Edith and Julius Falwell say they feel duped by aggressive sales people

August 17, 1999
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT)

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RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Edith and Julius Falwell didn't think much about death until they got a phone call offering a free cemetery plot near their home. Eventually, the "free" plot cost the Virginia couple more than $6,000.

The Falwells say they were duped by aggressive marketing and because of such complaints, federal regulators may expand a 15-year-old rule governing funerals.

The funeral rule was issued to protect grieving family members from unnecessary costs and purchases at funeral homes. Now the Federal Trade Commission is looking at casting a wider regulatory net to include other providers of funeral goods.

The commission will review public comments submitted on the matter over the past months.

Consumer advocates say rampant consolidation in the industry and more aggressive selling tactics warrant further attention to a largely unregulated industry.

"You've got better protection buying a set of tires right now, than you would purchasing burial services," says Martin Corry, director of federal affairs for AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons.

The Falwells, who have been unsuccessful in getting their money back, feel manipulated.

First, there was the phone call. Then came a letter -- a "notification of award," it said. It promised "space for burial ... at no charge."

When a representative for Richmond Memorial Parks, a cemetery owned by Stewart Enterprises, came to explain, the couple got a sales pitch. "The way he talked about the whole thing ... gave me nightmares," Mrs. Falwell told CNN. "I could just see people dying."

The pitch worked. The Falwells signed a contract obligating them to pay $6,351.75. When they tried to cancel the deal two weeks later, they couldn't.

Stewart Enterprises, which operates 700 funeral homes and cemeteries worldwide, denies any deceptive marketing.

Edith Falwell says she had nightmares following one sales pitch

Willie and Juanita Roach of South Carolina have a similar story. The Westminster couple has owned the burial plot they are to share at a local cemetery for decades.

But on a recent visit to the cemetery, they were surprised to learn they owed an extra $5,000 for their plot and had to buy an expensive vault to be buried there.

"We have entertained cremation even though we've already got a marker down,'' says Mrs. Roach. Adding confusion to the matter: Willie Roach's mother personally knew the cemetery owner when she bought the burial site in 1956. The site these days is owned by a national chain.

Cemetery owners say there has never been a conclusive finding that cemeteries engage in fraudulent business practices.

"That type of conduct is prohibited," says Robert Fells, general counsel for the International Cemetery and Funeral Association.

Historically, cemeteries sell their goods and services before a death, says Fells. Because of that, cemeteries must make all price information available.

"When you don't have the problem, you don't need to extend the law," he said.

Terry Hemeyer, a spokesman for the Houston-based Service Corporation International, which operates 3,824 funeral service locations, 520 cemeteries and 198 crematoriums, says the cemetery industry is regulated enough.

Consumer complaints about cemeteries usually deal with maintenance or interment mistakes -- matters that have nothing to do with the funeral rule, he added.

The funeral rule currently requires funeral homes to disclose prices for goods and services and prohibits them from forcing consumers to buy bundles of services. Funeral directors also cannot misrepresent local cemetery requirements, such as telling people they must have a body embalmed.

But today, people can buy caskets -- even heavy monument markers -- on the Internet. They can shop at coffin retailers or buy vaults, monuments and caskets at cemeteries. The rule does not cover these other providers.

Some officials also say the trend of large chains buying up local cemeteries and funeral homes may be shifting the old ways of doing business.

"In some cases, they're changing procedures and conduct," says Chris Riggall, spokesman for Georgia's Secretary of State's Office, which oversees for-profit cemeteries. "Frankly, when you have a company that may be 2,000 miles away, they don't have the same type of service priorities that the local folks may have."

The offer Julius Falwell heard over the phone sounded too good to be true. It was

Increased corporate ownership of cemeteries has changed the way services are marketed, says Steven Sklar, director of the Maryland's Office of Cemetery Oversight. Salespeople seek out customers, using telemarketing and other tactics, he says.

"They don't just sit there and wait for people to come in," says Sklar, whose position was created two years ago and who now handles 900 consumer inquiries a year.

According to a survey by the AARP, 43 percent of Americans over the age of 50 have been solicited about purchasing their funeral and 39 percent have been solicited about buying burials before death.

The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, also is studying the issue and is expected to report by fall.

Correspondent Jonathan Karl and The Associated Press contributed to this report, written by Jim Morris

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