Frequently
Asked Questions
Did you know...
You have the right to comparison shop by phone? By
law, funeral directors must give you specific answers to specific
questions regarding types of services available and pricing.
If you inquire in person at a funeral home about arrangements,
the funeral director must provide you with a preprinted "General
Price List"; a complete itemization of all services offered
and the corresponding prices. Failure of the funeral establishment
to do so exposes them to fines of $10,000 per incident by the FTC.
Embalming is not required by law. Except in specific
circumstances; death by infectious disease, a prolonged period of
time between death and burial.
If a funeral director is making a cash advance for
such items as flowers, obituary notices, grave opening and closing
fees, clergy honoraria, pallbearers, etc., it must be disclosed
if any money is being made on the transaction. It is advised to
ask for cash receipts!
A casket is not required for a direct cremation. An
inexpensive alternative container is all that is required.
The funeral director must provide an itemized accounting,
known as the statement of goods and services, showing the total
cost of the funeral merchandise and/or services selected.
Funeral providers are strictly prohibited from making
any claims that a product or service will indefinitely preserve
the remains.
Many funeral homes are owned by large publicly traded
corporations. Market research indicates that a corporately owned
funeral home tends to be significantly higher in cost to you. Ask
your funeral director if the funeral home is independently owned
and operated or is it part of a chain. Most corporate chains mislead
customers by disguising ownership by continuing to use the local
business name many years after they have purchased the property.
More and more funeral directors no longer do their
own embalming or initial pickup of the remains. Ask the funeral
director if he is providing these services or is it contracted to
an outside source.
SHOP THE BASIC SERVICE FEE
When you select a funeral home to handle the service
portion of the funeral, there is one itemization that is non-declinable:
THE BASIC SERVICE FEE OF THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR AND STAFF. The BASIC
SERVICE FEE amounts to somewhat of a cover charge for doing business
with the funeral home and does not include any of the other services
provided such as transfer of the remains, refrigeration, embalming,
use of the facilities - just to name a few of the costs.
The BASIC SERVICE FEE is a discretionary charge that
ranges from the hundreds to thousands of dollars! THE HIGHER
THE BASIC SERVICE FEE, THE HIGHER THE OVERALL EXPENSES MAY BE...
THE LOWER THE BASIC SERVICE FEE, THE MORE ROOM THE CONSUMER HAS
TO NEGOTIATE.
Because casket stores have had such a dramatic impact
on the funeral industry, funeral homes are doing everything possible
to discredit casket stores and casket resellers while attempting
to eliminate options for the consumer. However, the funeral industry
is regulated. Therefore, funeral homes cannot directly eliminate
the consumer’s rights to comparison shop.
Some of the most frequently heard allegations made
by funeral homes against caskets purchased from other companies
are:
"you won't get the casket you selected"
"the casket will fall apart"
"they're not as good a quality and therefore
we can't recommend them"
"they will never deliver them on time or where
they are supposed to"
"their caskets are damaged"
"it's not really a casket"
"they don't have any warranties"
"they are below funeral home standards"
These untrue allegations are used as propaganda by
funeral homes to convince the consumer to purchase their products
at inflated prices, just like old times. The countless number of
families that have been served in the short time that casket stores
have been available, along with the rapid expansion of hundreds
of stores to many states, should attest to the need and consumer
acceptance of casket stores.
Some mortuaries are adjusting their prices to meet
the prices of casket stores. However, this only occurs when the
consumer has shopped and a mortuary feels they can save a sale by
lowering the purchase price of the casket. Although this accomplishes
our goal of providing a reasonably priced product to that specific
consumer, the long-term effect results in consumers continuing to
pay inflated prices overall. This philosophy is what many funeral
homes have as long standing business practice -" We will cheat
you unless you catch us. If you catch us, then we will give you
a discount." Why would anybody want to buy from that business?
Here's why:
The only reason funeral homes are now willing to match
prices is an attempt to force casket stores out of business. If
successful, the charitable attitudes of the funeral homes will no
longer be in such overwhelming abundance. Prices will soar uncontrollably
as past experience has shown. Besides, what does it say about funeral
homes if they are only willing to lower prices when faced with losing
the bulk of their income, the sale of a casket?
And WHY does the mortuary give the price-oriented
shoppers a second, lower price. while the average consumer only
gets offered the higher price? It is also the concern of casket
stores that if the mortuaries succeed in putting them out of business
they will have accomplished two dangerous things:
FIRST: The mortuaries will have eliminated
all of their competition.
