LONDON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- People on lower incomes spend up to 40 percent of their annual outgoings to cover the cost of a funeral, a report into the cost of dying in Britain revealed Thursday.
The official Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed a major investigation into the charges for funerals.
The CMA has identified serious concerns during a six month investigation highlighting large price hikes, hitting people at their most vulnerable.
The report says there have been above inflation price rises for well over 10 years, both for funeral director services and for fees charged by crematoriums.
People generally spend between 3,845 U.S. dollars and 6,047 U.S. dollars on a funeral, with the price of the essential elements increasing by more than two-thirds in the last 10 years, almost three times the rate of inflation.
"Organising a funeral would now cost those on the lowest incomes nearly 40 percent of their annual outgoings, more than they spend on food, clothing and energy combined," said the CMA report.
While some smaller funeral directors have sought to keep their prices low, other providers, the larger chains in particular, have implemented policies of consistently high year-on-year price increases, the report adds.
Cremations now account for 77 percent of funerals in Britain, with fees charged by crematoria increasing by 84 percent on average in the past 10 years, more than 3 times the rate of inflation.
Customers could save around 1,300 U.S. dollars by looking at a range of choices in their local area, the CMA said.
It added people organising a funeral are usually distressed and often not in a position to do this, making it easier for some funeral directors to charge higher prices.
The CMA's evidence also indicates most people who organise a funeral remain extremely vulnerable to exploitation and future rises in charges.
Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: "People mourning the loss of a loved one are extremely vulnerable and at risk of being exploited. We need to make sure that they are protected at such an emotional time, and we're very concerned about the substantial increases in funeral prices over the past decade."
Coscelli said the CMA now feels the full powers of a market investigation are required to address the issues found.
The CMA has said it wants to hear from people who have experienced poor practices in the sector so action needed to fix these problems can be taken.