Tell the FTC: Consumers deserve fairer funeral service pricing practices

We interact with funeral homes when we're at our most vulnerable, trying to honor the memory of a loved one while also trying to make informed financial decisions. But currently, funeral homes are not required to provide potential customers with price information online before they commit to a purchase.

Your agency's research shows that more than 60% of funeral homes have little or no pricing information on their websites. This creates an opportunity for funeral homes to upsell or increase prices -- consumers can't really shop around, nor do they have the time or state of mind to visit multiple funeral homes and compare prices and services.

Requiring online disclosures would help consumers compare prices more quickly and would allow customers to make sure after the fact that they weren't overcharged. I urge you to bring funeral home consumer protections into the 21st century by requiring online price disclosures.