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:02/26/2024

  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.

  I purchased two plots for my wife and I. I was not happy with the service from the H31353133**3033383631H. We have not been happy with the customer service for the **********************. My wife is very ill and we decided we did not want to be buried in those plots. I contacted them this month. They said they would give me a refund, but they were taking money out. They said they don&#**;t usually return people&#**;s money. He stated a percentage went to the government. Instead of refunded $2200, they refunded $1870. We have many expenses with my wife&#**;s illness.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/06/2024

  My initial reaction to this claim is why BBB would give it any breath to begin with.   Where **************** has left gaping holes in his account of the situation, I will attempt to fill in those gaps.
  Our family purchased Shepherd Hills Cemetery, located in ********, ********, in late September of 2022. Within a few days after our purchase, **************** met with our staff to purchase two plots for himself and his ailing spouse.  I remember our conversations vividly because he joked often about how he was our first customer and thought perhaps a discount was appropriate.  I laughed it off at the time, but this theme of expecting discounts didnt end there.
  With plots in hand, he sought information from our sister company, ************* Monuments, to begin the process of creating a companion monument.  He voiced to our staff and myself that he was on a budget and had hoped we could provide, I paraphrase,  a nice, impressive, monument for around $4,000.
  I explained to **************** that I would do my best to stay within his budget, but, as with everything else, you basically get what you pay for.
  A few months passed before we heard from **************** again.  But now, his budget had started to shrink substantially.  The initial $4,000 target for a companion monument would become $3,000, then $2,200.  We prepared an exhaustive quote for him detailing numerous options.  It was our hope that with this quote in hand, **************** would understand that his requests were now becoming impossible, if not ridiculous.
  On February 19, 2024, almost eighteen months after *************** purchased his plots, he called our staff berating them and the service our companies had provided.  In fact, he had been given the same exceptional service we provide to all our cemetery and monument families. He even went as far as to claim that no one would return his calls, especially me.  All these claims are completely without merit.  I had provided **************** my personal cell so he could reach me anytime.  When I respectfully mentioned to him that I had NO missed calls, messages, or voicemails from him he had no response. 
  He did state several times in that conversation that his financial condition had changed substantially due to increasing medical bills and that his future burial plans had changed as a result.  The story was now becoming clearer.  **************** had no viable complaint against us.  He simply needed his money returned and evidently, he thought voicing baseless complaints would achieve that goal.
  I expressed to **************** that we do NOT purchase plots back from families.  This is a standard practice with cemeteries.  Families do have the option to sell their burial rights in private sales if they wish.
  **************** continued to point out the hardship his family was enduring and began attributing his claims of poor service to perhaps a language barrier or cultural differences. At that point, I decided to make an exception to our policy and grant **************** his request to purchase back his plots, simply out of compassion for his situation.  I explained to him that,as a perpetual care cemetery,  the State of Missouri mandates that 15% of all lot sales are deposited into an irrevocable trust for future care of the cemetery.
  Since we had already deposited that amount into the trust, I was going to deduct that from the check I was to issue.  He didnt appear to understand that and I attempted to explain it several times. He told me he would discuss it and call me back.  He called back a few minutes later agreeing to those terms. 
  I issued the check to **************** two days later. 
  I have shared information in this response that I would not generally share out of privacy for the family. Since **************** has now made this a matter of public record, I felt compelled to aggressively defend the actions of our staff, our companies, and myself.
  As a result, I have now placed a stop payment on the check issued to ****************, hereby rescinding the generous  offer to repurchase Mr. ******* plots, in keeping with our internal policies as well as industry norms.