Funeral Homes Cited in FTC Probe

Seven funeral homes in Nashville, Tenn., and one operating in Illinois and Indiana on Thursday became the first to be charged under a Federal Trade Commission crackdown on marketing practices.

Funeral homes are supposed to provide consumers with detailed price lists about caskets and other services, as well as information on legal rights and purchases that are not required.

Yet despite efforts to educate companies and enforce the rule, the FTC said, there is little compliance.

So the agency decided that, rather than target violators based on complaints, it would join forces with state attorneys general and send in test shoppers in a “proactive approach designed to send a no-tolerance message.”

Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said people can protect themselves against unnecessary funeral expenses by:

* Planning or discussing funerals in advance.

* Calling funeral homes to ask about prices and other terms for their products and services. (The FTC rule requires them to disclose such information over the phone, if requested.)

* Asking for an itemized statement of the goods and services they have selected.

* Understanding that a casket is not required for direct cremation when there is no viewing of the body.

* Recognizing that they can purchase caskets outside a funeral home and that funeral homes are prohibited from refusing to handle the casket or charging a fee to do so.

A free brochure is available from the FTC’s Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580, or by calling (202) 326-2502.

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