Two banks have agreed to refund victims of disgraced funeral director Robert Bush, who defrauded customers by selling fake funeral plans, according to an MP.
Police discovered 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull in March 2024.
Bush, who admitted denying 30 people a decent and proper burial, giving families the wrong ashes and selling fake funeral plans, was jailed for 20 years at Hull Crown Court in July. The court heard he defrauded nearly 200 families out of £562,117.
Hardy said: "Many of the victims who bought these fake funeral plans do not have a huge amount of money. They saved and put money aside to give themselves peace of mind and protect their loved ones.
"They were exploited in an appalling way by Robert Bush. Then to be told by the banks there was 'nothing they could do' and that they had lost all that money was an awful situation."
Hardy said she had been pressing the banks to reconsider their decisions from the outset.
"Since the very beginning, I have been contacting the banks, explaining the situation and stressing how important it is that these people are refunded.
"I was really pleased when Santander reversed its decision and agreed to refund customers, and now NatWest has also changed its position and reimbursed people."
A Santander spokesperson said: "This was a cruel and deeply distressing crime that exploited people who were trying to ease the burden on their loved ones and plan for the future.
"Our thoughts are with all the victims and their families, who have suffered both considerable emotional distress and financial loss as a result of this case.
"We have refunded all Santander customers identified as victims and will continue to provide refunds if any further claims come to light.
"Any Santander customer who believes they may have been affected should contact us as soon as possible."
The BBC has contacted NatWest for a comment.
Hardy welcomed the move, but called on other banks to do the same.
She said there were still challenges for those who paid in cash.
"The difficulty is that banks are currently only refunding people who paid by debit or credit card. They will not refund those who paid in cash because there is no record of the transaction.
"What we are hoping is that those victims can recover money through the Proceeds of Crime Act, although that is a legal process and will take time."
The Labour MP is also calling for regulation of the funeral industry, and said she is due to meet with Prime Minister Andy Burnham and health secretary, Yvette Cooper, for talks.
Both have previously shown support for regulation of the industry.
However, Hardy added: "It is not something that can be done quickly. We are starting from zero because there is effectively no regulation at the moment, so moving from that to a fully regulated system will take time.
"I want to make sure the victims in Hull are at the heart of the process, that they are listened to, and that any new regulation is shaped around their experiences."