UK plans to end high-pressure tactics at funeral home sales

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) – Britain must put an end to high-pressure and deceptive tactics in the sale of funeral projects, City Minister John Glen said on Saturday.

New projects to regulate the prepaid funeral sector for the first time will help ensure market competitiveness and ensure that consumers, often elderly and vulnerable, understand what they are buying, he adds.

"Planning your funeral can be a difficult experience, but that many of us will have to go through at some point in our lives," Glen said in a statement.

The sector will now be overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulator of 58,000 financial services companies and UK markets.

Under the new plans, anyone convicted of a regulatory offense may have their authorization revoked, face fines and even criminal prosecution, Glen said.

The demand for funeral organizations has increased by almost 200% between 2006 and 2018, according to Treasury figures. Last year, 177,000 plans were sold and cost on average between 2,500 and 5,000 pounds.

The legislation governing their supervision has not changed since 2001.

The shares of Dignity Plc, Britain's second largest entrepreneur, which operates over 700 funeral locations in the UK, fell sharply in November when the government first announced an official investigation.

The companies Dignity and Co-op Funeralcare – which are part of the cooperative group belonging to the same company – which together dominate the UK market – have recently reduced their prices. (Report by Stephen Addison, edited by Toby Chopra)