Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/26/2024

  Type:Product 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.

  Summary:We hired Apex to replace our countertop with Silestone Calacatta Gold quartz from ********* (manufacturer). That includes the purchase of the slabs through *********, fabrication, demolition and installation. One of the slabs installed is defective and has visible scratches and scrapes in 10 different spots. **** submitted a claim to *********. ********* confirmed and approved new replacement slabs.Apex is not taking responsibility for installing a faulty countertop and is refusing to do a redo unless we submit to their demands.(New slabs as is before transportation, fabrication and installation, cost of certain material and labor that we already paid for and demanding that we sign a contract stating that we, our family and friends will not post any reviews on any social media)********* will only release the new replacement slabs to Apex so we cant hire another fabricator to finish our project unless we get a full refund.After 7 months, we are left with a defective slab that we cant fix and still unable do our backsplash to finish our ********** addition, Apex, after installing the defective countertop, has been very disappointing to deal with. Their focus being clearly cost savings and taking short cuts rather than customer satisfaction. We have been treated as if we asked for this situation and are a pain in their side. Apex has been paid in full so we are asking for a full refund of monies from Apex in the amount of $9,818.58 so we can purchase new slabs and hire a new fabricator to get our countertop finished.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/03/2024

  It is completely unfair to place a negative review on Apex as Apex did nothing wrong. In short, the customer is unhappy with the material installed as it has tiny "blemishes/imperfections" in it. These imperfections are so small that everyone missed them. From the material manufacturer *********, to the wholesaler Pacific Shore Stones, to Apexs professional staff, and yes, EVEN the customers themselves missed the blemishes when viewing the slabs here at our warehouse during the template approval. 
  
  Nobody saw these blemishes, and Apex did not cause them. The material manufacturer, *********, affirmed that these are 100% manufacturer's defects, and after looking through many slabs afterwards, it was clear that the entire batch had them. 
  
  However these slabs were still sold at full price, and ********* said that nobody ever complained about these "imperfections". Basically the entire batch still stood up to ******************** factory, and *********'s purchasing/selling quality control. Our customer's just happened to notice them when the light hit the countertop at just the right angle to make them visible, but Apex did nothing wrong. 
  
  The customer hired **** to fabricate and Install countertops. **** is not a material manufacturer. The purchase of the Silestone Quartz was done through Apex because **** has wholesale accounts and can get the material cheaper than what the customers would pay for it retail. However the customer could always purchase the material independently, **** does not make the customer's purchase material through Apex. 
  
  All of the fabrication/installation was done to the highest standards in the industry, and the customer's affirmed this multiple times over email (see attached). **** did everything it was paid for, and the customers paid the remaining balance upon completion of the countertops. 
  
  Although it is not ***** responsibility to replace countertops with factory defects, we still agreed to help and provided two new slabs and agreed to redo everything for free (also see attached). However even that wasnt enough, and it soon became apparent that the customer's werent going to be happy no matter what we did. So after seeking out legal counsel, we were advised not to do any more work for free.  
  
  This is also our first time hearing that ********* is holding the slabs and not releasing them to another fabricator. We have no issue working this out with ********* directly and releasing the slabs to the customer's fabricator of choice. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/11/2024

