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WZZM 13 News: Prepaid Funeral Caution, April 16, 2001

Prepaid Funeral Caution

People as young as 50 are getting the hard sell to pay for their funeral in advance. Americans have already spent billions on the contracts. But Consumer Reports says prepaying for funerals is a bad deal.

Six years before her mother passed away, Cindi Strauss bought a $9,000 prepaid package to take care of her mother's funeral. Cindi Strauss says, "I thought everything was going to be fine, and it wasn't. There was a lot more money that they were wanting."

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Education: Pre-Need
Consumer Protection: Consumer Alert Articles

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Episcopal LifeSelections: Paying ahead of time may be risky venture,

Paying ahead of time may be risky venture

Prepaid funerals are today a lucrative business in the United States, as consumers seek peace of mind about the end of life. They come with risks, however.

Roughly 21 million Americans have prepaid at least a portion of their burial or funeral expenses, according the the American Association of Retired Persons. Such sales, known as "pre-need sales" total somewhere between $20 billion and $40 billion, according to AARP.

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Education: Pre-Need
Consumer Protection: Consumer Alert Articles

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Consumer Reports Online: Final arrangements, May 2001

Consumer Reports Online:
Final arrangements

Our investigation shows that you'll probably pay top dollar for a pre-paid funeral. There are much better ways to plan in advance.

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Consumer Protection: Consumer Alert Articles

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Consumer Alert: Protection from telemarketers

YOU DO HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER WHO CALLS YOU—HOW TO REDUCE TELEMARKETING SALES TO YOUR HOME

Telemarketing calls ofter interrupt consumers' family time and personal lives. In addition to the hassle of these telephone solicitations, millions of consumers lose money through telemarketing scams. Two government agencies provide protection from abusive and deception telemarketing sales practices: (1) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to protect consumers from receiving unsolicited telephone marketing calls; and (2) the Federal Trade Commission issued the Telemarketing Sales Rule to protect consumers from telephone fraud.

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