Author: Archit Tripathi / Source: did you know?
There are two constants in life: death and taxes. If we’re being honest, however, there is one more thing – paying an exorbitant amount for a funeral. As if the death of a loved one wasn’t stressful enough, the average funeral can cost upwards of $7,000! Honestly, it’s kind of surprising that there aren’t any deaths reported from the shock of seeing a funeral bill.
The Business of Grief
Before we begin, it’s only fair to point out that the funeral industry is a business, and any business needs to make a certain degree of profit in order to survive. A lot of people working in this industry (also known as the “death care industry”) joined up because they’ve experienced loss themselves, and want to help others going through the same thing. It’s unreasonable to expect them to offer their services at cost/for a loss. There’s also something to be said about the convenience of getting everything – flowers, caskets/urns, preservation services, limos, etc. – under one roof rather than having to go around and get everything separately.
Still, the fact that there are professional courses for funeral directors with titles like “Upselling Without Upsetting the Client,” designed to convince customers to go up to 20% over their budget for things like luxury procession cars and white doves at the memorial isn’t exactly the kind of thing that inspires trust. You should also be aware of the “grief counselors” that some funeral homes employ. They’re usually just a glorified salesperson whose main job is to try to guilt you into spending more money.
In fact, a shockingly honest Reddit post by a funeral director points out that funeral home employees are often quite adept at gauging your financial status, as well as picking out which members of the family are easier to sway into buying more. A great tip for avoiding this is to bring along a more level-headed friend or family member, someone who isn’t as close to the deceased and can provide a more objective point of view.
It’s also pretty unsettling to find out that a staggering number of America’s funeral homes are owned by a single corporation – Service Corporation International (SCI). SCI buys up mom-and-pop shops all over the country without changing the names so that nobody’s any wiser, while inflating prices by up to 72% more for the same services at independent funeral homes.
Show Me the Money
One of the reasons people experience an unpleasant surprise upon seeing the bill is because the funeral industry is very deliberately opaque. A lot of funeral homes will give you a list of services to choose from without including any information about how much they cost. They only hit you with the total once you’ve already got everything picked out, at which point you’re likely to just pony up the cash in order to avoid feelings of guilt or embarrassment.
Fortunately, you have legal rights as a consumer that protect you from the various scams that unscrupulous funeral directors may try to spring on you. Consumers shopping for the perfect funeral service are protected by the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule, which legally entitles you to see a list of prices for all services offered (although, having been passed in pre-internet 1980s, the rule only applies to in-person or over-the-phone inquiries).
The FTC conducts undercover investigations to ensure compliance with this rule, though, sadly, they’ve found that nearly 1 in 4 funeral homes fail to do so. These offenders can choose to either work with the FTC to improve their practice and move towards compliance, or face hefty federal fines.
Many funeral homes also offer “package deals” that might seem attractive on the surface, but could actually cost you quite a bit in frivolous extras. Don’t fall for it – funeral homes are also legally required to provide all of those services individually, as well as to provide you with an itemized price list so you can really see what you’re paying for.
Shop Smart
Another reason that people often end up paying small fortunes for a service is general apathy and ignorance of the marketplace. Given how much is on their minds close after the death of a loved one, most people…
The post The Truth About Funerals That the Funeral Industry Wants to Bury appeared first on FeedBox.