ComplaintsforTile & Stone of Syracuse Limited

• Initial Complaint

  09/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  We visited the warehouse at Tile and Stone of Syracuse in May 2022. We were specifically looking for ****** countertops. We viewed all of their stone and did not see anything we were interested in until we were walking out and I spotted a white and grey slab I loved, and I asked why I hadn’t seen that particular stone, and was told by ***** ******, the President, that it was granite, so that is why they did not show it to me. I was told the material was resistant to heat, stains, and scratches, and he specifically said that with this slab he could, “…fix anything that happens to it.” We went with this stone, agreed to price ($119/sq ft), and made down payment. For reference, we have about 190 sq ft of this material installed in our home, so paid approximately $22,610 for this material (and we had them add different backsplashes in bathrooms which is all combined on one receipt). Installation was completed in October 2022, and we moved into our home at the end of December 2022. Immediately upon moving in, there was a film on all of the countertops, and ***** told Justin that as we clean it, the film will go away. There were also these strange glass rings next to the sink, which I have come to find out is called “etching.” Additionally, when they installed the countertops they overbuffed a seam so about 4” on each side is dull from this, when the rest of the counter was polished. This is where the problems started. ***** told us he could come buff the seam and etch areas to try to fix the appearance. We were hoping that the etch area just didn’t get sealed correctly, and that these etches would not continue and could be buffed out. However, they started showing everywhere. We contacted the owner Rosid on May 1st, 2023 via text (have proof) to see if they could come buff the counters to remove the film and the etch mark an dull areas. We were told we had to wait for ***** to get back from Bosnia. The etching got worse in the meantime. We never heard back from them to come fix them, so my husband reached back out via text on June 20th. ***** finally came at the end of July, attempted to buff the seam area and the area to the left of the sink with bad etching, but a few hours after he left and the “sealer” dried, it looked worse. Since ***** wrote that these were ********* countertops in his email, I was curious why they were etching because real ********* does not etch. After extensive research, I found references which I have recorded in an email to *****. ********* is resistant to acids and will NOT etch. If it etches, it’s not real ********* (reference 1). ********* has a high likelihood of being mislabeled which may lead to problems (reference 2). This is when I realized that the material installed in our home was in fact, not ********* at all, and they sold us fake material but charged for the price of *********. I also did the lemon and vinegar tests in a corner of our countertops. Basically, if contact with these substances causes etching, then it’s not real *********. Both of these caused horrible rings of etching in about 5 minutes. I have done hours of research and talked to manufacturers, as well as retailers, and they conclusively say that this material is actually ******** ******. This is consumer fraud. I started emailing the company so that I had proof of everything. I was told by *****, the President of the company, in an email dated July 11th, 2023, that they have, “…reached out to another specialist in this field to see if he is available to come out and look at your countertops and see if he is able to repair them.” He never got back to me after that. I was also told in an email that now they make people sign a waiver stating that the stone may etch or stain. We didn’t sign anything like that and were even told that these were basically indestructible and if anything happened then they could fix anything. That’s why I bought them, and now have determined they are ******** ******. CONSUMER FRAUD.

  Business response

  09/26/2023

  Good afternoon,  Our apologies for not getting back to you until now. Due to the holiday last week, we had limited hours and staff vacations and are just now catching up.  In response to your emails to us regarding the countertops installed by Tile & Stone on June 20th, 2022.   You and your designer, *** ****** came into our shop in May of 2022 and at that time, the two of you browsed our shop and warehouse and picked out what you liked and wanted for your kitchen countertops. We have worked with *** in the past and she is very familiar with the shop and the warehouse and all our full slabs on display. We did have a brief conversation with both of you and explained the differences between quartz, granite, and *********. After that, the two of you decided that you wanted to browse the warehouse on your own and pick out what you liked. We were comfortable with this as we have worked with *** before, and she was comfortable taking her clients around to see what was available.   After a very short period of time, you came out of the warehouse, you said that you found what you wanted, which was the ******** *********. You were adamant that that is what will work best and that is what you want. At that time, neither you nor *** had any additional questions for our team. We did not think anything of this as *** has previously used ******** ********* with other customers that she has brought to our warehouse, so we felt comfortable that she, as your designer explained everything to you and that is why you did not have any additional questions for us. Before you left our shop that day, we prepared the invoice with all the pricing on what you chose, including the name of the slab that you picked out. You agreed to the price, made the payment.   From that day, throughout our whole process, including multiple visits to your home for the measurements, installation and any time after that, we did not receive any questions or complaints from you. The first time you ever reached out to us was over 8 months after our initial installation. We have tried everything that we can to fix the wear and tear that has occurred to the stone since our initial installation including sending out one of our installers to try and fix it but, there is not much else that we can do to repair it to its original state.   Due to all the of the items mentioned above, and the fact that the damage to the countertops occurred after our installation and due to daily wear and tear, unfortunately, we are unable to just come in and tear out and replace your countertops free of cost. The countertops were installed in their original, undamaged state which you were happy with and didn’t have any complaints at the time.   As a courtesy, we have reached out to another specialist in this field to see if he is available to come out and look at your countertops and see if he is able to repair them. We are waiting to hear back from him and will let you know as soon as we have an answer.  Thank you, ***** ****** President 

  Customer response

  09/30/2023

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  The response that the business sent was already sent to me via email in July, when I tried resolving this before being the matter to BBB. There are many untruths in the business response. We did not have a designer, *** was a friend of ours that, in her career, worked with this company. She offered to bring us there because she knew them.  Further, the dates that they are listing are incorrect. We have multiple text messages between the owner and my husband with all of the actual dates, as well as messages from my husband asking for the owner to send someone to come fix the countertops. When Sofit did come try to fix all the etching months later, which was not fixed, he said there is nothing that can be done and we just have to live with it. Not only is there etching everywhere, when sofit installed the countertops, he overbuffed a main seam and 4” on both side of the seam are extremely dull (on otherwise shiny countertops besides the etched areas).  So, the countertops are not ********* as the company stated (actually a cheap man made ******** ******). He even admitted in an email, after the previous email said they are *********, that he is going to try and call another installer who is more familiar with the (******** man-made ******) material. Which he never got back to me on that either,  but proves they committed Consumer Fraud by selling me a junky material that I didn’t buy and didn’t want. Additionally, the installation was not properly done and the two pieces on either side of the seam need to be fixed.   Regards, ***** ******

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