FTC warns dozens of funeral homes to give callers accurate charges

The Federal Trade Commission said its first “undercover telephone investigation” of funeral homes across the country found dozens failed to accurately disclose charges for services to callers.

Of the more than 250 FTC funeral home employees who called FTC, 38 did not answer questions about pricing or provided inconsistent prices for identical services, the commission said. Many homes offered “materially different” prices for the same services during two separate phone calls.

Another home promised to send an itemized price list, the agency said, but instead sent a list of package prices, which do not meet disclosure requirements.

The 39 funeral homes received warning letters in january that they had failed to comply with a law known as the Funeral rule. The FTC enforces the ruleoutlining protections for consumers seeking funeral services.

“It's really important that consumers can compare stores,” said Melissa Dickey, an FTC attorney and co-coordinator of the Funeral Rule. “Not everyone can come by in person to pick up a price list.”

Regarding the funeral home sending a list of package options, Ms. Dickey said, “You don't have to buy a package.” The funeral home should only let you purchase the services you want.

One of the homes also misrepresented local requirements for embalming or preserving the body after death, the FTC said. Some funeral homes 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 limited circumstances.

Relatives are stressed and vulnerable when contacting funeral homes, and in an increasingly mobile society, family members often have to make arrangements from out of state, said Sara Williams, president of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit organization that strives for fair treatment of people looking for funeral services.

Ms. Dickey declined to share details about what FTC officials said to funeral homes during the calls. But, she said, the law requires funeral directors to provide pricing information by telephone. 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 provide information,” Ms. Dickey said. “They should answer questions no matter who calls.”

In a rack Of the sweep, 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 matched, if not exceeded, the results of previous committee investigations involving secret shoppers who visited funeral homes in person, the industry group said.

Funerals can be expensive. The typical cost of a funeral with casket and burial is $8,300, while the cost of a funeral with cremation, which includes a special casket and an urn, is $6,280, according to Data from 2023 of the national association, which represents approximately 11,000 funeral homes.

The FTC did not recommend prosecution of the violations but asked the homes to take “immediate remedial action” to comply with the law, which in part requires funeral homes to provide written price lists for products and services to people visiting in person. and to share prices by telephone upon request. Homes that don't follow the rules face fines of more than $51,000 per violation, as shown by the warning letters.

The FTC is considering updates to the 40-year-old burial rule. Because it predates the widespread use of the Internet, the rule does not address digital price disclosure. Consumer advocacy groups are urging the agency to modernize the law by requiring funeral homes to post their price lists online.

Ms Williams of the Funeral Consumers Alliance said doing initial research electronically could make a difficult task easier, and that requiring online price disclosures would simply acknowledge that “it is how we live now.”

Some funeral homes do post prices on their websites, but do not always make the information easy to find, according to A Report 2023 from the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit organization. Requiring online posting would make monitoring compliance with the law easier, said Stephen Brobeck, a senior fellow at the federation. Instead of making undercover calls or visits, investigators could simply check websites.

The association of funeral directors, in writing comments According to the FTC, requiring online price disclosure was not justified because data showed that the “small minority” of consumers who shopped for a funeral by comparing prices did not do so on the Internet.

“Overwhelmingly, funeral consumers prefer to visit or call the funeral home they plan to use, rather than searching online,” the association said.

Christopher L. Farmer, the funeral directors association's general counsel, said in a telephone interview that the group supports price transparency, but funeral homes should be able to choose whether to disclose prices online.

Consumer advocates say more people would shop for 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 do I need to know when calling a funeral home for pricing information?

Although they are not required to do so, many funeral directors can send or email their price lists if you request them. The funeral home can't require you to visit, Ms. Dickey said, but if you do go in person, you are also entitled to a copy of the price list there. “If they won't give you the information,” she said, “find another company.”

The FTC provides more tips on its website.

You can also check to see if your state has a chapter of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, which may have information about providers. Ms. Williams, who is also president of the alliance's North Carolina branch, said her group periodically collected price lists from funeral homes in the state and posted them on its website.

What if I have a complaint?

If you encounter a problem with services that cannot be resolved with the funeral director, most states have a funeral director or board that can assist you. (The Funeral Consumers Alliance provides a list of state contacts, along with suggestions for formulating a complaint, at his website.) You can also file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs department of the attorney general's office in your state. 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 no update on the timing was available. The Consumer Federation's Mr Brobeck said he was “optimistic” the agency would issue a proposed update sometime this year.