The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff has released a report highlighting the findings from its inaugural undercover Funeral Rule phone sweep. This investigation revealed that several funeral providers did not comply with legal requirements to provide pricing information over the phone.
The Funeral Rule mandates that funeral providers must disclose their offerings and prices when requested over the phone. According to the report, FTC staff conducted calls to 278 randomly selected funeral providers across various metropolitan and micropolitan areas in the United States between February 2023 and December 2023. Each provider was contacted up to three times during business hours (9 am-5 pm) and up to three times outside of business hours. During these calls, staff typically requested pricing details for services such as direct cremation, cremation with a memorial service, and cremation with a viewing.
The report indicates that after business hours, price information could not be obtained from 73 funeral providers, representing 26% of those called. Additionally, during business hours, price information was not provided by 21 providers, accounting for 7% of those contacted.
It was also found that multiple attempts were often necessary to acquire price information from funeral providers. After business hours, nearly 70% of the calls required either multiple attempts or waiting for a return call. During business hours, about 30% of calls faced similar challenges.
Furthermore, half of the funeral providers offered estimates or ranges instead of actual prices when asked about pricing details. At least one-third of the funeral homes provided package pricing without itemizing costs for specific services like cremation with a viewing. The report also notes that at least 37 funeral providers quoted different prices for identical services on separate occasions.
The Federal Trade Commission is committed to promoting competition while protecting and educating consumers. The agency emphasizes that it will never demand money or make threats and encourages individuals to learn more about consumer issues at consumer.ftc.gov or report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
