A reader informed us about the matter:
I am writing because I had the opportunity to speak with the owner of one of the funeral homes in Nowogrodziec. When I asked whether they organized funerals in Bolesławiec, he waved his hand and replied: “You have Arsena and Fenix there.” As for the costs, I was told that a burial costs as much as the funeral allowance: PLN 4,000. (…) This is another person who says that it is not worth the stress and that they still want to live in peace for a while longer. (…) If someone wants to and can afford it, let them pay PLN 7,000 or more. It makes me angry that people’s suffering is being exploited for profit (…). And where are healthy market competition and ordinary human honesty?
Another person who contacted us confirms that there is a problem with burying a loved one through a funeral home other than one from Bolesławiec.
Some time ago, we buried a loved one. We asked a funeral home from Bolesławiec for a cost estimate. The estimate was unfavorable for us—it was expensive—so we found another company from outside the town. At that time, the company did not refuse us, although during the funeral the owner complained that he had had problems collecting the body and with procedures in Bolesławiec. When another funeral took place in our family and we called that company again, we were told that it categorically refused to organize funerals in Bolesławiec and that its employees would not agree to it.
We asked our sources where, in their opinion, the difference in burial prices—which can be as much as PLN 3,000—comes from.
Apart from all the costs that we have to pay at the cemetery in Bolesławiec—and these are prices over which we have no influence because they were set by the City Council—the funeral itself costs PLN 3,800 with a company from outside Bolesławiec, while in Bolesławiec we were quoted PLN 6,500. In Bolesławiec, we were quoted PLN 1,200 for the urn alone; online, the same urn costs PLN 300, while a company from outside Bolesławiec offered us an urn included in the funeral price. Building a tomb costs PLN 6,500 for the work alone in Bolesławiec, whereas a company from outside Bolesławiec offers it for PLN 4,500.
A third person we spoke with confirms that all companies from outside Bolesławiec refused to bury the deceased.
I am surprised by companies from outside Bolesławiec. The fact is that nobody wants to conduct funerals in Bolesławiec. They refuse, and I myself was turned away by several companies. All I hear is: “No, we do not conduct funerals in Bolesławiec.” (...) Funeral prices in Bolesławiec are outrageous, while funeral homes from outside the town do not want to bury people in the city because they encounter some obstacles here.
We contacted the owner of a funeral home from outside Bolesławiec, but he did not want to speak officially about burials. He confirmed that he does not organize funerals in Bolesławiec and refuses residents. He gave a lack of available dates as the reason.
We sent requests for comment on the article to two funeral homes in Bolesławiec: Fenix and Arsena. We received no response.