SAIF Golden Charter

CMA: Mandatory compliance

Failure to comply with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Order to present clear and comparable pricing to customers will result in funeral directors receiving a formal reminder letter.

In 2021, the CMA published a legal order making it a statutory requirement for pricing to be displayed in a particular way. SAIF has now been advised the CMA intends to formally prompt non-compliant funeral directors to fulfil the legally binding obligations of the Order.

Following a market investigation, funeral directors are now legally required to display a standardised price list in their window at their premises and on their website. This list must include:

• Displaying a standardised price list clearly and prominently in your branch window and online
• Displaying terms of business clearly and prominently in your branch and online
• Displaying other business and financial interests clearly and prominently in your branches and online

Crematorium operators must also provide specified price information to funeral directors and customers, displayed in the same places.

The CMA letter, shared with SAIF from the Remedies Monitoring and Enforcement department, notes: “We appreciate that the funerals sector has been under significant pressure in recent years and that the Order introduces a new set of regulatory requirements. However, the Order has been in force since 16 June 2021 with a requirement to be fully implemented by 16 September 2021, and the CMA will not be providing further reminders of these legally binding obligations.

“The CMA will be considering appropriate enforcement action in the event it uncovers suspected breaches of the Order in the future and will formally engage with businesses about suspected breaches. We therefore request that you please review your customer information and your practices to ensure that you are compliant with the Order.”

SAIF continues to work closely with independent funeral directors to represent their views and support compliance with the CMA Order.

The CMA is actively policing members and failure to demonstrate adherence to the regulation may result in more stringent price control regulation.

Websites

The CMA Order requires information to be displayed in a clear and prominent manner. The information should be on an accessible page, no more than one click from the home page.

The CMA will accept as one click a ‘hover-over’ navigation bar drop-down menu which lists the Standardised Price List and other required information for the viewer to click on.

The small print

Businesses are required to display cremation information (Article 8), their terms of business (Article 4) and disclosure of interests (Article 5). This includes the terms of business, disclosure of interests and crematorium information. The information must be situated in a clear and prominent position.

Premises

SAIF members must display pricing posters in reception areas and office windows. The posters in reception areas should be A2 size, although A3 is acceptable where A2 is just not practicable, and A4 in shop front windows.