SECOND: They will have successfully warned
anyone attempting to balance the industry they will not succeed
against the "BIG BOYS" in the mortuary business.
Casket retailers are proud that they have had such
a positive impact on the funeral industry. They were formed to give
the consumer options in order to bring much needed balance to a
one-sided industry. Keep in mind that choosing to purchase a discounted
casket from a mortuary today, will guarantee that the choice you
made today, will eliminate the choice of tomorrow. Mortuaries are
still over-pricing their services for every little detail they do
in the name of caring. Such as charging a service fee for allowing
use of their parking lot or even the restroom facilities during
the funeral service. How many restaurants are able to charge customers
for those conveniences?
The Funeral Industry would tell people ANYTHING
to keep them from comparing prices or coming to his store to see
for themselves. Many Funeral homes prey on the family's inability
to think clearly in their time of grief.
Some Funeral Homes have started sham pricing techniques,
with packaged prices so that you will think you must buy the casket
with the service.
This is highly illegal, according to the FTC rules.
Some Funeral homes play every dirty trick in the book on families.
And they get away with it, because the family is standing there
with tears in their eyes, really not thinking clearly at all, while
the Funeral Director is thinking "Bottom line" and trying
to find out how much insurance they have or what kind of car are
they driving.
As an informed consumer:
Shop Around before hand. Know your options! Approach
it as you would any major purchase. You wouldn't buy the first used
car you saw, or the first computer or TV, and those are a whole
lot cheaper than funeral services.
Before discussing ANYTHING with the funeral home,
go in and get their price list for services and caskets. If they
won't give you both, don't go back! No matter what their excuse.
Sit down at home and figure out what you want and
can afford without having the Funeral Director guiding you or telling
you what you can or can not do. Federal Law says you can do anything
you want. And you can purchase caskets and other funeral goods anywhere
you want.
Never mention if you have insurance or not. You don't
need to show them the policy. Your bank will loan you the money
against the policy and this will save you thousands. A trick question
is, "How many copies of the Death Certificate do you need?"
If you say more than one, they assume you have more insurance, and
the price goes up.
When they try to get you to make a quick decision
on the casket or services, tell them you have to discuss it with
other family members not present. If they are a reputable home there
should be no problem. If there is a problem, LOOK OUT! Shop around.
When you look at caskets, the words "Protected"
or "Sealer" will come up. Nothing is a "permanent"
seal. That term is deceptive and a fraud perpetrated by casket manufactures.
A seal may help keep the elements out for a short time, but nothing
is permanent. Don't fall for that story. One of the largest casket
companies in the world has numerous lawsuits about the poor quality
of their caskets. When you read the extra fine print their "Lifetime"
warranty is only good for a couple of years.
Don't buy your headstone for at least 4 months; the
ground needs time to settle. Do it too fast and you'll have to pay
extra to have it re-set later. And, you can buy your headstone anywhere
you want to as well. Shop around! You can save about half. In most
states, monuments cannot be installed in the winter months because
of the hardness of the ground.
If one Funeral Home picks up the body and you decide
to move to another one because the price is too high, you can. They
can't stop you or hold the body for ransom. That's against the law,
the same as kidnapping. They may try but it's your money. If you
sign a contract, you have 72 hours to cancel it; after all, you
are under duress.
Be wary of so-called "cremation societies".
Most of these are fronts for large Corporate Funeral Homes. They
may woo you in with a low price so you think it is a discount and
then stick it to the family after you're gone with "extras"
such as chapel service, casket and embalming. That $700 cremation
quickly turns into a $7000 funeral.
They want to get as many family members as they can
at the sales conference because every family member will want to
add something to the service and this helps run the costs up. Remember,
this is a "Sales" conference; you are being sold a bill
of goods. So leave the Preacher at home, especially if he suggests
a certain funeral home. It may be owned by his golf buddy and he
gets referral fees as his piece of the action.
Beware of the after service "Grief Counseling".
This is a good time to sell you a big Pre-need policy and to get
all your relatives signed up as well.
Pre-Need is NOT what you think. When the family
shows up at the funeral home after you're gone, they're in for a
shock on what it doesn't cover. Read the fine print. And chances
are that fine casket you picked out won't be there either. Put your
money in a trust account at the bank. It will be there when needed.
The courts are full of lawsuits from families suing over Pre-need.
Look on the Internet. The truth is out there.
MHP-Urns.com is part of a growing trend across
North America to comparison shop. We offer consumers the opportunity
to make an important decision-making process as easy as possible
by offering a selection of beautifully crafted caskets, monuments,
markers, urns and flowers for every need and financial situation.
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