Your Funeral Guy » death care

You Can Help with Cemetery Reform-Your Funeral Guy

Your Funeral Guy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:55:35 +0000

The Bereaved consumers Bill Of Rights Act is coming up for a vote in a Congressional Committee on Wed 7.21.10. This is an Important Congressional Vote for historic cemetery and death care reform.

The Bereaved Consumers Protection Act is in the the legislative process in the US Congress.

Recent Cemetery Scandals could have been prevented if this bill had been in effect. Those are the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal, The Eden Memorial Park Scandal and the recent Scandal at Arlington National Cemetery.

World's Largest Funeral Corporation has had a cemetery Scandal, like Bur Oak

Cemeteries often have little regulation and get away with price gouging. Recently I helped a Friend with a a grave site purchase and because there was no Law I could do nothing about the $4700.00 Price Gouging. This was a corporate ,NYE:SCI, Service Corporation International cemetery, price gouging.

I have issued a Call to Action on the Wed, 7.21.10. possible committee vote.

Snppet From YourFuneralGuy.wordpress.com:

Your Funeral Guy asks you to IMMEDIATELY do three things:1.) Phone the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee at 202-225-2927 and 202-225-3641—you need to call BOTH numbers—to express emphatic support of H.R. 3655.

2.) Phone friends and relatives and ask them to IMMEDIATELY call the two phone numbers listed above to express their emphatic SUPPORT to H.R. 3655.

3.) Phone your Congressman and tell him/her to contact the Energy & Commerce Committee to express SUPPORT for H.R. 3655. (Contact info for your Congressman is easily found at www.house.gov at upper left hand corner at “Enter Your Zip Code.”

The National Funeral Directors Association Has done the same Thing in Their Facebook Notes

via yourfuneralguy.wordpress.com

Snippet From NFDA Facebook Page:

The NFDA HAS CALLED FOLKS TO ACTION ON THEIR FACE BOOK PAGE

“ACTION NEEDED: House Committee Expected to Act on Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to meet in the coming week to consider and vote on the “Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act of 2009″ (H.R. 3655), a bill which would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to initiate a separate rule covering all sellers of funeral or burial goods or services, including cemeteries, crematories and third-party sellers of funeral or burial goods or services.

The bill was pulled from committee consideration in early May at the request of its primary sponsor, Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., because of his opposition to a proposed amendment that would exempt non-profit religious cemeteries from the bill. Rush was concerned that for-profit cemetery operators could use the exemption to escape the requirements of the rule. While there was bipartisan support for the bill, and it most likely would have passed had the amendment not been introduced, it was pulled so committee staff could draft language that would address concerns about non-profit and religious cemeteries.

Because the Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to discuss this bill very soon, it is vital that you contact your representatives to demonstrate your support for this important legislation.

What is H.R. 3655?
H.R. 3655 would require the FTC to initiate a separate rule covering all sellers of funeral or burial goods or services, including cemeteries, crematories and third-party sellers of funeral or burial goods or services.

Why support H.R. 3655?
Through the Funeral Rule, the federal government regulates a portion, but not all segments, of funeral service. Consequently, consumers are only protected when they deal with funeral homes. H.R. 3655 would set a minimum national standard with which all sellers of funeral or burial goods or services – including non-profit and religious organizations – not covered by the Funeral Rule must comply. It would only apply to those who sell funeral or burial goods or services to the public, not to other businesses.

A lack of minimum national standards and inadequate state regulation has resulted in numerous serious scandals involving cemeteries and crematories. These scandals have caused untold emotional and financial stress and strain for consumers. These scandals have also damaged the reputation of the funeral service profession. A uniform federal rule is the only solution.

If passed, this bill would protect families by requiring cemeteries, crematories and third-party providers to provide minimum disclosures and establish practice requirements and prohibitions comparable to those that funeral homes must comply with under the Funeral Rule.

H.R. 3655 would not impose new fines or penalties. The fines and penalties that would apply to cemeteries, crematories and other third-party sellers under H.R. 3655 are the same ones that apply to funeral homes”

via www.facebook.com

Funeral Industry, Funeral News, Funeral Blog By Your Funeral Guy

The Bereaved Consumers Bill Of Rights Act is Moving Through Congress

One would hope that congressman Joe Barton would keep his Mouth shut at this next hearing as he has seemed to put his foot in his mouth last time the committee met on this, and when he spoke out on the BP Oil spill!

THE ICCFA is against this legislation, the Funeral Consumers Alliance is for it, along with the NFDA.

