The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Where's my tombstone?

I am in need of your help. I engaged a company for a tombstone amounting to P17,055. He asked for first payment which was done on 5th March as P10,000 and we agreed the installation would be done in March. On 1st April he asked for the final payment and details of the tombstone. Till date he has not delivered on the tombstone. I have called him for feedback and he says he has orders dating as far back as last year. He says he deals with many clients.

I even went to the Police and he is saying for him to refund I need to wait for him to sell the tombstone first. I don't believe it's ready because he should have at least sent me a photo to give me assurance, and I can't wait for him to sell as he is claiming.

On 1st April when demanding for the final payment he said the stone is ready, and now it's a month without any communication and I am the one following him as if I owe him, he should have communicated that he has so many customers coz I shouldn't have settled for that. I need help with my refund I no longer want to deal with him.

I have bad news and good news.

The bad news is this is the third time a reader has complained about this company. In the past it's been similar stories. Money paid, tombstones not delivered and promises broken.

The good news is that I made some progress when I contacted him. He's still promising to pay a refund but this time after he's repolished the stone and removed the name of the deceased and resold it. Given my experience with this and other tombstone suppliers I'm not very optimistic. But we can't give up.

Can't I just return it?

I bought a Redmi 14C phone on the 21 May. I didn't use the phone because I noticed the fault the same day I bought it. I then returned it to the shop on the 23 May but they refuse to exchange for me. Rather they took the phone back and said it should be sent to technicians first.

At the back of the receipt it is written that if the customer is not fully satisfied with the product, it can be exchanged or refunded. I need a refund not a repaired phone on first buy. What about 7 days policy? Is it right?

This store has caused some confusion.

I think the 7 days they refer to is the time when you can simply change your mind and return the item. A store isn't required to offer this service, it's just good customer service.

However, there's also the warranty period which is the period when the supplier is required to deal with a faulty item. If a faulty item is returned, they can choose whether to repair it, replace it or refund you. When you returned the phone they saw it as a faulty item to be repaired, assuming you wanted to keep it. I think it's best to allow them to try to repair the phone.

But they shouldn't take too long about it.