Your Funeral Guy: Five Funeral Scams that mean No Lower Cost Funeral
Most folks would rather not think about their funeral --
or that of a loved one. Funeral directors over the years have given us many types of funeral scams from flowers, to preneed car sales techniques and difficult contracts.Yet knowing about funeral scams can save
families from heart felt hurt during the Painful Problem of a Funeral.The five Funeral scams listed here come directly from the funeral rule and are not written about much anywhere
The average cost of funeral ranges from 7,000.00 to $9,000.00 For many
people, a funeral will be one of the largest purchases of their life.
Though most funeral directors care about grieving families, the chance to upsell high ticket items like cushion-lined mahogany caskets or embalming prior to cremation are opportunities too good to pass up.
The federal government protects consumers from unfair business practices with a law called The Funeral Rule. This is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission or FTC.
1.Casket Selling Scam: Moving you toward the higher price
One way funeral directors make large profits is by introducing consumers is to their most expensive caskets first.
Industry
studies have shown the average casket shopper buys one of the first
three casket models they see and usually the one that is in the middle
price range.
This means it is to the funeral director's advantage to steer customers towards high cost caskets first. Your Funeral Guy , R.Brian Burkhardt was taught this method in mortuary school.
The
Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to show customers a list of all
caskets the company sells with descriptions and prices before showing
caskets. I advise clients to ask about lower priced caskets, even if they don't appear to be readily available. Some funeral homes place lower cost caskets away in a basement or the backroom.
A casket of lower costs may need to be ordered, by the consumer and should
only be a mouse click or phone call away. Many of the same models you
see in the funeral home can be ordered on the internet for much less.
It
has been stated That there are at least over 500 models of caskets on
the market for under $1000, So check out prices immediately on the
internet and ask to see a catalog.
2.Funeral Packages sometimes Misrepresent Costs
Back
in the day, caskets were sold only by funeral homes. But now showrooms
and websites sell the same caskets often at lower cost prices.
The Funeral Rule requires funeral directors to use a casket you bought somewhere else at another location without charging additional fees.
Some
funeral homes have tried to slide past the internet/retail casket store
competition with deceptive promotional packages. They offer "deals"
that reduce the price of their caskets, but increase costs on other
products and services. It is usually best to avoid packages and
negotiate your lower cost funeral directly with the funeral director.
Some Funeral Home Owners charge different casket prices at the different funeral homes they own!
R. Brian Burkhardt Your Funeral Guy has seen and experienced all of the above.
Any casket pricing scam may be reported to The National Casket Retailers Association .
3. Gasket Casket Scam: Protection forever
Another
deceptive trick or scam is selling "protective" caskets. These include
a rubber gasket designed to delay the penetration of water into the
casket, which supposedly preserves the body from biological entities
and decay. This will not take you to a lower cost funeral.
The
gasket casket has been called the biggest fraud in the funeral
business. The gasket costs $12 to $20, yet funeral homes typically
charge $700 more for models with gasket.
The
Funeral Rule does not allow claims that "protective" features like the
gasket helps preserve the remains forever or a long time, because they
don't. This is simply a higher cost funeral sales technique.
4. Funeral Director Scam: Laying on Guilt to get you to overspend!
Some funeral directors really lay on the guilt to get you to emotionally
overspend. If you here the comment Your Loved One Deserves better than
this. Your emotional chain has been yanked! You need to recognize that
sometimes you don't need to have high funeral costs to honor and show
your love planning an excellent lower cost funeral in advance can help
develop a great service at a most difficult moment.
5. Funeral Director Scam:Not Mentioning the No Embalming option
Under
the funeral rule you must be told and sign a statement that
embalming(in most cases)is not a requirement of law. in fact no
Embalming and a closed casket or direct burial can save you $600.00 to
$700.00 USD on any funeral. If you want a traditional visitation
embalming may be required by some funeral directors.
There are other ways around this such as doing it all at the cemetery with a closed casket.
Many
a funeral director will employ some strong arm tactics to get an
Embalming. However you have the right to say no Embalming Cost.
Your Funeral Guy
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