After listening to a sales presentation by the Neptune Society on cremation pre-arrangement plans in July 2026, I researched other providers and chose to purchase a plan, same month, from Smart Cremation, for the following reasons: 1. money-back guarantee, return of funds at any future time, 2. the money I paid is held in trust by a trust bank in Texas (3rd party, address is given, website verified), and 3. the price seemed comparable with other pre-need plans. The contract terms reflected the sales information; I can recommend talking with an agent, mine was Mr. Adam Ortiz (Calif, ph: 800-700-2203). James in Pleasanton, CA read more

I attended smart creations for personal reasons as most people do. It was an excellent presentation. The gentleman answered everybody's questions and the prices were outstanding along with the services offered for that price. They are very very professional. I was so impressed and respectful beyond what I might've thought for a cremation Business thank you for welcoming me through the presentation and the fact that there were so many people that had purchased from you before and were there again was a real testament to the way you handle business and the way you respect people. read more

Don't do it. Nothing but problems. No communication. My Dad passed and it took 8 hours to pick up his body from the time they were called. Then I find out it goes through a funeral home for pick up so I called the funeral home directly who was waiting for a call from Smart Creations. Now I just found out that I have to go get the death certificate. Drive an hour and a half to do a 5 minute job that is normally performed by a funeral home. Save yourself a lot of headaches and go through a funeral home for you loved ones. My Dad was so proud and said " Just call this number on this card and they will take care of everything". Pretty sure that is what they told him to get a sale. read more

Book not provided and called twice/ lied and said it Was sent!! High pressure sales at dinner. read more

Pushy, super aggressive sales tactics after the free presentation. I would advise people to look elsewhere for these services, unless you don't mind being repeatedly contacted via text, phone and email. read more

My sister just passed away and Taeya Havens my funeral director with Smart Cremation was there for me every step of the way. she was caring and comforting, , kept me informed and helped me through state requirements, advising how to keep the process moving and with kindly supportive advise finalized bringing her home quickly. Tanya will be there for me if and when I need further assistance , as I work through interment this fall. read more

I have called over several days three numbers for Smart Cremation, much more than a dozen times, and have not gotten through or called back. I want a refund maybe that is the reason why. read more

I base my rating strictly on the seminar provided. The host was upbeat and knowledgeable. IMO, the price was reasonable. I will not know how well it actually works until I am no longer available to write a review. read more

Generally great service when we went to a seminar and signed up for the service Person running the seminar was very knowledgeable read more

I have been going through a difficult time with the passing of my mother. I felt that Jessica was very compassionate and went above and beyond for us. read more

My mom had bought a policy a few years ago and when her time to pass away came they were amazing from the beginning. They kept in touch with me threw the whole process made sure I understood what was going on. Everyone i talked to was very caring an compassionate I would highly recommend them they made a difficult time so much easier. read more

My cousin passed away & had this service. They took care of everything. Much easier on the family who live outside the USA

Rebecca responded to my inquiry quickly and was very helpful. She was informative and professional. When I'd made my decision and choices, the transaction was handled by phone. Within a week or two I received a card for my wallet and 1 for my son. Subsequent to that, the container I requested and a guide book for my family was delivered. I'm relieved to have my arrangements made in such a calm way. read more

Nasty remarks from the presenter. State paid cremation with body going to medical research, the presenter called this person a "Scum Bag" saying they will cut him up . Hurt me to hear that about the father of my two children. I was sorry I went . Lunch at Red Lobster. Only 4 people showed up . read more

After doing much research I had narrowed it down to 2 services. Considered Smart Creamations my top priority. Spoke with Pam and made appt, Day came for my 12:00 appt and no one showed up. Didn't receive a call or text . Didn't even receive a email. Can't imagine entrusting them with such a huge obligation only to be a no show Wish you well if you decide to go with them but not for me read more

We purchased a Smart Cremation prepaid service at a restaurant presentation. The sales rep told us at the end of the presentation that there was no need to read the contract before signing, and that the representative had explained all the fine print. The next morning when we read the contract, we discovered many things that the sales representative failed to mention, including that the Smart Cremation can decide to refund your money instead of providing the service when you die. The contract states that Smart Cremation is under no obligation to provide any service at the time of need. Not only that, they will not refund finance charges under any situation. The sales rep left out other facts in the contract that work against the interest of the purchaser. read more

