When calling around to funeral homes that you are considering for hire, DO NOT give them the name of the deceased and/or be too specific about the location of a body UNTIL you have decided to hire them. (How to Shop for a Funeral Business to Hire) 

 

Stolen Body?! March 2023

A family, here from Texas to bury their father called us for advice: A local FH had presumptuously taken possession of their fathers’ body from the IHC hospital in Murray. The family had NOT YET chosen the FH that took the body, yet the hospital released the body to it anyway.

We said to the family, “You CAN switch FH’s.”
So they gathered a couple prices (with the help of the price survey on my website) then told the mortuary, “Because of what you did we’re switchin to the FH down the street!”.

The mortuary wisely agreed to then negotiate, matching the price of the other mortuary.

 

A Serious Problem:

-There is nothing in Utah Funeral License Rules about proper protocol for Funeral Directors to perform first call pickup.

-Hospitals DO have protocols for release of a body, but they DON'T openly share that protocol, and the protocols we've seen exclude a procedure for anyone other than funeral directors or medical examiners to pick up a body, which means you are dealing with uninformed, untrained staff.​

 

Be on the Offense when Calling a Mortuary:

Use our mortuary price comparison surveys to compare prices at a glance.​

Even if a funeral home has the body already you can still change your mind and switch funeral homes if you don't like the way they treat you, or don't like the "Statement of Goods & Services Selected" given to you at the end of the arrangements discussion. Of course you have to pay for any services already rendered, but you can either remove the body (after you acquire a burial transit permit), or a alternative funeral home can go get the body.