Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/09/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On November 14 2024 I purchased GenStone product to go around my fireplace. I saw advertisements on T.V. and looked at their website. The advertisements on T.V. showed the GenStone product being put around fireplaces, wood burning stoves as well as outdoors. It looked beautiful and easy for the homeowner to put up themselves. I worked with a project manager at Genstone and I explained my project as well as my measurements. I was confident that the product could be put around my wood burning stove because of all the pictures shown on their website. I am a lay person and trusted that this material was safe. After my husband and I put it up, I had someone come and inspect my fireplace for cleaning. The gentleman told me that the material was combustable and not safe. This upset me so much so I contacted the company and they sent me an email assuring me that they put this around wood burning stoves all the time and it was safe. Just to be sure, i contacted another chimney sweep company for a second opinion. The gentleman came out and said the same thing. He researched my stove and said that there is a clearance of 72" above my stove and that the material was combustable and needed to be removed at least above my stove. I contacted the company and they said that I should've checked my specifications on my stove before purchasing and that there was a disclaimer on the site and I should've checked that. I was never told that I needed to check my stove specifications by the project manager. I trusted that they knew what they were doing. I feel that this is not only false advertising, but highly unsafe for people who put this around their fireplaces. I had a few emails back and forth. with the company and they refunded some of the material because I felt like maybe I could just replace the material above my stove as stated in the manual, but the more I think about it the more I worry. My husband tested the flamability of the product and he said that it caught on fire easily.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/14/2025

  We have spoken with Ms. ******* and believe this matter is resolved,

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/14/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I request that the complaint details to not be published. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/03/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I made a mistake and left my cell number, and its been longer than a year now. I get phone calls 2 to 3 times a day sometimes more. Even though I blocked the number I still get calls. What is it that yall don't understand, for after more than a year? STOP CALLING ME!

  Business Response

  Date: 12/04/2024

  We are terribly sorry that Mr. ******* received so many calls, If he would have only called GenStone and reported this issue, it took just a few minutes for the IT department to add his number to the Do Not Call list. He should not be receiving any more calls. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/14/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Gen Stone LLC knowingly sold me defective Gen Stone products. On September 2, 2024, I purchased $6,565.58 of the New Stratford Panels. When I received them after receiving the Item, it was noted that it the colors were not the same as advertised. I contacted the Gen Stone team and was told that these were known problems with the paint colors from the plant in ******* Mexico (All the colors were washed out making the panels mostly gray. Then I was told by the *** that other customers were ok with the different colors. (This shows that they knew about the Issues, but still sold them to me without letting me know they were defective and not as advertised. I have recordings of all voice correspondences between all Gen Stone employees and my-self, I was forwarded to ***** ****** and he admitted that there was a problem but the shipping guy who pulled the order and shipped them had no idea that there was and problem because all the boxes sent were sealed or he would have not sent them. When I told ***** that a partial box was filled so the defective product would have been easily noted His response was and I quote "He's Just a shipping Guy!" *** they knew they were sending out bad products. attached also is the lot number and date the panels were packed in the box. ( if the picture did not post I will add soon) I incurred the loss of a customer and major time setbacks on my own home because of their unscrupulous business practices costing me up to $4000.00. Yes, they did offer to accept the return and 10% off. but the damage was done. *** who would be next to get these bad panels? You? or why did they not just request I dispose of them? Why spend 300 in shipping a product just to trash them? The answer is to resell them. Buyer Beware.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2024

  Please see attached 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/29/2024

   
  Complaint: 22420328
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  None of the requests for damages were unreasonable. I had a substantial loss of Time and Money because of Gen Stone attempting to sell off bad products. Pictures were taken and uploaded to the BBB website for proof. 

  This was purchased direct from them and shipped from one of their storage warehouses in ***********

  I was offered 10% I requested 30%. (No where near the damages to me from their deception after their lie but was willing to settle to put this behind me) Please keep in mind, if they were not aware of this Issue, I would have been more than willing to work with them to just replace the panels, but they knew and lied to me. because of that lie I lost a lot of time and money.

  I received my confirmation as to the bad products from *** ****** himself over the phone (please see the original complaint). Also, one of the people on their sales team said when I called to let them know of the Issue, and I quote "Just to give full disclosure we know of this issue. But we have sent out the panels with the color Issue and they were ok with it".

  I did try to contact the owner but was told that no one is allowed to talk to ** ******.

