Federal rules for availability of funeral home prices are often ignored.
Despite federal regulations, people often face difficulties in learning funeral prices, according to NPR in “Despite Decades-Old Law, Funeral Prices Are Still Unclear.”
People used to find it difficult to learn the actual price of a funeral, resulting in a federal lawsuit. Funeral homes then stopped requiring association members to keep the information concealed. However, this did not stop individual funeral homes from continuing the practice.
In 1984, the Federal Trade Commission decided to act and passed a regulation known as the Funeral Rule. It requires that funeral homes give potential customers, appearing in person, a written, detailed price list. Funeral homes are also required to give clear pricing information when asked to do so over the phone.
Federal investigators have found that one in four funeral homes they check violate the funeral rule.
This is an important issue for many elders and their families who would like to plan in advance for how much a funeral will cost. Without clear and accurate prices given in advance, families are often later stuck with large bills they did not anticipate when they bury a loved one.
Reference: NPR (Feb. 8, 2017) “Despite Decades-Old Law, Funeral Prices Are Still Unclear.”
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