The following is a transcript of a report by Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons that first aired Feb. 23, 2007, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5:30 p.m.

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Who wants to think about planning a funeral? It's not something that would make most people's list of how to have a fun day, but a Team 4 hidden camera investigation reveals why you should think ahead about making funeral arrangements for yourself or a loved one.

For most of us, arranging a funeral will be the third most expensive consumer purchase we make in our lifetime, behind buying a house and a car. The average total price of a funeral in western Pennsylvania is more than $6,000, and our investigation shows just how convoluted, confusing and complex that purchase can be.

The choices seem to be endless. Burial or cremation? Wood casket or steel? Enbalming or refrigeration?

And with every choice comes a price tag.

But purchasing a funeral isn't supposed to be so confusing. For more than 20 years, the Federal Trade Commission has been in charge of overseeing something called the funeral rule.

"I mean, the real cornerstone of this rule is the price list and giving consumers the opportunity to see the itemized prices and compare them," said Lisa Hone of the FTC,

Sounds simple, right?

It should be, but in reality, most of the price lists Team 4 obtained from more than 12 area funeral homes were confusing.

"The price lists I looked at stack up with what I find in other places, which is on the whole, absolutely terrible," said Josh Slocum of the Funeral Consumers Alliance.

Slocum is executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a national advocacy organization based in Vermont. Team 4 gave Slocum price lists from the Pittsburgh area funeral homes we visited.

"What I was finding was funeral home price lists that absolutely lacked basic options that the Federal Trade Commission says you have to offer to consumers," said Slocum.

One of those required options was the price for a burial when the purchaser provides their own casket from a third-party supplier, like Costco.

One local funeral home's price list doesn't include that option, while another funeral home's price list was 32 pages long.

"I couldn't believe how cumbersome it was," said funeral director Deb Prise. "It was confusing to me."

Prise and Heather Rady are suing their employer over workplace issues.

They told Team 4 they were urged to deliver sales pitches to families just days after burying loved ones.

"You know, a couple of days later when you're delivering death certificates to the widow or widower's home," said Rady. "At that point, that is your foot in the door to introduce pre-need if you will.

"When you should really be just caring for the death that they're going through, not anticipating future business," said Prise.

Another funeral home's employee was trying to get our business, so we sent in Call 4 Action volunteer Richard Bender and a photographer with a hidden camera to inquire about funeral prices.

Within minutes, they were taken to the casket showroom to look at models, but the FTC's funeral rule requires that you be given a casket price list before heading into the room.

"We immediately went into the casket room," said Bender. "No paperwork, just the caskets."

"You should have already seen the price list," said Hone.

And the prices Bender saw on cards inside the caskets were steep. One was for $2,550 and another was more than $3,000.

"When we asked for the least expensive coffin, he said, 'Well, there isn't one in the room,' and we sort of hemmed and hawed, and he said, 'Well, I could go get it,'" said Bender.

The salesman was gone for 15 minutes before he brought back a felt-covered fiberboard container with a price of $550.

"This is deliberately to make people feel, well, a little bit creepy and a little bit cheap about buying a casket they can afford," said Slocum. "It's absolutely unacceptable."

"I think a good funeral director will try to allay those fears of guilt and feelings of guilt that a family may have," said Patrick Lanigan of Lanigan Funeral Home.

Lanigan is on the executive board of the National Funeral Directors Association.

"We, and I'm sure most funeral directors, tell folks to stay within your means," said Lanigan. "Don't do anything that you can't afford."

But with complicated and confusing price lists, that's not always easy to determine if you're making decisions in the hours after a loved one has died.

"Unfortunately, I did go through that, and it's very, very emotionally trying, and I had some people with me, and it's still almost mind-numbing to go through and listen to what goes on," said Bender. "And you just keep shaking your head yes to get it over with, so you end up, unfortunately, buying things that maybe are not quite necessary."

That's why funeral experts recommend pre-planning. It's easy. Federal law requires that a funeral home give you a copy of their general price list when you ask for it. So shop around, pick up price lists from funeral homes in your area and start comparing the itemized costs.

Remember, like anything else, it's a consumer purchase. Ask questions.

Links:

Federal Trade Commission

Funeral Consumer's Alliance

National Funeral Director's Alliance

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