(Alliance News) - Dignity PLC on Thursday said the funeral industry would "benefit" from having a regulator after a UK watchdog found that fees for funerals and cremations have surged in excess of inflation over the past 10 years.
Dignity shares were 36% higher at 531.96 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
The Competition & Markets Authority back in March of last year set out to investigate concerns it had over the funeral sector.
The probe found that because of the "inherent emotional distress", people are less likely to compare prices among funeral providers.
The CMA added that it found funeral directors are not always transparent on pricing and what's more, "fees charged by funeral directors and crematoria increased at a rate well above inflation for at least a decade".
The CMA - part of the UK's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy - is charged with reducing anti-competitive practices across industries in the UK. However, the watchdog added that there is not a specific regulator for funeral services for most of the UK.
The watchdog added: "Most people believe that funeral directors are regulated, but that is not the case in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The investigation found that, although many funeral directors meet good standards, some are providing unacceptably low levels of care of the deceased."
The CMA's probe has since been scuppered by Covid-19, which caused a higher number of deaths in the UK so far this year and made it difficult for the watchdog to obtain all the data it needs from funeral directors as part of the investigation.
"The restrictions imposed by government during the pandemic has changed the kinds of funeral services available to people. This has also made it challenging to effectively conduct research and testing into possible remedies," the CMA explained.
The outbreak of the virus also means that some remedies the CMA considered for the funeral industry, such as price controls, "could not safely be introduced during a national emergency".
The competition watchdog added: "The CMA has provisionally decided that, in the short term, it will require all funeral directors and crematoria to provide customers with information on, and the prices of, the various services and packages they offer. This will go a long way to ensuring people have easily accessible information on services and costs to help them decide which type of funeral arrangement they require.
"The CMA proposes to continue active monitoring of the funerals sector with an obligation on funeral directors and crematoria to provide the CMA with key financial data every quarter."
Dignity explained it has "engaged constructively" with the CMA during the investigation.
"Dignity believes there is need for more consumer choice and high levels of quality across the sector," the company said.
"Dignity believes the funeral industry will benefit significantly from proper regulation to ensure that clients can assume high minimum standards, and effectively assess and compare what a funeral service includes."
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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