatively they met grounds for exclusion.

As part of the expulsion, William Bevan must remove NAFD signs from their funeral home, official paper marketing materials and their website to remove any confusion for bereaved families.

The committee has also revoked the funeral directors' right to offer access to NAFD's independent complaints and redress service.

The decision notice will be publicly displayed by the NAFD until November 2026.

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The NAFD said it is recommending people in Herefordshire who are looking for a funeral director visit funeral-directory.co.uk to find funeral directors who abide by industry standards.

NAFD upholds standards and trust in the funeral profession using disciplinary action when breaches occur.

William Bevan has been approached for comment.