NFDA Responds to WSJ Investigation

NFDA sent a memo to its members this week regarding the Wall Street Journal’s in-depth investigation on the funeral industry.  

The article, “How the Funeral Industry Got the FTC to Hide Bad Actors,” was published on Feb. 5 and outlines how the FTC deals with alleged violations of the Funeral Rule. 

NFDA shared the following statement in the bulletin: 

“The exceptionally disappointing article offers a one-sided look at the history of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Funeral Rule Offenders Program (FROP). Despite NFDA working with the reporter over the course of the last month to provide copious amounts of information about the history and effectiveness of FROP, the article ignored key facts and presented a biased picture of the funeral service profession and NFDA. Further, the article relied on inaccurate tropes that have been used to disparage funeral directors for decades. We know that this article, while highly visible, does not reflect the people who care for grieving families and the dead, not just according to the law, but with a high degree of ethics, compassion, and professionalism.” 

The association said it will be sending a letter to the editor on behalf of its members and will continue advocating on their behalf to spread positive stories about funeral service.  

NFDA shared these details about the Funeral Rule Offenders Program:  

• FROP is supposed to be an educational alternative to an FTC lawsuit.  
• A funeral home can utilize this program after two violations of the Funeral Rule.  
• The program lasts at least three years.  
• The FROP requirements include a review of all price lists, annual training, testing of staff knowledge of the Funeral Rule, and a final assessment.  
• More than 500 funeral homes have participated in the program — but only three of those firms have been issued subsequent violations.  
• NFDA does not determine who is prosecuted by the FTC or who can use the program. The FTC decides which firms are eligible.  

The NFDA released several reminders about compliance with the Funeral Rule as well.  

“As you know, the Funeral Rule requires that funeral providers give consumers who inquire by telephone accurate information about their offerings or prices from their price lists and any other readily available information that reasonably answers their questions. This includes when the caller is a price list consolidator, competitor, or anyone else, whether they are a potential customer or not. Additionally, while funeral providers may ask callers to identify themselves, they cannot require callers to give their names, addresses, or phone numbers, and must provide them the required information, regardless.  

The FTC also advises that funeral providers should not highlight only package prices and must include itemized and minimal services. When people call with pricing questions, you’re not required to provide them price lists electronically, but even if you do, you must still answer their questions over the phone. Sending them price information via other means doesn’t meet your obligation under the Funeral Rule.”  

According to NFDA, the following actions comply with the Funeral Rule:  

• Funeral providers can use answering machines to record incoming calls.  
• They can advise callers to call a specific number during business hours for pricing information.  
• Funeral providers can decline to share price information outside of regular business hours, as long as that is the firm’s “normal practice.”  
• If a provider is in the middle of an arrangement, they can take a message and call back later to share price information.  

In the examples given above, NFDA states that funeral providers still need to share pricing information promptly when they return the phone call.  

One last reminder: Providers cannot misrepresent laws, such as claiming the law requires them to embalm a person who is deceased, if this is not true.  

At Tribute Technology, we will continue to share helpful information about the Funeral Rule with you, our valued clients. Please reach out if you would like to learn more about our Tribute Management Software, which makes sharing and updating your GPL easier than ever before.