Fireplace Lifestyles, Inc.

I am rejecting this response because:
The issue remains the same.  This company continues to site and hide behind their “manufacturer’s warranty” status.  This is not a warranty issue.  It is an issue of misrepresentation of a product and both companies should be held liable.  This company provided us an outdated sample board. The stone manufacturer has admitted that the sample board was “Generation 1, Ozark Hackett” and the product ordered, delivered and applied to the house was “Generation 2, Ozark Hackett”.   The manufacturer has stated that the sample board is clearly not the same color as the stone that is on the house due to a change of color formulas in 2008.  The stone that was ordered and applied to our home is not the same stone as we were led to believe we ordered.  As consumers, the purpose of bringing sample boards to the jobsite prior to ordering is to make a final selection.  It is a routine industry practice for consumers to pick up paint, floor, and stone samples with the expectations that the product color and specifications would be similar.  In our case, the color of the stone is an entirely different tone/colors than the sample board.  We continue to question how this company is able to compare the sample board we ordered from to the completed project when we have never been asked to meet anyone to view the 2 products side by side.  Again, we maintain possession of the original sample board.  Although the company states they had 2 people come to our home, we were never made aware that they planned or were on our property and no communication followed this visit.  The only communication has been with the stone manufacturer and we, the consumer, initiated all instances.  If this business would have communicated the visit with us, we would have set up a mutually agreed upon time for them to view the home next to the sample board in our presence.  It would be difficult for this business to dispute the difference in stone tone/color.  The company had an opportunity to come out the day the problem was discovered, but instead, relied on our mason to send them pictures.  The pictures easily conclude that the products do not match.  Instead, the company maintains that the sample board is not outdated.  This is counter to even the manufactures explanation to us.  Once again, this business should be held liable to the expenses we will incur by the removal, disposal and replacement of the stone on the home. I have included a picture of the sample boards next to the home.  On the left, a sample board labeled Sonoma Valley Hackett and the original sample board we ordered from, Ozark Hackett, on the right.  You will note the buff and gold tones on the right compared to the product on the home and the Sonoma Valley Hackett (salmon tone) on the left.

We are very sorry a consumer is unhappy with the stone. Over a period of nearly 2 years, the customer borrowed from our showroom many stone sample boards for the exterior of their cabin.  During this time she also contacted our installer (who had installed an...

interior fireplace from us).  She requested from him pricing for doing the stone work.  In the end she chose a different stone mason to do the work. He has a separate small business. He picks up product (from us and others) and does his own billing. Her stone mason had us order the stone.  It was Ozark Hackett by Environmental Stoneworks. He picked it up when it arrived.  The boxes were labeled Ozark Hackett.  Verification could have been provided by a mock up of the stone and grout.  We do not feel we misrepresented the product.  We were told by representatives of the Stone company that the sample board we loaned out was still a good sample board.  The consumer comments that I, as an owner, stated I bear no responsibility.  The statement was that there is none 'beyond' the manufacturers'. The statement was one I read both on her voice mail and an immediate call back. It is the statement noted on the bottom (of our fireplace and stone) invoices:  "No returns on stone/brick; customer to verify all calculations & carton descriptions.  No additional warranty extended beyond individual manufacturer's expressed warranty."  I mentioned the sign at our counter "There are no returns on stone/brick, please verify calculations."  I believe the manufacturer has offered to replace the stone material with one of her choosing, or to credit the cost of the existing stone product only.  As soon as she contacted us, we had two representatives from the manufacturer drive here to visit the cabin.  I appreciate the Revdex.com exists to protect consumers from unscrupulous businesses.  We are honest.  We have respectfully allowed the sample boards (I personally disassembled a stone sample tower, missing my own event when she arrived after closing hours (unable to return the next day) & desired the top/80# plus board to be borrowed. We care.  Our company has been happy to answer the consumers questions and were (and still are) appreciative of the business from all customers. Our response remains: "No returns on stone/brick; customer to verify all calculations & carton descriptions.  No additional warranty extended beyond individual manufacturer's expressed warranty."  Respectfully, M