Sandra was very informative when addressing post life care. I had purchased a cremation plan from another company in years past, however Smart Cremation offers so much more personal service for the same price. Personal convenience offered and stress relief taken from loved ones. read more

In 2017, my parents purchased cremation services through Smart Cremations to assist our family with pre-planned arrangements and costs. My mom passed in the hospital on Thanksgiving day, 12/27. I called Smart Cremations 800# to notify them of her death. The conversation was all business, asking repeated questions, without a touch of compassion. A director, Nicole, contacted me 2 1/2 hours later, saying that my "arranger" would be contacting me within 24 hours to go over the process and answer any questions, and that she would be my point of contact moving forward. The hospital nursing supervisor notified me of the time (12 hours later) that my mom's body was picked up and the destination mortuary. I was told this was an interim stop. I did not receive any call from the arranger after 36 hours of her passing, so I called the 800# and was told I would receive a call back from someone within an hour. This did not happen. I called the 800# the next day (Saturday) and spoke with Denise, the supervisor at dispatch. She notified the director, Nicole, who called me back 10 minutes later. She again said "the arranger would contact me within 24 hours". In tears, I said this was unacceptable, that it had already been over 48 hours. I kept her on the line to answer my questions on the location and plan for my mom's body. I asked her for the name and contact info of my "arranger". I received a call from our arranger, Tiffani Arnold, 96 hours after mom's death. Without any compassion or apology, she went over the process, saying it would take 10-14 business days to complete the entire process. I live 125 miles from my mother's home. They would not deliver her remains to me directly-"it was outside of their service area"-so other arrangements needed to be made with a local relative. She said she would contact me once the death certificate was registered with the county. All necessary forms were signed online by me on 12/2. She needed an additional signature from my cousin, mom's Advance Directive for Healthcare, which took an additional 2 days to obtain due to poor communication between those 2 parties. 6 days passed after all forms signed, without an update, so I began making calls on 12/10 to Tiffani and the 800#, who replied they would have someone call me back. This did not happen. 6 more days passed and I went through the same steps to attempt contact. I finally received a call back from Tiffani with an excuse why she was not available. She informed me the Death Certificate was registered on 12/13/2024 and a request for cremation had been sent to the mortuary the same day. She assured me she would contact me when the cremation date was set and when remains were delivered. No response for 5 days, so again on 12/21, my cousin and I attempted several more times over next 7 days to reach someone, without any response. On 12/27, my cousin called the mortuary directly, which we were told not to do, yet they confirmed they had my mom's remains and said she could come by anytime to pick them up. This entire process took 29 days with minimal effort on the part of Smart Cremations and unnecessary stress on the grieving family. read more

Communication is poor. I was left wondering when and who would pick up the body. When I called the receptionist was kind but could not provide an information. I'm not recommending them due to the added stress they cause by the poor communication. I understand that I could post and obituary through there company and so I requested information on doing so, but never received a call back. All they did was contact a funeral home to pick up the body, nothing more. So why would I pay more for there service? read more

We went to a dinner invite to be solicited for their services and found it to be a good way to get the information and questions answered. We were asked to sign up for it at this meeting (expected), and we did not leave with any unpleasant surprises. I feel if you truly want to remove the strain from a loved one when you pass into the after life, this is a no brainer, especially if you die in a foreign country! Travel a lot, I would think about that one carefully as it can be a nightmare to get closure! The cost was reasonable (IMO) as search engines provide similar costs! So, we will use them w/o hesitation! 4*or 5*..? I always leave a star in reserve until I have more info, meaning someone I know who has used them to give me more feedback! read more

I signed up with Smart Cremation in June 2023 and arranged for auto pay. Since that time, I probably tried to access my account once or twice until today. I wish to review my account with them; spent 3 hours online including calls! Their website is RIDICULOUS, requiring new passwords: minimum 12 letter/numbers/special characters with at least 1 upper and lower case letters. The link to reset the password was sent through email; went through the password [like 10 times], but freezes when new password has been submitted. Calling Customer Service is a exercise of patience! Call their Sales Department, you have someone responding IMMEDIATELY! At this point in time, my issue has not been resolved and am really reviewing my option to cancel my contract. The agent who processed my contract does not reply to the voice message I left in your phone. So, think SERIOUSLY before signing their contract. I have my regrets! read more

