The Funeral Rule

The Federal Trade Commission of the US Government requires funeral homes to accept merchandise from outside vendors. There are specific rules listed below that funeral homes must follow. You can learn more at the Texas Funeral Service Commission website.

• They may not alter routine charges based on acceptance of outside merchandise.
• They may not require the family to be present at the time of delivery.
• They may not alter their prices in any way to penalize you if you wish to bring in outside merchandise.
• They may not charge any fee for handling or inspection that would discourage third party vendors of caskets, vaults, monuments or virtually any funeral merchandise.
• They may not use any form of pressure or duress to discourage you from using a third party vendor.

You can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by contacting the Consumer Response Center by telephone, toll-free, at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TDD: 202-326-2502; by mail: Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20580; or on their website. Although the Commission cannot resolve individual problems for consumers, it can act against a company if it sees a pattern or possible law violations.

To learn more about the The Funeral Rule click here.