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Bought a headstone when dad passed and it has both his name and mom's name on it. Dad passed in 2013 and mom just passed in July and now they are refusing to complete mom's part of the stone due to a special font selected originally and claiming that due to the rain it could not be done and backlogs and are now saying they are not obligated despite the special font was in the original description and agreement. Have agreed to also pay the additional $225 to have it done. Now there will be snow on the ground which also prevents this from happening. This is in the Catskills area of New York. Time for an attorney?

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I am with Tynagh here. We are in a Pandemic. My parents have a plaque. Moms name and date of birth were already on it. Her year of birth was all that was needed. I thought it would be automatic that the year of her death would be put on. I found it wasn't. I had to inform the original place that did the plaque. They didn't have the size available so I had to wait. There was no agreement that the cost was included in the original contract so I paid 186.00 for a 1 x 3 in plaque to be screwed on to the original one. They no longer put month and year of birth and death, just the year because of identity fraud.
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Just came through something similar. I'm in downstate NY and it took nearly a year from order date to installation. Here's something I learned. The engraving is not done freehand but a special stencil is used for this purpose. One of the largest companies making the stencils (I want to say 3M) retooled their facilities to produce PPE for the COVID outbreak, hence backlog in stencils and work completed. It's entirely possible that they cannot get the stencil mfgr to cut a stencil with the special typeface/font. Also, since the stonecutting is done outdoors, they can't use the instruments in the rain/bad weather. Not to mention, there seems to be a shortage of stonecutters out there. Believe me, redroseman, I've spent HOURS on the phone with the monument people and more hours researching. It may be that you'll either have to wait for engraving to get back to "normal", find another source for the engraving (if you can find one), or select another font that may possibly be compatible, but not exactly the same as the one used. In all, this totally sucks. You can consult an attorney, but I'm not sure it will help a lot.
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You would save money overall to have an entirely new headstone done your way (for both parents), and you could use a different company.

Being upset and angry about a headstone will make grieving your loss harder and more painful.

Sorry for your loss.
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There are a couple of things going on here.

When did you first request mom's information be added? Was this request in writing?

What was their written response? Are you getting the sense that they are simply making excuses and have no intention of doing the work? Have you paid the extra money or just agreed to it?

I can only imagine that because of COVID deaths, COVID-related restrictions on work being done in cemeteries and the general labor shortage, they might indeed need to wait until the Spring to get this done.

The real question is, do you trust them to get the work done down the road, or does it seem like they are about to fold?

I would call the director of the cemetery and see what s/he advises.
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Daughterof1930 Dec 2021
Barb, I make my full share of typos but I must say I love your “genetal labor shortage” Haha! Maybe just my warped humor
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I wouldn't. It's up to you to do what you believe you must.
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Well rain and snow are realities that could affect the work being done. If there’s a refusal for non weather related issues, I’d find another company to complete the work. Likely hiring a lawyer would be far more costly
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