Quotes attributable to CHOICE CEO Alan Kirkland:
"It is excellent to see the Queensland Government seek community views on changes that would make funeral prices more transparent."
"In CHOICEs investigation of the funeral market we found that some funeral providers fail to provide clear quotes, add extreme markups on coffins, and charge opaque "professional services" fees costing thousands of dollars. People often find themselves lumbered with unexpectedly large bills, because the provider wasnt clear about the full cost of the funeral upfront."
"Requiring funeral providers to provide clear information on pricing, as canvassed in the Governments option paper, would mean that less people face financial stress at a time when they should be able to focus on grieving."
CHOICE will be making a submission to the consultation supporting government action to make Queensland funeral providers clearly disclose itemised prices online and at their premises.
Media contact: Jim Hook, 0430 172 669, media@choice.com.au
CHOICEs investigative work into the funeral sector is available at
https://www.choice.com.au/health-and-body/healthy-ageing/ageing-and-retirement/articles/funerals-investigation-how-much-do-funerals-cost
