Summarised from an article entitled 'Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 and its relevance to Funeral Service - OFT's Views' which appeared in the Funeral Director (March '97). The Natural Death Centre had suggested to the Office of Fair Trading that a published warning along these lines was required. The example given about a crematorium being threatened by funeral directors was one of several such instances reported by the Natural Death Centre.
We know that the number of people genuinely keen on so-called 'Green' or 'd-i-y' burials is still very small. This situation may change in due course but the prevalent requirement still seems to be for the more traditional ceremony, services and merchandise which form the specifications for the National Association of Funeral Directors' description of a 'basic funeral' in its Code of Practice. One possible shift in the public's frame of mind that might happen sooner rather then later, however, is the attitude to buying coffins and other funerary merchandise - possibly in advance of any actual funeral service. Given that the wholesale price for a veneered oak coffin is in the order of £35, there may be considerable savings for the consumer.
National Association of Funeral Directors members, for various reasons, may not particularly like the idea of coffins being sold direct to the public. Consumers should nonetheless be afforded the right to buy a coffin (independently of other funerary goods and services) if that is what they wish to do. Research by the Office of Fair Trading shows that consumers can sometimes find it difficult to buy a coffin given that a surprisingly large number of funeral directors simply refuse to sell one as a separate item of merchandise.
It is important to remember that there are various laws that serve to protect the customer. Refusal to supply is not in itself unlawful, although, as far as safeguarding business interests is concerned, there are certain types of action by any group of business professionals which, if caught by the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976, could be struck down.
The Restrictive Trade Practices Act is a complex piece of legislation but is driven by a fundamental, relatively simple principle: persons in the UK should be free to negotiate and undertake business as they see fit, ie without any restrictions as to where or with whom they may trade. The Restrictive Trade Practices Act is like a dragnet, catching any instance where two or more persons ('parties') running separate businesses in the UK arrive at an understanding or an arrangement ('agreement') which interferes with their normal prerogative to conduct their lawful business wherever and with whomsoever they please and for whatever prices they can best negotiate. There may well be an apparent mutual advantage to the parties in such arrangements but not so for the parties' customers or for consumers in general. An example of the type of agreement caught by the Restrictive Trade Practices Act is as follows:
Company Z is a manufacturer of coffins and other funerary merchandise. It negotiates a deal with the local crematorium for the supply of coffins. The crematorium proposes to sell the coffins on direct to the public. Companies U, V, W, X and Y are all separate funeral directors in the locale surrounding the crematorium in question. All are also customers of Company Z. These funeral directors are unhappy with the idea of coffins being sold directly by the crematorium.
They agree to put pressure on Company Z by threatening to withdraw their custom from it. Company U telephones Company Z to say that, if the supply of coffins to the crematorium goes ahead, Company U will no longer buy the coffins it needs from Company Z and will take its custom elsewhere. Companies V, W, X and Y also contact Company Z and make similar threats. Faced with this pressure, Company Z refuses to supply the coffins to the crematorium.
Market-sharing, price-fixing agreements and some exclusive supply agreements distort competition and force business customers and consumers alike to pay higher prices than necessary. The Office of Fair Trading takes a serious view of such restrictive agreements. If found to be significant they are normally referred to the Restrictive Practices Court. The Court can strike down the restrictions. Any person adversely affected by an agreement which has not been submitted to the Office of Fair Trading on time may sue any party who has given effect to the restrictions in it.
Some restrictive agreements between different people operating in a trade, profession or market sector conspire to prevent newcomers from entering. Such barriers are a major cause for concern. They stand in the way of the consumer enjoying the benefits that emerge from fresh competition and new ideas. Competition is something business needs to contend with in order to stay commercially robust. Conversely, any sector which contrives to erect barriers to entry becomes stagnant and hostile to change; which is bad for the consumer and bad for the UK economy as a whole.
If anyone feels that he or she has been adversely affected by the operation of restrictive trade practices in this or other industries, they should contact the Office of Fair Trading's Cartels Task Force on 0171 269 888 or write to: Room 116, Office of Fair Trading, Field House, 15-25 Breams Buildings, London EC4A 1PR.
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