What a listing shows and does not show

A listing on FuneralCompare is a short record of one funeral home or cremation provider. This lesson explains what the record shows. It also explains what the record does not show.

Where the details come from

Most listings come from OpenStreetMap, which is open map data. A listing shows the name, address, phone number, website and map position as they are mapped there. A mapped detail can be old or wrong. To report a mistake, write to the address on the site with the listing name, the city and what is wrong. An editor checks it against the source.

Editors may also add or correct a listing by hand from a public register or the provider's own page. A provider can claim its listing and add its own details.

What a fee figure means

A fee figure appears only when the provider publishes a fee list and an editor cites it. The listing links to that list. Open map data has no fee fields.

When a listing shows no fee, the site has no cited figure. That does not mean the provider is cheap, expensive or hiding something. Ask the provider for its current written fee list.

What a service tag means

Services such as direct cremation, burial or preplanning show only when the provider says it offers them. They stay empty until the provider confirms. Empty means unknown. It does not mean not offered.

What a listing does not prove

• A listing is not a recommendation.
• A listing does not mean the provider meets any particular standard.
• The address shows where the provider is based. It does not show where the provider can arrange a funeral. Ask.
• A mapped website is the provider's own site. It does not prove that the provider publishes a fee list.
• The site cannot tell you if a provider is available or what it will charge today. Call the phone number on the listing.

Check the official body

Some places keep an official register or regulator for funeral providers. Others do not. The rules differ by place. Find out if your state or country has one. If it does, check the provider there. Ask the provider which body oversees its work, then check that body's own website.

Sources

• FuneralCompare home page FAQ: who is listed, where fee figures come from, how to report a mistake
• FuneralCompare site notice: a listing is not financial, legal or medical advice and is not a recommendation
• OpenStreetMap, Copyright and licence page: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright

This course is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice.