Several customers of a Houston-based headstone company called Stonecutters Monuments tell KPRC 2 News they have not received headstones for their late loved ones, despite making the purchases nearly two years ago.
One of them is Susan Dancer, who met with KPRC at Bay City Cemetery, where she laid her late mother Jacqueline Dancer-Stephens to rest.
“It’s been a difficult roller coaster,” said Dancer. “Stonecutters, at the time, had a fantastic reputation.”
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Dancer and her sister Jana Rodriguez provided receipts to KPRC showing the headstone purchase was made in April 2023.
“They said 3 to 5 months that we could expect to have it and that’s been almost two years now,” said Dancer.
Dancer isn’t the only one still waiting for her mother’s headstone.
Joan Barnes and Joyce Bennett are sisters who bought a headstone for their late mother Mertha Ransom in March 2023.
“It’s been a nightmare,” said Barnes. “During the negotiation, everything was very cordial. We signed the contract and all the communication stopped and we just received one excuse after the other.”
The customers shared text messages and email exchanges with Stonecutters to KPRC. The messages show Stonecutters explained the delays were due to “port workers being on strike” and “ongoing wars overseas.”
We reached out to Stonecutters and asked what the reason for the delay is and if customers would be getting their money back.
Stonecutters sent us this statement in response:
“First and foremost, we want to express our sincere condolences, and we empathize with the family during this difficult time. We understand your concerns and take them seriously. The monument purchased date is not the production date. Cemetery rules and regulations require the monument design and cemetery monument application to be approved before we can start production. The average production time is an estimate. Our production clock cannot start until we receive all approvals. The monuments in question were manufactured within the average production time. The cemeteries set the industry standard, they take 2-3 years to make monuments and charge 2-3 times the price.
We keep basic traditional inventory in stock that we produce locally at our workshop. The families ordered a custom 1 of 1 monument carved out of an import granite color that can only be made by the factory and sourced from overseas. The global shipping crisis has impacted the entire industry due to the nature of the business. Regardless of the situation, we take full responsibility for ensuring our families receive their monuments. We communicated the challenges to the families and made duplicate monuments for any family that was impacted by the supply chain disruption. We have made significant changes to our production and supply chain in order to reduce our custom monument production times back to normal. Despite the challenges we are fully committed to delivering all monuments in a timely manner once they arrive.”
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According to an invoice Stonecutters billed to a customer, the average production time for a headstone is three to five months.
KPRC also reached out to three local headstone companies to find out what their average production time is. The range was from 4 to 15 months.
Dancer, Barnes and Bennett said they plan to take their case to small claims court to try and get refunds for the headstone purchases.
Although it’s been almost three years since their mothers have passed away, there sits nothing on the cemetery plots to memorialize them.
“It feels like we disrespected our mother,” said Dancer. “We should be coming here in a happy state of mind remembering the good things in her life and all we have is a blank piece of concrete.”
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Dancer said the situation has made losing her mother linger, something Barnes and Bennett can also relate to.
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“It’s also embarrassing to know that a person of her reputation is just in the ground somewhere with no indication of where she’s buried,” said Bennett.
KPRC confirmed at least five other customers who ordered from Stonecutters also did not receive headstones.
If you believe you may have been impacted by this company, please reach out to KPRC’s help desk.