Technorati Tags: arlington national cemetery, bereaved consumer bill of rights act, bobby rush, burr oak, cemetery, congressman, death care, eden memorial park, ftc, funeral rule, HR 3655, joe barton, National funeral directors association, NFDA, nyse:sci, reform, service corporation international

Facebook, Twitter have changed Death and Dying|Your Funeral Guy

Your Funeral Guy — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 16:12:32 +0000

Facebook and Twitter have changed Digital Death and Dying. This past week I had the occasion to help a family with a funeral. The family was aware of the facebook memorial, and the deceased’s friends commented on the importance of the facebook as a web site to memorialize a loved one.

Technology is changing death

Technology is changing everything quickly, including death and dying. Digital Death as new field is quickly emerging.

Social networking sites and online communities are quickly coming up with death care and funeral service policies.

Funeral industry|Funeral News|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy

Cartoon from the New Yorker

Technorati Tags: blog, death, death care, digital death, facebook, funeral, funeral industry, funeral services, memorial, Online Communities, Social Networking, twitter

Coroner Fires Tech in wrong boy cremated case|YourFuneralGuy

Your Funeral Guy — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:57:02 +0000

Recently a coroner fired the tech who sent the wrong body to a funeral home in Franklin County, Ohio. These sorts of things are truly sad as in cases like this families are deeply damaged.

The death of a child is an unbearable burden and mistakes by death care professionals in cases like this are unacceptable.

Snippet from 10tv.com:

“The Franklin County coroner on Wednesday fired a forensic technician responsible for incorrectly releasing the body of a 14-month-old boy who was mistakenly cremated.

Angela Summerfield was fired on Wednesday after a hearing, 10TV News reported.

Summerfield was the employee responsible for incorrectly releasing Jaylen Talley to the Marlan J. Gary Funeral Home on May 19, a news release from the coroner’s office said.

The switch resulted in Talley being cremated against his family’s wishes.”-via www.10tv.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

This is the case a wrong body, wrong boy cremated, a cremation gone wrong.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog By Your Funeral Guy

Technorati Tags: coroner, cremated, cremation, death care, death of a child, forensic, franklin county, funeral, funeral industry, Funeral News, Ohio, technician

Revealed: Preneed, Prepaid Funeral Scam Dust up|Your Funera Guy Blog

Your Funeral Guy — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:52:13 +0000

Here is a Preneed, Prepaid Funeral Scam Dust up.
Sometimes Preneed, Preneed, End Of Life Insurance Scams go on for Years.and often the governmental authorities, death care regulators side with the funral scammers not the consumers.

In 2003, 80 year-old Donna Roberts prepaid for funeral arrangements with the Free Funeral Home of Coshocton, Ohio. Recently she changed her mind about funeral providers and when asked for a refund of the more than $7,000, she was refused the money until another funeral home actually provided the service. Her complaints got her nowhere and the funeral home’s response was backed up by the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

The Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has issued a notice to Kenneth Free, owner of the funeral home, that they determined there was reasonable evidence to “propose to suspend, or revoke, the licenses” of Free and the funeral home for “unprofessional conduct” for refusing to transfer the pre-need contract.

Lawyers for the Free Funeral Home say the current law allowing for pre-need contract transfer was not in effect when Roberts purchased her contract, is not retroactive, and his clients have done nothing wrong. Even though her contract also holds no provisions for transfer, Free Funeral Home may decide go ahead and transfer the contract simply to avoid costly litigation.

Funeral industry|Funeral News|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy Blog

via Coshoctontribune.com
Posted by Karen Jones, author of DEATH FOR BEGINNERS Your No-Nonsense, Money-Saving Guide to Planning for the Inevitable

Funeral industry|Funeral News|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy Blogs

Technorati Tags: death care, death care regulators, death for beginners, funeral, funeral industry, Funeral News, karen jones, ohio attorney general, ohio board of embalmers and funeral directors, preneed, providers, unprofessional conduct

Video: Buy a grave get one half off|Your Funeral Guy

Your Funeral Guy — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:11:46 +0000

Grave sales Down| Cremations up so let’s do a buy one grave and get the second one half off sale! it seems that in 2010 we are seeing many unlikely turns, in death care, funeral and cemetery marketing.

Video: The buy one gravesite get one half off sale !

Funeral industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Technorati Tags: cemetery, death care, funeral, funeral blog, funeral industry, Funeral News, grave, Marketing, sales, Your Funeral