  I did not pay for something with issues. I paid them in good faith the amount of money they asked, they should have sent what was promised. Instead, they knowingly sent bad quality panels 

  I want this to stay up as a warning to others. 

  Sincerely,
  
  **** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was on the website looking at product. A chat pops up and puts me in touch with a rep who can help with the order. He calls me. I explain that I am nervous about the quality and how it feels. I am than told that there is a sale and I can order and if I dont like it , I can return it no problem ..so I told him I would email him my information regarding size , pictures and credit card. I did and order was sent. Upon arrival one of the faux bricks had a hole in it and that was enough for me to realize it should not be used on a gas fireplace as the texture seemed very fragile. I emailed him to set up a return and the next day the company reached out to process the return and wants to charge me close to $80 to ship as well as 25% restock fee..Neither of which was ever told to me or I would not have ever ordered a complete order without a sample . This was a very unethical practice that is borderline if not illegal. No paperwork was signed explaining any fees to return nor ever explained . None of my receipts, transaction paperwork or emails ever explained these fees. Paperwork is uploaded

  Business Response

  Date: 05/02/2024

  We are terribly sorry that there was an issue with this project, GenStone should have offered to send a sample prior to accepting ******************** order.    

  I have spoken with **************** and believe that we have reached an agreement, and that this matter is resolved.   

  as always should the BBB require additional information, please feel welcome to contact my office, 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/03/2024

  A Manager from the Company reached out and resolved this issue.  It was a positive result after speaking with him and I am satisfied and would deal with them again.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/11/2024

  I am responding  that this complaint was resolved.  After reading my complaint Management reached out to me and was great about what should have happened and refunded me.  I am happy that he reached out and that he agreed and made this right.  Based on the MANAGER I dealt with, I WOULD do business with this company again if needed.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/21/2024

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  4/11/24 *************************, VP of GenStone Products, LLC sent an email saying "Save 33% More on GenStone Panels". On 4/14/24 and 4/15/24 we tried many times to place an order but we couldn't get the 33% promised discount. Sometimes it was 15%, sometimes it was 20%, but not 33%. On 4/15/24, the last day of the sale, I phoned GenStone about this but had to leave a message. No one ever called back.4/16/24 I called GenStone and spoke with *****************************, who said the email says up to 33%, but thats not what it said, so I forwarded the original email to him. ******** then transferred me to his boss who said there's no way they'll ever give 33% off regardless of what ****** sent out. He said the largest discount they ever give is 20%. He also wouldn't let me talk to ******. 4/16/24 I emailed McCain with all of the above information, but did not receive a response.4/18/24 I received a text from ************, which belongs to GenStone, and it mentions their Spring Black Friday sale. We clicked the link which took us to GenStone's website, and at the top it says "Up to 30% off", but only gave us 15%. No matter how much or how little we put in the cart, we only got 15% discount. There was no explanation on the text or on the website telling us how we could get 30% off.4/18/24 We again emailed ****** asking about the original 33% discount and also about the 30%. ****** has never replied. We believe these are two cases of false advertising. The first email says "Save 33% More on GenStone Panels" and does not say "up to" or list any exclusions, but they will not give us 33% off. The text links us to their site which says "Up to 30%" but there's no explanation of how to get 30%. Plus when we called, we were told the largest discount they ever give is 20%, so why are they advertising larger discounts.Unfortunately we are in the middle of a project and had to order more of their products to match. We ordered at Lowes and Amazon, which were cheaper than GenStone's 15%.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/25/2024

  We are terribly sorry that **************** misunderstood the advertisement as presented.  **************** nor was anyone else ever offered material at a 33% discount.  **************** was sent an e-mail link offering her a 15% discount on material, and along with this offer GenStone advertised an additional discount if the client was able to act before a certain expiration date. The additional offer was a Flash Sale offering the additional discount 33% (in addition to the 15%) for a limited time to complete the purchase. It is truly a simple mathematical equation that somehow was misunderstood. (15% x 33%= 4.95% or an additional 5%) which equates to a 20% total discount.
  

  Unfortunately, this seems to have come across as confusing, and that was certainly not the intent, however this cannot be construed as false advertising. GenStone offered **************** the same discount as everyone else who responded to the limited time flash sale. When **************** called a day after the offer expired GenStone, still offered her the additional discount that others took advantage of.  Again, apologies if this came off a confusing to her, others who took advantage of the sale seemed to understand the concept.

