FTC Targets Funeral Homes with Undercover Phone Sweep

Nearly 40 funeral homes received “warning letters” from the FTC after an undercover phone sweep last year relating to compliance with the Funeral Rule. 

The Funeral Rule is not new to the funeral industry — it was enacted 40 years ago, but the agency conducted a “routine review” of the rule in 2020. These changes modernized the regulation, including adding electronic requirements. (You can find a list of the FTC’s reports, cases, and more here.) 

The FTC requires funeral homes to “tell persons who ask by telephone about the funeral provider’s offerings or prices any accurate information from [their] price lists…. and any other readily available information that reasonably answers the question[s].” 

Here’s what you need to know about the latest developments:  

• Last year, the FTC staff and investigators called more than 250 funeral homes from different regions.  
• At 38 funeral homes, the agency claims the staff “either refused to answer questions about pricing at all or provided inconsistent pricing for identical services.”  
• On one call, the agency claims the firm “misrepresented the local health code" regarding embalmment. 
• On one call, the funeral home allegedly promised to send a GPL, but the agency claims the firm “instead provided a list of package prices that did not meet the Funeral Rule requirements for a General Price List.” 
• The FTC published the full list of funeral homes that received warning letters at this link.  

Click here to view the FTC’s online guide about complying with the Funeral Rule.