Ten Essential Protections for the Funeral, Cemetery, or Cremation Consumer:

Legislation Achieved: (followed by year it became law and whether there is much evidence of that law being enforced)

1) Ban on direct solicitation: no telephone or door to door solicitation of consumers by funeral homes, cemeteries or monument makers. (BC Law–1991) No

2) 80% Trusting: 80% of all prepaid funeral, cemetery and cremation related goods and services must be placed in trust (trusted). (BC Law–1995) Yes

3) No undisclosed payments or incentives to third parties for funeral or cemetery referrals: each family must be fully aware of any consideration paid to a third party to direct them as to where to do business.
(BC Law–1995) No

4) No undisclosed Public Company Funeral home or Cemetery Ownership: many jurisdictions find the difference in care provided by publicly held funeral providers and family owned funeral providers that they now require mandatory legible disclosure of public company ownership of funeral homes in all advertising, contracts and signs. (BC Law–2001) No

5) Disclosure of real location: any provider taking out and forwarding local phone numbers to distant locations must disclose their real address where the deceased is being taken to be cared for, to client families, legibly, in all contracts and advertising. (BC Law–2001) No

Remaining Legislative Objectives:

6) Salaried Workers: All funeral, cremation, memorial and cemetery workers selling goods and services to families in their time of loss or need, must be remunerated with reasonable wages/salaries to ensure the bereaved will be afforded adequate information, support and care. The non-commission based compensation of these workers will prevent up-selling and insufficient service to the bereaved when they are most vulnerable and in need.

7) Land reuse and green burial: grave property owners must have the right to reuse property should they desire, and therefore, must be allowed green burial (no mandatory vaults).

8) No untrained or unregulated workers: all funeral and cemetery advisors need training and need to be regulated, both pre-need and at-need. How can you advise people on how to plan and/or purchase a funeral if you can’t arrange one?

9) Cemetery Church or Chapel access: Where a funeral home or church chapel is built in, or adjacent to, a cemetery, it must be equally accessible to all funeral service providers.

10) Accountability: To serve the public interest and to protect the bereaved, any liability resulting from mismanagement or incompetence must be fully accountable. Any contractual arrangements designed to abrogate and offset any liability of this nature must be disallowed.

Partners In Care Association/Family Funeralhome Assoc: You Have A Choice, Come into the Light, dial 188-UNVEILED