Choosing Smart Cremation is the smartest decision I ever made in my life! From the minute I bought my plan, I felt only relief. Now my family doesn't have to do anything except place one phone call. The presenter was very knowledgeable and explained everything in detail. Extremely pleasant and professional. The price was very affordable and they offered payment options. Thank you Smart Cremation for making a difficult decision so easy to make. Now this burden is off my family. read more

I think the idea is great and would bear consideration however the presenter wasn't one that inspired a lot of confidence. Don't get me wrong, he was upbeat and informative however something just didn't resonate. The older lady helping him out was much more confidence building. read more

I don't know how many 'franchises' these characters operate but I'm writing about the one which sends 'invitations' to a FREE lunch seminar at the Parkway Tavern on Flamingo and the 215 in Las Vegas. The presentation lasts OVER and hour and once done you're treated to a mediocre sandwich. What is MOST despicable and why I would NEVER recommend this firm is that the barker who gave the pitch asked the PARTICPANTS to pay the tip for the meal!!! The pitch itself is worse than any other timeshare presentation I've attended. But it's certainly polished if you can polish a turd. He relies on the oldest scare tactics known to man and if that isn't enough he badgers on and on making sure EVERYONE is really pissed off before YOU order your meal from a list of mediocre sandwiches. DO NOT ATTEND this waste of time. Rip up the post card invitation as soon as it arrives. You will b glad you did. read more

From the time my husband passed I realized we had made a big mistake. It took more than one call to get an answer, they didn't know who they had in Bakersfield, 4 hours later got a call and and hour after that they showed up. The two men said as soon as they saw Smart Cremation, oh you got a cheap service, I never considered our service cheap. Long story short, my husband passed on Friday, got a call from Smart on Sunday, tried calling 4 times and text twice, still no call back. The place my husband was taken will not answer any of my questions because I'm a Smart Cremation and it's been 8 days and I need answers. I would not use unless I knew who the cremator service was and there was a person to help walk you thru a really hard time. I'm not happy. read more

My mother had signed up to be cremated with Smart Cremations years ago. She passed away a few weeks ago. I will say, I am very grateful that she handled this ahead of time as well as I'm glad she went with Smart Cremations. They (Kelli) were very easy to work with. She was super helpful and handled her end without any problems. read more

My Dad chose Smart Cremation and at his time of passing they did not treat him with the dignity and respect he deserved. They contract with VERY FEW funeral homes in each state. Those funeral homes are NOT allowed to help you. You can only talk to the out of state funeral director that has been assigned to your loved one. In my Dad's case, it was Ana Ramirez and laws were broken. By Smart Cremation and also by my Dads doctors office. The Death Certificate is supposed to be filed within 72 hours. My Dads Death Certificate wasn't filed for 19 days! That meant he couldn't be cremated for 19 days! The Death Certificate was requested but not actually received for 19 days! I feel that Smart Cremation provided AWFUL service and they have made things worse at an already difficult time. They may be inexpensive, but you get what you pay for! You and your loved ones deserve better! read more

This company acts as a middle for who ever is doing the actual work. So unbeknownst to us they handed the responsibility off to Sky Lawn Memorial who lost my mothers body for weeks along with two others. they went against our request to formally verify and identify the body and ended the convo with "oh by the way we cremated her last night". Curious how thats happens when body was lost for weeks. Can we say chop shop!!!!! We want her body back I want dna tested on the remains.. The burden of proof is on them snd their disregard for their responsibility. Hiring this company is like paying the middleman to bring you weed it's crap This will not go unanswered.. read more

My dad passed away and Nicole assisted me through the process. 16 days later my mom passed and Racheal assisted me through the process. Both representatives were very professional, patient, and followed through answering all questions regarding their internment. My husband and I have not made arrangements for ourselves, however we will contact Smart Cremation for ours. Thank you Nicole and Racheal for your warmth and kindness for making this difficult process easier for me and my family. Lenice read more

