BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont man says he has received nothing but excuses following a four-month wait for a headstone to mark the grave of his mom.
Luther Taylor's mother, Lucille Taylor passed away at 90 years old back in November of 2018. Taylor said after finding Sabine Monument Co. online, his grief was met with kindness. He decided to purchase his late mother's headstone from them.
"He's a salesman, he told me he'd give me a real good deal on this one," Taylor said.
Taylor said he decided to get one for himself, as well, so his family wouldn't have to worry about it when his time came. He said the owner wanted him to pay up front, and told him he could get his headstone even earlier because a delivery truck was headed that way.
"The guy was very nice," Taylor said.
Taylor said he was promised both headstones would be ready in six to eight weeks. Now about four months and 2400 dollars later, Taylor said all he's gotten is excuses and unanswered complaints.
"Ever since then I've been getting promises that the stones are coming, when I did talk to the guy he said the stones weren't here, and then now, when I go to the place, everything is closed up, he won't answer the door, his car's out in front," said Taylor.
Taylor said he's tried every phone number he can find, but they've all been disconnected.
12News reporter Parris Kane also tried to contact Sabine Monument Co. She also found the number on the website was disconnected, and despite the open sign being displayed, the door was locked.
Frustrated, Taylor turned to the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint.
"They told me exactly the same thing that he'd been telling other people, either my equipment broke, my workers are sick, and he's had the flu for for three months and he's telling everybody the same story," Taylor said.
CEO of the BBB, Liz Fredrichs, said Sabine Monument Co. has had 20 customer complaints over the last three years, and an "F" rating.
Fredrichs said the complaints on record go back to 2017, they had one complaint in the last year, and two have bee filed within the last week.
Fredrichs said all of the complaints have a similar pattern.
"All of the complaints that we have received are from consumers who state that they ordered a monument for someone, obviously who has passed away in their family recently, and then they tried to get back in touch with the owner and the company for delivery because generally they're told it may take 5-6 weeks, maybe even three months, but then 5, 6, 7 months later they can't get the monument," Fredrichs said.
Fredrichs said they've had a number of consumers try to call or stop by, but, like Taylor, they haven't gotten a response. She said the company hasn't been responsive to the BBB at all, which led to their "F" rating, and a large alert on their report telling consumers to be cautious because of the pattern of complaints.
Fredrichs said they've sent both letters and left phone messages. The letters haven't been returned, but still they've gotten no response.
Fredrichs said they don't really have any legal enforcement, but they do put reports out for consumers. They advise people check bbb.org before making a purchase.
However, she realizes when people are grieving a loved one they're not exactly thinking about checking with the BBB. She suggests talking with the funeral home or church to get recommendations before writing a check.
Taylor said he feels taken advantage of. In his vulnerable state, he didn't think to check out the company ahead of time. He said the owner even warned him to stay away from people he finds on the computer.
"He said you might not even get your headstone because you don't know those people, but I think I would have done better on the computer," Taylor said.
Taylor said he hasn't been able to find closure because he's still in the process of burying his mother. He said he finds it hard to go visit her grave sight because it's incomplete.
"We probably just need to pray for this guy because I don't know who would steal from the dead," said Taylor.
Taylor said his mom was very kind, and loved everyone. The last thing she wanted was to be a burden, and wouldn't have wanted to go out this way.
He hopes his story serves as a warning to others as they find themselves in a similar situation.
"I just want other people to know that this is not the place to go, especially when you're grieving, I mean, you don't really think about trying to check a place out, wanting to know if it's reputable or not because at that time you're just thinking about putting your loved one away," Taylor said.
Taylor said he plants to go somewhere else to get a new headstone.
Fredrichs said if others out there have experienced something similar to send in a review to the BBB. Local authorities will look into cases affecting a large number of people.
12News is still waiting to hear back from Sabine Monument Co. We will update you if we hear from them.