North County Cremation Service

Whatever you do, DO NOT use north county cremation services. Or any businesses run by its owner Ken Davidson. My father died in October, and dealing with North County Cremation Services was an absolute nightmare. I caught Davidson in several lies on different occasions when I asked him where my fathers death certificate was. It took forever, and when it did finally go through, there were mistakes on the certificate that needed correction. I found out that Davidson has been on TURKO FILES on several occasions. (GO TO TURKO FILES AND LOOK FOR THE VIDEO ""ONE HASSLE AFTER ANOTHER, IT AINT RIGHT) seems there are a LOT of other people who have had problems with him. I ended up having to call the California Board of cemeteries and funeral services regarding my problems with this clown. I really still question if my fathers ashes were really respectfully scattered at sea or not. Since this liar signs his own paperwork and captains his own boat, there is no witness and no proof. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE!!\r more

To be fair my review is of our experiance with San Diego Cremation Services. It looks like it is one of Ken Davidsons companies and all of the people described in the previous sad reviews must have been trained by the same jerk. Check out other reviews about his companies\r \r We paid San Diego Cremation Services for my sisters cremation on 7/26/2011 but we were unable to have her cremated until the coroners report was completed.\r On 11/2 we called Missy and told her that her body was release. She said they would pick her up in El Centro on 11/3 or 11/4 but never did. They didnt call to say that they were not going to pick her up. They wouldnt return my calls. 11/8 Missy finally answered the phone and said there was snow on the mountain between San Diego and El Centro and they couldnt go. Her body was picked up a week later and not cremated for another week. No return calls. I called and got to Missy on Tuesday 11/15 and she said they were going to try to fit her in on Thursday 11/17. I told her that I would be in the area on Friday 11/18 and I would like to be able to pick her up. Missy said no way I could pick her up then unless I paid a $150.00 expediting charge to move her to the front of the line. We had to wait and pick her up on 11/23\r After the 150 dollar slap in the face I checked back to past weather reports and road conditions in that area on those days and no roads were closed. \r We paid for 6 death certificates and have not received them yet! Missy told us on 11/28 they had sent the documents to Imperial County Vital records Dept. but I called records on 11/29 and they had not received any request from them. I called Missy to ask what day they sent the documents. Missy would not take the call and never called back. On 12/1 I call their office and Missy answered she told me the papers were sent on 11/18 and if they havent received them yet they must be lost in the mail. They will stop payment on their check and start all over. Really?\r The worst, extremely unprofessional, irresponsible company I have ever dealt with. DO NOT EVER TRUST THEM with your loved ones final arrangements. Ken Davidson also owns North County Cremation Services and Eden View Funeral Chapel in San Marcos, CA. Dont risk it at these places either.\r more

This was the worst experience I've ever had. We had the open casket service at 9am and when we got there at 8:45am the doors were locked and no one in sight. I was soo worried they forgot and we had about 40 people just standing outside waiting for the service. Then finally, Patty, opened the door at 9am and didnt even say hi or sorry. She ran to the back and braught the body out. We had to set everything up and even had to help with moving the body. Her tone of voice and mannerisms were very rude and not what you would expect of someone who works in this buisness. When the service was done and we had to drive to the cremation site, she had to stop for gas! I would expect her to have been more prepared. When we got to the crematory, the doors were locked and we had to wait 20 minutes for her. Then when she got there everything was completely disorganized. She did not guide us in any way. When I complained to the owner, Ken Davidson, about my experience, he sounded sympathetic and told me he would compensate me. I called him again a couple weeks later and asked about the compensation and he told me he already talked to the family and ""worked something out"". I told him I was the family and the one who paid so I would know. He got really rude then and basically hung up on me! He is a liar and a disgrace to this buisness. I wish I never gave him a dime of my money. I hope no one else makes this same mistake I did. more

My first visit to their facility was to drop my father's memory items that family and friends wanted to go with him. There was no kindness or air of respect for the occasion, just a simple ""thanks."" When I asked Michelle when I could pick up my father's ashes I was told the day before his service, which was actually 2 weeks after his death. I told her this was not acceptable as I need to have his ashes transferred and prepare for the funeral. She then said that I could pick them up between 2 & 4 that Wednesday. When I got there, the doors were locked and there was a small dog at the door. I called and I was told that two employees were out sick (Michelle being one of them) and that they would be closed for the rest of the day and that he would call me the next morning. At 12 noon I called and was put on hold. Michelle (sick yesterday) came on the phone to say that I just needed to let her know what time I would be coming by. I told her I could come now and she paused... Well, they wont be back from the crematory until 2, so you can come between 2 & 4. I then responded ""I guess that means that it wasn't because there was an emergency that I couldn't pick him up yesterday, it was because you didn't have him there."" to which she responded ""well I wouldn't know that because I wasn't here."" to which I replied: ""well, if he isn't there now, the then he probably wasn't there yesterday."" and she said, ""well probably not."" Then I asked about his veteran honors for his funeral (which have to be requested through them) and she hadn't heard anything but she had called them on numerous occasions, one of which she stated was the day before, when she was supposedly out sick. I have been through the death of a loved one before and unfortunately my parents had planned this before hand, so I had no say. They show no concern for the family, no reverence for the dead, simply said they are just bad at what they do. more

This was my first experience with a crematory but considering the subject matter. I expected more compassion. This place was recomended by the hospital's Benefits Department where my sister passed. The benefit guy was on first name bases with the crematory's representative ""Bob"" in the San Diego office. I felt at ease with this and ""Bob"" was able to see me immediately. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. He was courtious, caring, and professional. However, when I called back to check on when my sister's obituary would appear in the newspaper, I find that ""Bob"" was no longer with them and neither was the obituary. I was given to Ken, whom, I am now shocked to find out, is the owner. So, I re-faxed the info and waited another week with no printing. It took until the 5th unreturned call to get Ken. He did not apologize for not returning my calls, but blamed my answering machine (which works just fine) for not recording his message! Also, ""Bob"" had assured me that the crematory would transfer the ashes from the standard brown container to one of the family's choosing when it arrived. I informed Ken of this in a past conversation, but I now find that he will not honor this. In his dispassionate voice, I am told that they do not provide this service. I am very disappointed that I must now find a facility that will so that I don't accidentailly spill my sister all over the kitchen counter. I would never recommend this business to anyone. Pros: I liked ""Bob"" Cons: cold and distant more