How To Protect Yourself Against Predators
Dear readers: Once again our newest guest blogger Josh Slocum, executive director of Funeral Consumers Alliance has something intelligent and provocative to say on the subject of how to protect your bank balance — even after death.
Funeral consumers face formidable and expensive obstacles around the country. In Hawaii, the state’s biggest cemetery and funeral company, Rightstar, was sued in 2004 — for allegedly skimming between $20-$30 million from a trust fund holding consumers’ prepayments.
Despite this, the state’s legislature has refused for three years to pass tougher laws. In fact, after the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Hawaii revealed that funeral companies and their lobbyists spread tens of thousands of dollars around to members of the state committee considering reform bills, some lawmakers actually had the nerve to complain that activists were besmirching their integrity!
In other words, it’s not enough to die well, if the burial leaves your loved ones without a dime. You can — and should — protect yourself (and your heirs) from predatory practices. Just a few simple steps can save you and your family a lot of money and even more grief:
1) Bone up on your rights. At www.funerals.org there is a wealth of information on your legal rights as a funeral shopper. Absorb them today, while you’re in a calm frame of mind.
2) Shop around. The worst mistake most families make is to use a funeral home just because they’ve used it before. If you don’t compare prices ahead of time, how will you know if what you’ve always thought of as your family’s funeral home is charging reasonable prices, or taking you for a ride?
3)And now a little plug: Funeral Consumers Alliance has chapters in most states. Join up and get price comparisons and recommendations of ethical funeral businesses (there are some! and we have their names…). Just visit us at www.funerals.org and click on “Find a local FCA.”
Josh Slocum is director of FCA, a watchdog group dedicated to helping consumers get affordable and dignified funerals
August 20th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Try to avoid the big “chain” funeral homes owned by the corporate giants (Stewart Corp & SCI). seek out the independents and the “Alternative Funeral Services” which eschew the big building and grounds (large overhead costs) and are able to provide the same services at much less.
I’m always available for any of these types of questions too, and have a unique perspective having been a graduate of mortuary science college and a funeral director.