The City of New York, through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), reported in a statement that it initiated a lawsuit against RG Ortíz Funeral Home Inc, a chain of funeral services, very popular among the Hispanic community of the Big Apple.
The municipal agency, after following up on 48 complaints against this company, which began to be collected since 2019, began an investigation into the business that has eight locations in The Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Under the terms of the lawsuit, the complainants claim the funeral home allegedly failed to provide paid services, misplaced remains that were arranged for cremation and, in some cases, forced customers to examine remains in storage rooms to locate ashes. of your loved ones.
DCWP in a statement states that the most frequent complaint is that the funeral home did not meet the promised deadlines to return the cremated remains to the family members. And in some cases, he did not adequately prepare the bodies for the viewing process.
Overview, although there are a number of apparent specific predatory practices, the lawsuit accuses RG Ortíz Funeral Home Inc., “of using deceptive and opaque business schemes, which include denying families information about the whereabouts of the deceased, hiding prices and not providing services that were paid for.”
In a painful moment
The legal complaint seeks compensation for those affected and civil sanctions for the company: “our investigation determined that this company has systematically violated the laws and regulations of the City of New York,” the lawsuit reads.
“I can’t even imagine being in such a painful moment and then not knowing where your loved ones’ remains are. No one deserves to be exploited during such a vulnerable time. We have confirmed atrocious practices,” commented DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga.
Among the complaints were that services that were paid for, such as transportation of remains as scheduled, or personalized prayer cards, were not provided, nor viewing rooms for the services.
Furthermore, it is specified in the legal document, which is already in court, that the remains were not adequately prepared for the funeral services, allowing in some cases the bodies to decompose in the middle of the wake.
There are also relatives who indicated that although they paid for makeup services, they ended up doing this procedure themselves.
Where are the remains?
The most common and serious thing, based on the complaints, is that they exceeded by months the amount of time it would take to return the cremated remains, which left grieving families waiting, having no idea what had happened to them. the body of your loved one. And without the ability to plan religious services.
Added to all this is the loss of bodies, which forced some complainants to examine the remains of people in storage rooms to try to identify them. In other cases, remains were forced to be exhumed in public burial sites, because RG Ortíz never collected the bodies from the medical examiner’s office, documents shared by the City state.
For example, it is reported how a Hispanic woman paid RG Ortíz to have her mother cremated, but the defendant company supposedly “never collected the body from the medical examiner’s office, so the remains were finally sent to a burial site.” public. “The consumer had to undergo the complicated and traumatic process of exhuming her mother’s body.”
Another plaintiff says that she hired the services to cremate her five-month-old baby. The promise was that everything would be ready in two weeks. But the wait was three months.
“No family in New York City should have to endure predatory treatment, especially during their time of grief. “I am proud that our administration is acting quickly to hold this company accountable and thank DCWP for seeking justice for the families affected,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
El Diario tried to obtain a comment via e-mail or telephone from a spokesperson for RG Ortíz and at the time of going to press, it did not receive a response.
Report:
- Consumers who have been misled or exploited by RG Ortíz Funeral Home are encouraged to visit nyc.gov/DCWP or call 311 and say “RG Ortiz” to file a report.