The GPL in the Drawer
A funeral home in Houma has a printed general price list dated 2023. The receptionist keeps copies in a desk drawer and gives one only if a family asks; the firm's brochure says 'prices available upon request.' In an arrangement conference, a family asks whether embalming is required for a viewing. The director says, 'Louisiana law requires embalming for any viewing,' and sells a $1,200 embalming. The family provides its own casket purchased online; the firm adds a $350 'casket handling fee.' The firm offers a 'traditional package' for $8,900 that includes services, a casket, and a vault, but does not itemize. The casket selection room has 18 caskets with no casket price list; the vaults are shown without an outer burial container price list. The family later complains to the Board and the FTC.
1. Identify the Funeral Rule violations and the Louisiana consumer-protection implications.
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The firm violated the FTC Funeral Rule by keeping the general price list in a drawer and providing it only on request. The GPL must be offered to every caller or visitor who asks about arrangements, prices, or services, and a copy must be given when the discussion begins. The director misrepresented that Louisiana law requires embalming for any viewing; embalming generally is not required by law for viewing, and the firm may not falsely state that it is. The $350 casket handling fee is a prohibited charge for handling a casket purchased elsewhere. The firm also failed to provide a casket price list and an outer burial container price list, and its package price must be itemized in the GPL. These are deceptive and unfair practices that also support Board discipline in Louisiana, independent of FTC action.
2. How should the firm revise its price disclosures and arrangement process?
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The firm should replace the 2023 GPL with a current, dated GPL that lists the required disclosures and itemized prices for services, caskets, outer burial containers, and package options. It should create a casket price list for the 18 caskets on display and an outer burial container price list for the vaults. Package prices must be broken down so the family can see the price of each included item and compare it with itemized selections. Staff should hand the GPL to every family at the start of the arrangement conference, not wait for a request. The firm should train the receptionist and directors, remove the 'available upon request' language, and retain signed receipts or file notes showing the GPL was offered. Embalming should be presented as a choice unless a specific legal exception applies, and the casket handling fee should be eliminated.
3. What remedies and penalties may follow from the family's complaint?
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The FTC may seek civil penalties and require changes in pricing practices, recordkeeping, and training. The Louisiana Board may investigate the misrepresentation and the failure to provide required price disclosures as deceptive conduct, with penalties, probation, suspension, or revocation. The family may be entitled to a refund of the unlawful casket handling fee and possibly the embalming charge if it was obtained by a false statement of legal requirement. The firm should promptly refund improper charges, provide corrected price lists, and document corrective action. It should also preserve the arrangement file, GPL, casket price list, and any package advertisement because those records will be requested. A pattern of misleading price statements is treated more seriously than an isolated clerical error, so the firm should audit other arrangement files for similar statements.