When my wife and I bought this for both of us we were told we could stop and get a full refund anytime. Well that time came we needed to stop the monthly payments we were paying. I called customer service and was told the only way to stop and get a refund was to mail a letter to an address in Texas. 2 weeks after sending a certified letter the post office says it could not be delivered because the business was closed. I will not do business with a company like this. We had to cancel our credit card as the only way to stop paying them. I then called their phone# in Las Vegas and that # is disconnected. read more

Reputable and great prices. This company definitely cares about families. They really help to take care of people at the worst times in their lives. read more

Smart Cremation was a definite bad choice for my mother. My mother provided me her information card from Smart Creation years ago and asked me to make sure her family was included (not just her second marriage family). Smart cremation did not care and they gave her remains to her husband and his side of the family leaving our family (her children and grandchildren without closer or connection to the remains. The worker STEPHANIE, based in Texas was rude and not at all helpful with the situation. I would not recommend this racket to anyone who cares about their family and their remains remaining in the family. I am disgusted! read more

My mom thought she was helping our family out by signing up for this service before her death. But this place is a straight rip off. They convinced her she was getting a great deal with a cremation that was more than double what the average cremation costs (even with bells and whistles). They took hours and hours before they sent someone to retrieve my mother's body and when we contacted them to figure out what was happening with her body they demanded an immediate payment of over $3,000. When I pushed back they said, oh, right, it's $2,700. And payment would have to be made in full before they would cremate her. Thankfully I contacted another funeral home who was willing to answer my questions. We switched and paid $1,400 (which included a ton of copies of the her death certificate). I had canceled the package with this company and a month later my father received a bill for $2,700! She was cremated by another company and they are trying to bill is us for the full amount. When I contacted their customer service line they refused to speak with me. Shameful business practices between scaring elderly people into paying way more than necessary and then attempting to bill for unused services. read more

I am 40 years in the business and have never been dismissed by a mortuary but now I have - as a social worker for a large hospice program with patients on in-patient hospice care (they are in hospital) - this not my first death nor will it be my last. . The first call - the staff member asked what state was I calling from? This should have been my first clue that this was not going to go well. She asked questions repeating my answers and getting them wrong so I would have to say it again. I think the last question she wanted to have the number for the morgue - since no ever asks this I made a comment that she was asking questions that I did not have immediate answers - I indicated that I would have to look for the number for public safety (security) I made a comment about the questions somewhat to the effect that it seemed excessive - she then said she would transfer me to a supervisor - unsure why I was transferred. This person asked how i could be helped? I said I was in the middle of leaving first call information - she acted as if she had no information and I asked did I need to start from the beginning - which was the case - clearly this was irritating to me as she stated that the line of questioning is standard - (it is not) I advised her that this was not my first time - she asked if I was a family member. I advised I was a social worker with 40 years in end of life care. She said she was also a social worker!! she was irritated as was I with this process. She indicated she would review the recording and if their was an issue her director would call me back - to which she hung up wishing me a nice day or something to that effect. Since I still had a recent departed patient with a contract with this outfit I had to call this company back. If they had no contract I would have redirected the family to another company since Smart Cremations was not...Smart. I was able to reach a woman named Heather who seemed to know what I went through and apologized for the challenges. I advised it was irritating and for someone who is 40 years into this work and to to be dismissed is not how you treat a person who has authority to refer family anywhere we choose. Heather was helpful but this review stands. I doubt they will have the director call me- not holding my breath. I will bet money that something will go wrong with the pick-up and they will have to call me back. read more

Not all of these cremation services are alike. This one seems to stand out. I spoke by phone today with Martha Franco, knowledge representative. Her phone spiel actually touched on all of my concerns and questions and was very thorough. Financial flexibility allowed me to procure a plan at a considerable saving vs normal costs, as the service is providing a special discount due to the economic downturn caused by Corona Virus disease. All documents were completed online. Service includes body transportation if death occurs out of area, all legal transfers and fees, and scattering of remains at sea. read more

Not sure why I'm being spammed by these A!holes! Don't you dare send me unsolicited garbage! Who are you kidding! Pushing your trash on me ! Get lost with that crap! Don't bother us anymore! Go Away! We never asked for anything! read more