  
  I trust this response is sufficient for the BBB to close this file, however, should additional information be needed, Please feel welcome to contact my office. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/25/2024

   
  Complaint: 21606239
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1. I did NOT wait until the sale was over. See original complaint. I tried placing my order on the next to last day, and again on the last day of the sale, but your website only gave me 15% one day and 20% the other day, not the 33% as stated in the email from your Vice President. During the last day of the sale, I telephoned GenStone regarding this and I was told someone would call me back about this. No one did.

  2) The email (see attachment to original complaint) clearly said Save 33% More Off GenStone Panels. No where on there did it say 15% or 20% or even up to 33% as you are now claiming. The email couldnt be any clearer. 
  

  3) Two days later I received another email (attached to original complaint) from your VP offering me Up to 30%. Again I tried to order many different quantities trying to get 30%, but no matter how large or small my order was, I only got 15% discount. There was no explanation of how I could get 30%. When I called GenStone, I was told the largest discount you ever give is 20%. Based on that, this second email was also false advertising. 
  

  Both emails offered promises that GenStone would not honor. 

  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/22/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Ordered a 4 piece GenStone product and noticed box items were shipped in seemed to be too small. Opened box and found two pieces of product cracked and the rest of the pieces would not match up to install on a small patio wall. Merchant was contacted through Amazon and pictures were sent of shipping box, damaged product and product numbers sent. The response from the merchant initially was we will replace anything until I sent the pictures of the 2 damaged pieces. Then they offered to replace only the two pieces and not offer any refunds. If I shipped anything back the GenStone they were going to charge me shipping. Note that the product was shipped in the wrong box by their own admission and two of the items were damaged.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/23/2023

  GenStone is terribly sorry that **************** experienced issues with his purchase, and GenStone has already taken the steps to resolve this matter.

  The product was not packaged properly and was ultimately damaged during transport, GenStone did not hesitate when it learned of the issue and offered to replace the damaged product at no charge. **************** informed GenStone that he would prefer to return the product and requested a refund. GenStone honored this request and has already sent **************** the return labels, before it was notified by the BBB.
  

  After speaking with ****************, apparently there was a third party involved that he was speaking with prior to contacting GenStone directly.It appears they were the ones that caused this issue and prompted **************** to file this complaint. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/23/2023

  The second paragraph that GenStone stated about me consulting a third party when deciding to file a BBB complaint is simply not true. I filed the complaint based on past experiences I have encountered with online merchants when trying to resolve a refund on damaged goods. Also, I am not planning on accepting the solution by the business in this complaint until I am refunded in full. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/26/2023

  I was refunded by my credit card company after placing a dispute of charges, returning the product, and providing tracking information to Synchrony credit card company. 

  Business Response

  Date: 08/28/2023

  Apologies if **************** feels that the response regarding the telephone conversation was misconstrued.**************** did say during the call that initially he was getting a bunch of back & forth when he was trying to file a return through Amazon, that was the third party GenStone was referencing.

  
  GenStone has already processed and issued a full credit to **************** 8-24-23 upon receipt of the return confirmation. If he has not seen the credit being applied, he should contact his credit card provider, they can confirm the return has been processed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2023

  The back and forth was not Amazon. The back and forth was with GenStone employees. I sure hope the company plans on correcting this issue so other customers do not go through the same scenario. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/06/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My wife and I purchased nearly $8500 of Genstone panels and we are disapointed with the product's appearance. Genstone claims the panels look real and they do not. The seams are obvious which appear fake. We laid several out to see and in the sequence instructed by Genstone. The **** joints are obvious. Even if you stagger them - they look fake because of the joints. I got opinions from my neighbors and family and they immediately agreed and it is embarrassing. My wife emailed to return these and because it has been just over 30 days they refuse to take them back. This is very disapointing that Genstone does not stand by their product. They are slow to respond and now this issue is holding up construction. I want 100% of my money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2023

  We have been in contact with ********************** and believe that this matter will be resolved soon. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/15/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We received these products directly from the merchant from an order that we placed which originally contained 65 full panels and 14 corners. The items were delivered directly from Genstone and were not packaged with care. The boxes were damaged, the items had little to none wrapping or protective material that would prevent them from being damaged. 31/65 flat panels were damaged and 2/14 corner panels were damaged. We contacted the merchant via phone and e-mail and provided pictures and still the matter was not rectified.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/23/2022

  GenStone is terribly sorry that **************' order arrived damaged. Upon being notified of the claim GenStone has already processed the claim and the replacement material has been scheduled for delivery.   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/26/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************