Complaint Review: Sunset Caskets LLC (Dignified Caskets)

My loved one passed away the weekend of August 17, 2012.  I was told by a friend of the family not to purchase a casket without first shopping around before agreeing to purchase one through the funeral director.  I was told that the funeral directors often increase their prices by thousands, taking advantange of families at their weakest point.  I was told that I could possibly save a few thousands by doing most of the leg work myself.  I contacted my sister who was assisting me with the final arrangements and asked her to google local casket companies in the area that I lived.  

Dignified Caskets appeared in the search.  She browsed the website and found a casket that seemed suitable for the burial of our loved one. She said that the website advertised free shipping and next day service.  I contacted DignifiedCaskets at approximately 8:00 A.M. on  8-21-12  to inquire about a casket for a family member who passed away.  Matt, the owner answered the call.  He told me that the casket would cost $1,195.00 and that the funeral directorsby law must accept their caskets. 

I discussed the cost with my father and we decided to begin the transaction.  When I called back, I was surprised that Matt again answered the call.  When he picked up the call, he claimed that somehow my call got routed to him from the floor and when he saw that it was the same number that it must have been my lucky day that an angel had allowed him to answer the call for the second time.  He said that for that reason, he was going to give me a $300 owner's credit off of the $597 shipping cost. 

He said that I had to pay $297 for shipping that would bring my total to $1,492.  He said that he was the only one that was allowed to give  me good pricing.  I told him that the funeral would be in 4 days and that we needed the casket ASAP.  He guaranteed that the casket would arrive no later than A.M. on Friday, August 24, 2012.  We hung up and I recalled that the information that I was given by my sister and Matt when I called to inquire the first time was that the shipping was free and included delivery to the director's funeral home. 

I called him back within minutes and he said that he could do overnight, but the cost would be an additional $500-$600.  He said that he would ship it priority (3 days).  Matt said that he was a legitimate business and that they only made $115 profit on each casket they sold which is not true, because I paid so much more for shipping that was suppposed to be free.  I felt a little uneasy, thought about cancelling, but did not due to the fast approching date of the viewing. 

I called Matt early Friday morning to check on the progress and to get assurance that the casket would arrive on time. He did not answer the call.  I kept calling until I reached him.  Matt said that the truck had several additionall shipments added and several unscheduled stops that would delay the casket's arrival until 12:00 P.M.  Friday morning came and went.  The casket had not arrived at 12 :00.  Many people had arrived to the funeral home to view our loved one, but had to be turned away. This was very uncomfortable for me and I began to get nervous.  

I called Matt back and kept getting his voicemail.  I finally managed to reach him and he said that the casket would arrive by 1:00 P.M.  1:00 came and went and I called him back and he said that he would call the driver to see where he was and would call me back.  I called him back and he said that the driver was in a city about two hours away, but was in route.  He said that the new arrival time would be 3:00 P.M. At approximately 2:30 P.m. I called back and asked for the tracking number and called myself and found out that the driver was about 30 miles away. 

However, the casket did not arrive at 3:00 P.M.  It finally arrived at 3:55 P.M.  This was a great inconvenience to the funeral director, because he had to stay late to place our loved one in the casket. Matt had guaranteed that the casket would arrive that Friday morning.  If I had known that he could not deliver on time, I would not have selected his business.  In addition, the funeral director had to hire additional staff to assist him after the business had closed. 

The funeral director later told me that the casket was defective when he received it and wanted to know what the warranty was on it.  He said that it did not open properly to allow ease of insertion of the remains and he also said that it had a scar at the foot of the casket.  As it turned out, Matt was the only person receiving calls.   When I later went on his website online to see how much shipping would be based  on my zip code, it would have been free based on next day delivery.

I called Matt again to let him know what the funeral director had said and told him how disappointed I was about the shipping delay.  I told him that there should be a discount.  He said that he would call the director and discuss the issue and call me back, but he never did.  I called him back and he said that he had spoken to his father, another owner and that he said that it was nothing that they could do to help me.  I will never do business with this company again.  I hope that you don't either.  I am trying to get the issue resolved, but do not know if I will have any luck. 

Anyway, he overcharged my credit card by about $400 and that does not include an additional amout that needs to be reduced for the defect.  I also have not received my invoice yet.  He said that he had e-mailed a copy, but I had problems viewing and printing it.  At first, I thought it might have been my computer, but now that I have so much more insight about the whole situation, I do not think so.  I even tried to retrieve it later and did an all out search for it on my computer, but it has mysteriously disappeared.  I am wondering if it was time sensitive.