The Federal Trade Commission said its first “undercover telephone search” of funeral homes across the country found that dozens did not accurately disclose the cost of services to callers.
Of the more than 250 funeral homes that FTC officials called, 38 either did not respond to questions about pricing or provided inconsistent prices for identical services, the commission said. Many households offered “significantly different” prices for the same services on two separate phone calls.
Another home promised to send a detailed price list, the agency said, but instead sent a list of package prices that did not meet disclosure requirements.
The 39 funeral homes received warning letters in January that they had violated a law called the Burial Rule. The FTC enforces the rule, which establishes protections for consumers when purchasing funeral services.
“It is very important that consumers are able to make settlement deals,” said Melissa Dickey, FTC attorney and co-coordinator of the Funeral Rule. “Not everyone can come in person to pick up a price list.”
Of the funeral home sending out a list of package options, Ms. Dickey said: “You don’t have to buy a package.” The funeral home can only let you have the services you want.
One of the homes also misrepresented local requirements for embalming or storing the body after death, the FTC said. Some funeral homes may require embalming as part of their own policies, but most states do not require it, the commission said, and the few others require it only in certain circumstances.
Bereaved people are stressed and vulnerable when they turn to funeral homes, and in an increasingly mobile society, loved ones often have to make arrangements from out of state, said Sara Williams, president of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit group that advocates for fair treatment searching people uses funeral services.
Ms. Dickey declined to provide details about what FTC officials told funeral homes during the calls. However, she said the law requires funeral directors to provide pricing information over the phone. Callers do not have to provide their name, address or phone number, she said, and they do not have to be a relative of the deceased.
“The funeral home cannot refuse to release information,” Ms. Dickey said. “You should answer questions no matter who calls.”
In a statement about the raid, the National Funeral Directors Association said, “While the compliance rate should certainly be higher, the FTC reported a compliance rate of more than 85 percent.” That’s consistent with findings from previous Commission investigations into secret buyers, the funeral homes visited in person, according to the industry group.
Funerals can be expensive. The typical cost of a funeral with a casket and burial is $8,300, while the cost of a funeral with cremation, including a special casket and urn, is $6,280, according to 2023 data from the national association, which represents around 11,000 funeral homes.
The FTC did not recommend criminal prosecution for the violations, but urged homes to take “prompt remedial action” to comply with the law, which in part requires funeral homes to provide written price lists for products and services to people who visit in person place. and the prices can be communicated by telephone upon request. Homes that don’t comply risk fines of more than $51,000 per violation, according to the warning.
The FTC is considering updates to the 40-year-old burial rule. Since the regulation existed before the widespread use of the Internet, digital price disclosure is not regulated. Consumer advocates are calling on the agency to modernize the law and require funeral homes to publish their price lists online.
Ms Williams, of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, said initial electronic research could help make a difficult task easier and that requiring online price disclosures would simply acknowledge that “this is how we live now”.
According to a 2023 report by the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit group, some funeral homes post prices on their websites but don’t always make the information easy to find. Requiring online publication would make it easier to monitor compliance with the law, said Stephen Brobeck, a senior official at the association. Instead of making undercover calls or visits, investigators could simply check websites.
The funeral home association said in written comments to the FTC that the requirement for online price disclosure was unwarranted because its data showed that the “small minority” of consumers who made their funeral purchases through price comparisons did not do so online .
“Funeral customers overwhelmingly prefer to visit or call the funeral home they wish to use rather than searching online,” the association said.
Christopher L. Farmer, general counsel for the funeral directors association, said in a telephone interview that the group supports price transparency but that funeral homes should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to disclose prices online.
Consumer advocates said more people would buy funeral services online if prices were widely available there.
Here are some questions and answers about obtaining information about funerals and related services:
What else should I know when calling a funeral home for pricing?
Although they are not required to do so, many funeral homes can send their price lists by mail or email upon request. The funeral home cannot require you to visit, Ms. Dickey said, but if you go in person, you are also entitled to receive a copy of the price list there. “If they don’t give you the information,” she said, “find another company.”
The FTC offers further tips on its website.
You can also check to see if there is a branch of the Funeral Consumers Alliance in your state, which may have provider information. Ms. Williams, who is also president of the alliance’s North Carolina affiliate, said her group regularly collected price lists from funeral homes in the state and posted them on its website.
What if I have a complaint?
If you have an issue with services that cannot be resolved with the funeral home, most states have a funeral home or funeral agency that can help you. (The Funeral Consumers Alliance provides a list of state contacts and suggestions for filing a complaint on its website.) You can also file a complaint with the consumer affairs division of your state’s attorney general’s office. The FTC also accepts complaints on its website.
When is the FTC expected to announce whether it will propose changes to the burial rule?
An FTC spokeswoman said there was no current information at this time. The consumer group’s Mr. Brobeck said he was “optimistic” that the agency would release a proposed update sometime this year.
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2024-02-02 14:00:10
www.nytimes.com
