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INDUSTRY NEWS BREAKING NEWS: FTC Corrects TX Court's Interpretation of 'Cash Advance' Requirements Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission published an eagerly anticipated Advisory Opinion responding to the question of "whether a Texas trial court is correct in ruling that 'all goods or services purchased from a third-party vendor, even though not included on the contract, are cash advances' under the Funeral Rule." In the litigation, Hijar v. SCI Texas Funeral Services Inc., an El Paso circuit court held that all goods or services obtained by a funeral home from a third party -- including caskets and alternative containers -- must be treated as "cash advance items" under the Funeral Rule, and the mark up for each item must also be disclosed. The FTC stated that "the court is incorrect.... This interpretation sweeps too far broadly, potentially bringing within its scope every component good or service that comprise a funeral. This was not and is not the Commission's intention in the 'cash advance' provisions of the Rule." The FTC Advisory Opinion further stated that the provisions of the Funeral Rule "require a funeral provider who is charging a customer more for a cash advance item than the funeral director paid for it to disclose that material fact (i.e., the existence of a mark-up, but not the amount) to the customer on the statement of funeral goods and services selected by the customer.... The Commission believes that reasonable consumers generally understand that the price charged by a retail seller -- including funeral providers -- includes profit.... For items that are typically non-cash advance items, the Rule requires disclosure of the retail price of specified goods and services offered for sale by a funeral provider. An obvious example is the Rule's treatment of caskets, for which it requires a separate price list containing only the funeral provider's retail price." (Bold type in the original). The ICFA and other organizations had urged the FTC to clarify the requirements of the "cash advance" provisions of the Funeral Rule, not only due to the Texas litigation, but also as the result of three class action lawsuits filed in California that alleged the same erroneous interpretation of the Funeral Rule. The complete text of the FTC Advisory Opinion can be viewed on the FTC Web page at www.ftc.gov/os/2005/07/050707funeralruleadvoopin.pdf. ICFA NEWS 2006 Convention & Exposition: 'Building on Our Past, Designing Our Future' Cemetery ... funeral service ... cremation ... preneed sales. The only Convention that covers it all is the one Convention you can't afford to miss! The ICFA 2006 Annual Convention & Exposition, March 15-18 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, will bring together more than 1,000 attendees for an event unlike any other in our profession. Among the highlights:
ICFA Moving Sale: We Reduce Inventory, You Save! On August 12, the ICFA is moving to a larger office space in Sterling, Virginia. The new address will be 107 Carpenter Drive, Suite 100, Sterling, VA 20164; all phone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same. Until July 22, the association is holding a Moving Sale, substantially reducing prices on several products in an effort to reduce inventory:
And more ... The ICFA has secured music performance rights from the three music licensing agencies: ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. ICFA Music License members can now become fully licensed for the annual price of $238 per location, with no additional fees. Membership is open to any company in the cemetery and funeral service profession in the United States. Companies that are already members of the ICFA in another category must acquire the additional membership category (a Music License Membership) to be eligible for the Music License benefit. The ICFA Store allows members to purchase the latest ICFA resources and training products online. Some products are available for immediate direct download, including the newly released Wirthlin Report on consumer attitudes and article packages on cremation, cemetery and funeral home valuations and trust funds. The ICFA News Page takes you to sources throughout the world for industry news and updates. It brings you the most comprehensive selection of funeral service and cemetery news available anywhere, along with frequently updated general news items related to national and world events. The News Page reports the news before anyone else and is one of the most visited page on the ICFA Web site. Stop in each day and you'll see why. The Network is an online e-mail service that offers ICFA members an easy, free way to share questions and answers to everyday on-the-job challenges. Recent discussions have examined issues such as working with the Muslim community, distance between burial sites, direct mail marketing, the growing popularity of geocaching at cemeteries, recruiting staff and more. Ideal for smaller companies with smaller budgets. Join today! The ICFA Internet Expo is the largest online exposition in the cemetery and funeral service industry. Cemetery and funeral home owners and operators will find 300+ providers in more than 100 product and service categories. Exhibit space is provided as a free, exclusive benefit to all ICFA supplier and professional members. Check it out today! Need a labor relations and employment law attorney? Check out ICFA's HR Law Benefit program offering members no-cost telephone legal consultations, paid for by the ICFA via an exclusive retainer agreement. ICFA members now also have access to an attorney for tax-related questions regarding trust earnings, care fund allocations, capital gains, investments and more. The ICFA has retained Leslie Schneider, CPA, a tax attorney with Ivins, Phillips & Barker in Washington, D.C., for telephone consultations for up to 20 minutes with no obligation. To take advantage of this member benefit, call Schneider at 202.393.7600. The ICFA and Applied Merchant Systems of Chicago, Illinois, currently offer members a Credit Card Processing Program with a special low discount rate of 1.75 percent, with no per transaction processing fee. This new benefit makes it less expensive for cemeteries, funeral homes, memorial designers and related businesses to accommodate customers who wish to pay via credit card. For more information, call 1-800-675-6573. The ICFA Insurance Program, administered by Driver Alliant, allows members to purchase commercial property and casualty insurance -- including general liability, commercial property, automobile liability and physical damage, umbrella liability, professional liability, workers compensation, employee benefits and more -- at rates they probably would not be able to afford on their own. To advertise in the ICFA Wireless: The ICFA accepts limited advertising in the ICFA Wireless newsletter, a bi-weekly newsletter e-mailed to all ICFA members that are current on their dues and have provided a current e-mail address. For rates and to place your insertion, contact Quan Phan at qphan@icfa.org or 1.800.645.7700. To unsubscribe from the ICFA Wireless: Send an e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line to: wireless@icfa.org. Please include your name and company name in the body of the e-mail. International Cemetery and Funeral Association 1895 Preston White Drive, Suite 220 Reston, VA 20191 1.800.645.7700 703.391.8400 Fax: 703.391.8416 www.icfa.org Copyright 2005 International Cemetery and Funeral Association. |
