Are Most Morticians Reputable, Honest, Caring "Professionals"?

# Most morticians promote the fraudulent protective sealer caskets B intentionally damaging bodies in order to increase their profits.

# Most morticians do not warn families of this danger and the destruction of their loved ones bodies.

# Most morticians use unjust Professional fees, markups and prices, from 4 to 10 times wholesale.

# Most use deceptive tactics.

# Most morticians are not "Professionals," although they continually liken themselves falsely to doctors, lawyers and other professionals with extensive education and degrees.

In much of their publicity they call themselves "funeral professionals. (One state funeral board's booklet, written by morticians, has a section entitled: "Meet the Professionals.)

However, most morticians have much less education than teachers, pharmacists and other "professionals. Usually required of embalmers and "funeral directors," is two years above high school or GED; some have had a short course in embalming, a freshman_level sociology class, and marketing classes which they admit teach mostly "sell, sell, sell."

Arizona's Auditor Generals Office stated that embalming requires so little skill (and thus also "funeral directing") that morticians don't need even a year or two of "mortuary science" school but, rather, can easily "learn on the job" the little they need to know. (An example of morticians' sociology: One training seminar urges that "grief counseling" is a sales tactic that should be done with an iron fist in a

velvet glove to force families to buy higher_ priced funerals.)

The Primary Ripoff Method: Exorbitant Markups and Prices: used by nearly every U.S. mortuary__ account for about three fourths of the total ripoff of each family, and kept secret from the media for most of the century, resulting in the media helping morticians to rip off families by giving families bad "consumer advice" in their newspapers and consumer and financial magazines.

# The Confidential Low Wholesale prices of caskets (kept "top secret" from the media for decades), with hundreds of beautiful metal caskets in many models and colours, costing only $245 to $450 wholesale. (U.S.$s)

# The Extortionate Markups on caskets __ often 300% to 900% over the wholesale cost (that is, Four to Ten times wholesale) __ higher markups than in any other industry, often Thousands of Dollars Profit on each casket costing only a few hundred dollars,

# The High Prices (often hundreds of dollars) for EACH Activity/Service of the funeral Director and staff, and use of Facilities.

One mortuary, calling itself modest_priced, charges these high prices: (U.S.$s) "Professional

fee" of S1,275 for "Basic services of Funeral Director and Staff;" __Then for each separate activity: "removal of body to mortuary, $150"; "embalming, $325, Other preparation, $100"; evening service/visitation at a church, $375. Funeral service at mortuary or church, $650" (church doesn't receive any of this money); hearse, $200." (Some mortuaries charge up to $300 or more if payment is by insurance or from the estate.)

# Plus an Outrageous Non_Declinable  Professional fee, a Unique double-charging

tactic, claimed to be for "work of funeral director and staff"- Added to the high prices for "work of funeral director and staff' already charged for above, a fee charged by most morticians to raise the family's total to whatever profit level the mortician desires (usually listed first on mortuary price lists, often up to $1,000 to $2,000 or more; sometimes even two such fees);

# The Funeral Industrys Biggest Scam has been its success in misleading the Media and

Churches and getting the Media and Churches to help mislead families so that families will expect

exorbitant high prices and not be wary of the most effective deceptive practices. The funeral industry has accomplished this by getting all parts of the industry, including national associations, working together to prevent the media from exposing the unjust markups, prices and deceptive practices used by most of the 22,000 mortuaries and thousands of pre_pay plans _ and working together to fill the information void with false and misleading information and harmful "consumer advice" for the media and churches to pass on to the public. #

Information from Ont. Coalition for Social Justice.