This outfit was doing a sales pitch during our lunch at Don Tuben's Mexican restaurant last Wednesday. Patrons including our party of three were mortified. Who can enjoy lunch when a vety LOUD man w/an excruciating sales pitch has a large screen up talking about death! Two other parties asked to be receded further away from the loud guy who was treating about 12 elderly people to a lunch, if they would listen to his spill, but no matter where you were inside the restaurant, you could not avoid his spiel, and as each of his people left, he reminded them that he was there to help their friends so spread the word. But wait... it didn't stop there when one timid patron asked the loud man to lower his voice. The cremation salesman ignored him and went over to his table to pass out cards to the other three people at his table. Of course, there would've been the option of sitting outside but they had to remove the outdoor tables and it would've been super hot anyway I can't imagine why a restaurant would allow this to happen, and to neglect their other paying patrons it just gave everybody in there a really bad vibe. read more

Not-so-Smart Cremation are low-life ambulance and coffin chasers. My relative passed away. We called a local family-owned mortuary to assist, and they came to pick up my relative. Hours later, we get a call from Smart. They must have picked up information on a police scanner. A man called to say he would be by to pick up the body and have us fill out paperwork. I told him the body had been taken by the mortuary, and he was silent for a few seconds, and said "I'm sorry, I have the wrong number." This is the lowest of low, to take advantage of a family that had just lost a loved one. I will be calling the Better Business Bureau and also the state agency that regulates funerals and cemeteries. What would have happened if my elderly relative answered the phone when these clowns called? She would have thought her recently deceased loved one was taken by the wrong people. What would have happened if not-so-Smart Cremation arrived first and took the body and then the mortuary didn't have it for the funeral? Skanky and disgusting. What's the commission on a cremation gig? $300? What kind of company hires people to cause so much pain to those of recently deceased family members for a $300 commission? read more

My husband was diagnosed with lung cancer in March. He has been fighting a very difficult battle, which has left him feeling depressed and hopeless. Out of the blue, this organization sent him information on their cremation services. Not only was this unsolicited, but very cruel and thoughtless. I find it very suspicious that they would send this type of info at this particular time. Does this organization have access to my husband's records? A coincidence? I think not! read more

I'll start with the middle of our experience, my dad's passing. We were drilled on the process by my parents and called Smart Cremation first thing. Quite some time into sitting with a hospice counselor, we wondered where the funeral home people were. We called Smart Cremation again and they said no one in the area was able to get my dad's body. It took us calling to learn that, no updates in over an hour. Here my dad had set this up to make things easier for us, and we felt abandoned, angry, degraded. I have never seen my strong big sister cry like that. Luckily, in the chaos, the wonderful man from hospice got to work immediately, called a funeral home and things were taken care of. Later that morning, I paid this funeral home myself for their services and talked to the director. He said that few people in his business wanted to deal with that company. In my state of mind, I didn't think to ask why. Maybe "big funeral home" (kind of kidding) simply didn't like their role being minimized. But the director was kind and helpful, so I didn't dwell on it. However, the combination of issues from all sides coming together led to our problem. I realize that it's probably hard to monitor the availability of partner funeral homes all around the country and update customers (who will want refunds). But ultimately, the responsibility for this upsetting situation lies with Smart Cremation. In the aftermath, we had to call to try to get a refund, and we got it. Reportedly, the lady who talked to my sister was nice, and she probably really did feel for us. A few days after my dad's passing, I talked to my mom's neighbor. He and his wife had also chose the company, and his wife died last year. At that time, they had no problems. It was very straight-forward, but very hands-off. Thank goodness their daughter talked her dad out of Smart Cremation afterward. She thought it was a bit sketchy. He got his refund, and he's now glad for it, too. It's good that it worked out for them when they needed the company, because my dad was the one to convince them to use it. If it had gone this way for them first, he would have felt terrible. My dad was a little easy to convince when a sales tactic was good, so I was worried when my parents were going to one of those paid-lunch sales pitches put on by this company. Mom was skeptical, but Dad was convinced. So, if that behavior sounds familiar, and your loved ones are considering Smart Cremation, please tell them my story. I do not want anyone to ever go through this. I give the company two stars because we dealt with a nice customer service lady and we got our money back. Also, it's not a completely one-sided problem. But stay away. You'll pay a little more for just working with a funeral home, but it's worth it. read more