Funeral Homes’ Grim Reaping Practices Hidden

Funeral home rip offs are far from being a dead issue as WSJ investigation reveals over 500 parlors accused of chicanery took advantage of a weird FTC rule allowing them to take remedial training but shields their ID from public scrutiny.

The Grim Reaper would love this story. Apparently, says the paper, “Unethical funeral homes have exploited grieving customers for decades. What consumers don’t know is that many of the industry’s bad actors have been hidden from the public thanks to a sweetheart deal struck between the Federal Trade Commission and the funeral industry more than 25 years ago. In that deal, unlike any known to exist between the FTC & any other industry, the names of funeral homes that violate rules requiring price transparency & fair practices aren’t made public to consumers, as long as they complete a virtual remedial program run by the funeral industry’s own lobbying group.”

Good grief! The WSJ says it found via a Freedom of Information Act request that “more than 500 funeral homes participated in the program from 1996 to 2018 for failing to comply with rules against customer exploitation.” Moreover, “data from 2018 were the most recent provided … [& showed] … more than 90% of all funeral homes cited for violations participated in the program.” The WSJ published the names for the first time, but no need to do so here. I’ve also heard too many horror stories about surprise funeral bills & don’t need to be told again the devil in the details. As one Creighton law professor told the paper, that what consumers face under the FTC’s so-call “Funeral Rule” is “essentially a hush-money system.” Best bet as always: Quietly use word of mouth referrals from happy campers to find that truly reputable parlor ... and, like Reagan (RIP), VERIFY costs to be incurred in writing.

Davd Soul