  Apex acts like they did absolutely nothing wrong and that we are unreasonable for asking for what we paid for. 
  From Apex: "as it has tiny "blemishes/imperfections" in it. These imperfections are so small that everyone missed them."
  See attached picture.
  It would have gone a long way if *** (the product manager) and/or **** (the owner) have taken the time to come to our house to see for themselves what was actually installed.  They would realize how dismissive of a statement this is and how infuriating it is to us as their customer. 
  Those who have seen it, all came to the swift conclusion that what Apex installed is defective and needs to be replaced.
  Those, being the ************* (yes, ************* who told *** from the very beginning,the defects were too many and significant to fix them by just polishing the stone. And ****** ***** (the ********* **** who came to the house, inspected the slab and submitted a claim for the slab to be replaced.
  The lack of accountability from Apex is surprising. They focus on our compliments regarding the demo and installation (which were deserving) yet refuse to own the responsibility that the product they installed is defective and needs to be replaced.
  It is odd because **** submitted the initial claim to ********* (the manufacturer). Not us.
   I hired Apex to do my countertop. I didn't hire ********* or *********. Apex cashed my checks. If **** has issues with their suppliers and manufacturer then deal with them. It is not for me to resolve.  But it is Apex that I hold responsible for the faulty stone they installed in my kitchen and for how we have been treated regarding making sure that the re-install goes just as well as the original installation without any further expense to us.
  Apex eventually did offer to do the redo but only if we agreed to their demands.
  Demands: 
  - Accept new slabs as is before fabrication, transportation and installation.
  - Pay for material and labor we already paid for.
  - Demand that we sign a legal biding document before installation preventing us from posting reviews on any social media. (copy of redo contract was provided)
  Who in their right mind would agree and commit to these risky terms? 

  Since Apex is refusing to do the redo and ********* says that the slabs cannot be given to another fabricator, we have no other recourse than getting our money back so we can buy new slabs and hire another fabricator to redo our countertop.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/19/2024

  The request for a full refund is completely unreasonable. Everything that was paid for was done, and done to the highest standards in the industry. We spent a long time tediously fabricating and installing the new countertops, and the customers never had any complaints with any of our workmanship. 

  The issue here boils down to a material defect that the material manufacturer (*********) is responsible for. **** does not make quartz, we only fabricate/install it. 

  The material manufacturer, *********, themselves confirmed that **** is not at fault and that this was a complete manufacturer's defect. After the ********* *** looked into it, we found out that NUMEROUS slabs of this color were affected in the same way, but NOBODY else noticed. Apex is not at fault, and it is unfair to try to hold us liable for this.  

  Apex also does not offer any sort of warranty guaranteeing that it'll ***lace manufacture defected slabs for free.

  However, because we value our good name we seriously tried to work together with the customer to literally ***lace everything for free. We even agreed to cover all 3rd party expenses such as plumbing hook up, and the cost of new appliances/sinks/faucets that might need to be ***laced. However, apparently that wasnt enough, and the customer's still did not agree. 

  It soon became clear that no matter what we agreed to, the customer's were never going to be happy with the result and were set on tarnishing our good name after we would ***lace everything for free. Now they're asking for a full refund. This is the first we're hearing about this and this is ridiculous. It just goes to show the character of the people we're working with. 

  We were always trying our best to work together and help the customers out in this situation, but a refund was never on the table nor is it reasonable in the slightest. We did everything we were hired to do, no refund is owed. 

  We tried to come to terms in order to redo the work for free, which would cost us thousands of dollars, but the customers didn't want to accept that offer. 

  We are still willing to work together with both the customer as well as *********, to transfer the ***lacement slabs from our account to the customer's fabricator of choice so they can ***lace them themselves. Just let us know who to send them to and when. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/27/2024

  I am rejecting this response because Apex installed a defective countertop that needs to be replaced.

  The reason we decided to invest in Quartz countertops for our home is because Quartz is marketed as being durable and more resistant to scratches, chips and cracks than other surfaces.

  Imagine our disappointment when our brand new counters look like the pictures provided.

  We understand that things happen and that there is a process for things to be made right. Unfortunately our experience with Apex for that to happen has turned into a nightmare.

  Apex can blame everyone else, refuse to take responsibility, be dismissive of the situation and attack our character all they want but the fact is that the countertop we paid them $10,000 to install is full of scrapes and scratches.

  Apex refused to do a redo and we are forced to hire another fabricator to get the defective slabs replaced. We also have no other choice but to get our replacement slabs from Apex.

  Apex is still responsible for the cost of what we would have to pay another fabricator to do the redo which includes demo, fabrication and installation.

  The request for a refund stands.