Funeral Fraud: Make a list and check it twice

Try to stay out of a funeral home or in this case, don't let your relatives be funeral home walk-ins. On the other hand, don't prepay for funeral expenses either since you may not be protected from losing your investment. The safest way to prepay for your funeral would be to have your own funeral investment account. There is rampant fraud in the funeral business and a huge amount of just taking advantage of people who are grieving. Don't do this to your relatives.

Funeral homes have sold caskets that were advertised to preserve the body for 75 years and they didn't even work for 3 months. The fact is that the whole industry is controlled by 4 large companies that set exorbitant prices. One funeral home in Florida just rewrote the bills they received for out of state expenses, padding them to rip off their customers. Funeral homes in Prague were found to be out of compliance with regulations; 66% of the time.

Salesmen are paid to make as much on the sale as they can. Scam artists for pre-paid funeral expenses will come directly to nursing homes and swindle people. Pre-paid burial plans are just like life insurance. Go to a reputable company and just purchase a plan directly.

You also have to worry about cremation fraud. There have been instances where you get to spread concrete mix instead of cremation ashes. In Georgia, the bodies were simply dumped outside on the ground and the funds for cremation pocketed by the owner.

The sad state of our society has made it okay to take advantage of somebody to make money. After all, it is just business, nothing personal. Check out everything in advance but never pay up front. Make a list, check it twice, eliminate any naughty people, and by all means don't end up being Santa Claus for a funeral company. If you follow the Pyrefyre recommended way, just find a reputable crematorium and do the rest yourself.