The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule exists to make sure that funeral homes don’t charge their customers extra if they choose to get some of the key services elsewhere, like ordering a casket from Costco or from Amazon. In the decades since that rule was implemented, some funeral homes have figured out new ways to effectively penalize customers for trying to save money. [More]
funeral homes
SCI, Operator Of 1,000 Funeral Homes, Doesn’t Pass Savings On To Bereaved
By 3.7.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Did you know that there’s a Walmart of death care? That’s often a comparison used to describe Service Corporation International, which uses the public-facing brand Dignity Memorial, and operates more than 1,000 funeral homes across the country. That kind of economy of scale should mean Walmart-style discounts, right? Only a recent price survey shows that SCI-owned funeral homes charge more than their independent counterparts. [More]
22% Of Prices For Funerals With Cremation Don’t Include The Actual Cremation
By 9.13.16
The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule requires disclosures and price breakdowns to protect consumers who, unless they’re pre-planning their own funeral, are operating on a time crunch and are grieving. Yet a recent study found that more than a fifth of funeral homes failed to correctly explain and itemize available options and the expenses for direct cremation. [More]
Why Don’t We Use More Cheap Caskets Imported From China?
By 2.20.15
Caskets: they’re boxes that we use for a funeral service and maybe a wake, then either stick in the ground or burn up. Why do we spend so much money on them? More importantly, why are 95% of all caskets used in the United States made in this country when everything from the device you’re using to read this post to the sweater I’m wearing right now was made in China? [More]
Family Chases Down Man Accused Of Stealing Hearse With Their Loved One Still Inside
By 12.29.14
Every time we hear of a consumer performing a low down and dirty act against another, we think there must be a limit to what people will do to score something for free. But it appears there are no boundaries to the madness inflicted by greed, as one family had to chase down a runaway hearse with their loved one resting inside in a casket after someone decided to drive off with it. [More]
Michigan Funeral Home Installs Drive-Thru Viewing Window
By 9.16.14
The convenience of a drive-thru window is obvious, but one usually thinks of banks or fast food chains that use them for the ease of customers on the go. And not, as one funeral home is doing in Michigan, a drive-thru viewing window for visiting the deceased. But then again, why not? [More]
Police: Funeral Home Got Evicted, Left 8 Bodies Behind
By 7.16.14
Two weeks ago, a funeral home in Fort Worth, Texas received a “notice to vacate” letter from their landlord, and they moved their business from the premises. The problem is, some customers were allegedly left behind. By “customers,” we mean eight people who are deceased were found in the building. Now the mortuary is being treated as a crime scene. [More]
How To Not Suck… At Pre-Paying For Your Funeral
By 1.14.14
When I die, I don’t want a traditional funeral. I want a party where my guests can laugh about me, have a few drinks and not be so darned sad. And it should be on a beach. With a Tiki bar and a mix of loud, loud classic rock and Bob Marley on the sound system. [More]
FTC Approves Formation Of Bereavement Voltron: SCI Can Acquire Rival
By 1.2.14
If you don’t want anyone to pay attention to a piece of news, be sure to put out your press release just before the biggest holiday of the year. On December 23, the Federal Trade Commission released the news that it has given its blessing for the largest company in America’s “death care” industry, Service Corporation International, to go ahead and acquire the second-largest company in the same business, Stewart Enterprises, Inc. [More]
Family Shocked To Discover Their Father Had Been Cremated & Another Man Was In His Casket
By 10.23.13
A family in Washington State had a doubly disturbing shock at the funeral of a man recently, when they found out that not only was the wrong body in his casket, dressed in his clothes and with a photo of the man’s wife tucked inside, but he’d been cremated as well — and he was terrified of being cremated. [More]
Woman Shocked To Find Funeral Home Put Her Son’s Ashes In Walmart Bag Inside Urn
By 8.30.13
While we might not be aware of where our mortal remains reside after we’re gone, one young man’s mother is upset that a funeral home confined his ashes to a plastic Walmart shopping bag. She discovered the bag job a year after he passed away, and calls it a “disrespectful” move on the part of funeral home. [More]
Nearly 1-In-5 Funeral Homes Found Violating Consumer Protection Rules
By 7.24.13
In 1984, the Federal Trade Commission enacted the Funeral Rule, a set of consumer protection guidelines for U.S. funeral home operators covering everything from pricing transparency to casket-handling fees. And every year, FTC investigators go undercover to spot-check the funeral home industry to see if folks are abiding by the rules. According to the latest report, a significant number of them are not. [More]
Nation’s Two Largest Funeral Companies To Merge, Form Bereavement Voltron
By 5.29.13 — Updated: 1.2.14
Back in 2008, Service Corporation International, the nation’s largest funeral-service company, made a bid to acquire the second-largest company, Stewart Enterprises Inc. The smaller company rebuffed its suitor, but reconsidered after an offer this year. The two companies will now form one large mega-death-services-corporation just as baby boomers are about to consider planning–and more importantly, pre-paying for–their funerals. [More]
Who's To Blame For Broken Urn: UPS Or The Crematorium?
By 5.1.12
When a California woman went to unpack the urn containing her late brother’s ashes, she found it had been damaged in shipping and the ashes spilled onto her floor. The crematorium that sent the urn blames UPS, which points the finger right back at the crematorium, saying it violated UPS policy by shipping human remains. [More]
Investigation Finds 15% Of Funeral Homes Still Misleading Consumers
By 4.18.12
Way back in 1984, the Federal Trade Commission established the Funeral Rule, which is actually a list of requirements for funeral homes to make sure that grieving consumers aren’t hoodwinked into paying too much for services or paying for unnecessary items. Nearly 30 years on, an undercover investigation by the FTC found that a surprising number of funeral homes are not abiding by the Rule. [More]
Police Arrest Embalmer For Swiping Gold Teeth From Remains
By 3.5.12
When you hand over the body of a loved one to a funeral parlor, you trust that the workers won’t scour the remains for valuables to make a quick buck. But things apparently didn’t work out that way in a Denver-area funeral home, where a freelance embalmer was indicted for swiping gold teeth from remains and pawning them. [More]
Funeral Home Patrons Find 'Walking Dead' Billboard Offensive For Some Reason
By 4.14.11
Remarkably, no one at ClearChannel Advertising seems to have realized that it might be a bad idea to post a giant ad for a zombie-themed television program on the exterior wall of a funeral parlor. That’s precisely what happened in the town of Consett in England. The advert for post-apocalyptic drama The Walking Dead has now been taken down, and the company responsible has apologized, but how on earth did this happen in the first place? [More]
Save Money: Get Married In A Funeral Home
By 1.19.11
Superficially, weddings and funerals have a lot in common: everyone’s dressed up, families get together, some people are crying, and the guests of honor ride off in fancy vehicle to an uncertain future. Funeral homes, though, are large and beautiful spaces that provide a cheaper alternative site for wedding receptions and/or ceremonies. [More]
