Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Alabama funeral home settles FTC charges, (Jul 12, 2016)
Organizations Mentioned:Ross-Clayton Funeral Home Inc.
By Edward L. Puzzo, J.D.
An Alabama funeral home has settled charges brought by the FTC that it violated the Funeral Rule, the FTC has announced. The FTC had charged Ross-Clayton Funeral Home Inc. of Montgomery, Alabama with failure to provide an itemized casket list on at least two occasions in 2012, in violation of the Rule.
The FTC conducts annual undercover inspections of funeral homes to monitor compliance with the Funeral Rule’s disclosure requirements. These requirements include providing itemized price lists at the start of any in-person discussions of funeral arrangements, and casket or outer burial container purchases. The Rule also requires funeral homes to provide price information by telephone upon request, and generally prohibits them from requiring consumers to buy any item, such as a casket, as a condition of obtaining any other funeral good or service.
The consent order, entered by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on June 23, requires the funeral home to pay a $16,000 civil penalty, and permanently prohibits it from violating the Funeral Rule.
Companies: Ross-Clayton Funeral Home Inc.
News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews