Corrupt Funeral Home Directors
City Attorney Takes Corrupt Mortuary Directors to Task
Dealing directly with people when they are at their most vulnerable and emotionally fragile, funeral directors should be a source of comfort and encouragement to clients. Instead, we often find ourselves part of an industry shrouded in controversy and chaos. Improper cremation procedures, doubling up on cemetery plots, and inaccurate gravestones are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to criminal behaviors perpetrated by our corrupt peers. Just last week, in fact, the LA City Attorney revealed that several LA funeral homes may have manipulated grieving customers into overpaying.
The Los Angeles Daily News reports:
“Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer on Tuesday said his office reached a settlement with a South Los Angeles funeral home alleged to have deceived grieving customers with false prices and unnecessary services, including performing embalmings for cremations and closed-casket funerals. Feuer said (the funeral home) was one of a handful throughout the city that his office found had failed to follow state and federal law requiring them to post prices online and be transparent about the services they offered.”
Corrupt Funeral Practices
What’s more, that funeral home was not alone in receiving notice for deceptive practices. It was just the only one which refused to comply with warning letters sent after multiple undercover visits uncovered improprieties. The probe 
uncovered six funeral homes which were engaging in unlawful business practices. The number of victims is unknown, in part, because many were unaware they were manipulated. While people tend to shop around to compare prices for most large purchases, when someone they love dies, most mourners don’t take time to shop around.
“It is a gut-wrenching time,” a spokesman for the city attorney’s office said. “It is not a time to be taken unfair advantage of by a business.”
Unfortunately, fraud and manipulation by funeral home operators is widespread. In fact, a 2012 investigation of funeral homes across eight states found 23 of the 127 businesses they surveyed significantly violated the Federal Trade Commission Funeral Rule.
FTC Funeral Rule
The Funeral Rule requires funeral home operators to give consumers accurate, itemized price information and various other disclosures about funeral goods and services. In addition, the rule prohibits:
- Misrepresenting legal, crematory, and cemetery requirements
- Embalming for a fee without permission
- Requiring the purchase of a casket for direct cremation
- Requiring consumers to buy certain funeral goods or services as a condition for furnishing other funeral goods or services
- Engaging in other deceptive or unfair practices
Funeral Director Best Practices
So, when someone you love dies, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether you are being treated fairly by the people attending to your deceased. At Foothill Funeral & Cremation, we go above and beyond FTC requirements. In fact, we have always included a price list on our website and offer it when meeting prospective clients. In fact, for our clients’ convenience, we include not only our prices but also those of local competitors.
Trust begins with a relationship of openness and honesty. Thus, we strive to meet your needs. And we will answer your questions in a clear and understandable manner. What’s more, we will handle arrangements to suit your individual wishes. We will explain all your options and will clearly and openly explain our prices and available payment methods.
About Foothill Funeral & Cremation Services
Call us now or at your time of need (626) 335-0615. Feel free to drop by our Glendora showroom. Our relationship with United Methodist Church is the perfect place for mourners to host funerals and memorials. You’ll love the grandiose yet intimate setting. We proudly serve the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Basin, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Finally, working in the mortuary industry since 1996, our reputation is one of quality, sincerity and trust. Please allow us to help you at your time of need or in the future. Call today (626) 335-0615 or contact us via email.
