President of the Association of Funeral Professionals of Trinidad and Tobago (AFPTT) Keith Belgrove has defended recent increases in the cost of funerals.
He has said they are necessary to cover the added expenses of personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitising stations made necessary by the covid19 pandemic.
Responding to Newsday's questions at a virtual press conference on the efforts of funeral homes to tackle the spread of the virus, Belgrove said there had been an increase in prices, but denied there was any price-gouging.
He acknowledged, "There are all sorts of comment being made on social media. In fact I saw recently one of our own members making similar comments and that was quite unfortunate."But, he said, "To ensure we protect the public we use many forms of PPE, and this has a cost associated with it which in turn impacts the cost of the funeral. The range of costs depends on family's choices but we do not think there is price-gouging going on."
Belgrove said during the pandemic most clients would prefer cheaper services from funeral homes and estimated these packages may begin at around $7,500.
"It's difficult to estimate, because everyone wants the service streamed on social media. But again, it's really dependent on the preferences of the family."
Belgrove said the association is preparing a draft document that would make it mandatory for members to give prospective clients a full price listing of packages and services .
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