Customers who lost money to failed funeral firm Safe Hands have been told they will lose up to 90% of their cash.
Safe Hands sold pre-pay funeral plans, but collapsed into administration in March - leaving 45,000 customers in the lurch.
These plans let people pay off a funeral or cremation in instalments.
The idea behind the deals is to give peace of mind that the high costs of a funeral have been dealt with before someone passes away.
Have you been affected by the collapse of Safe Hands? Message mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
But when Safe Hands collapsed the exact opposite happened, as customers lost their funeral as well as most of their money.
Safe Hands customers paid £3,000 on average for a funeral plan, but have just been told to expect back no more than £300 to £600 and to seek a new plan.
That is because the administrators think there will not be enough cash in the business to repay everyone.
Unfortunately, customers who lost money are also lowest on the pecking order when it comes to getting any cash.
A report from administrators FRP said: "The administrators currently estimate that the total sum that will be recovered for plan holders from the trust assets will be between £10.6million and £16.1million (net of costs), compared to estimated claims against the trust of £71.13million.
"This equates to a return of between 10p and 20 pence in the pound. Plan holders will rank as unsecured creditors against the company for any deficiency from trust asset realisations."
Safe Hands has not given a reason for its collapse other than financial trouble.
A statement on the Safe Hands website said: "The appointment of the joint administrators was made by the directors of the company, after a period of severe financial challenge, which has left the business unsustainable in its current form."
All funeral plans sold by Safe Hands were "terminated with immediate effect" earlier this year.
The pre-pay funeral plans market is currently not regulated.
This means there is no watchdog keeping tabs on the market, and if a firm goes bust consumers are not guaranteed any money back.
New rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to regulate the sector will come in from July 2022.
Safe Hands had applied for FCA authorisation - only to withdraw this in February this year.
An FCA statement said: "Safe Hands Plans will not be taking on new customers. Do not buy a new funeral plan from this firm."
Only 39 pre-pay funeral plan firms have asked the FCA for permission to keep trading.
FRP has been approached for comment.
