I also said I'd be sending it to the Dept. of Consumer Affairs, and several newspapers so that they could do appropriate news coverage and warn consumers. Then I said that I first wanted to give them the opportunity to reconsider their decision before I sent the letters, and therefore they had until 5 PM that day to agree to swap the plots. When they called, they said the reason they were swapping them was because my mom had been told by their salesman that the plots were swappable within the company's family of cemeteries. If you post this, please omit any mention of the particular cities, my mom's name, or the name of the cemeteries and firm. For best results, they should be very, very nice but also very firm, and should set a time limit so the issue doesn't go on and on without resolution.
Folks have more power to create trouble for the cemetery than people normally think.
Regardless, the best way to guard against such injustices is to be aware of deceptive practices and negotiate hard before signing the contract, when the cemetery will be willing to deal in order to close the sale. After signing, you lose all further negotiation power. Had they not been there, she would have had much better legal footing with which to force the cemetery's compliance. Lastly, remind your constituency that regardless of how the contract reads, there may be subsequent legislation which supersedes the terms of the contract. Thanks a bunch for your website.