Lifestone by Stefan

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!! Greg Stefan Sr. and Greg Stefan Jr. are scam artists! My mom passed away in May 2015. They immediately contacted us and we set up a meeting with them at our house. We paid for the headstone in full and the check was cashed the NEXT DAY. It is now June 2016 and still no headstone. The company uses an answering service who «relays the message», but they never call back. He has told us it would be ready in October 2015, then by Christmas 2015, then in 5 weeks, then in 5 more weeks, then GUARANTEED by May 1^st. Surprise, surprise, it wasn’t there May 1^st. When I finally got a hold of Mr. Stefan on the phone, he tried so hard to gain sympathy from me telling me about his family life. We ended that conversation with him promising for the stone to be installed on May 27^th. He also promised to send me an e-​mail so that I had it documented that the stone would be there. Never received the e-​mail and now on June 1^st there is still no headstone. I contacted our local newspaper yesterday with all of the details for a story. I have also filed a complaint with the attorney general’s office. This company has an F rating with the better business bureau and was sued by the state on Pennsylvania in November 2015. Consumers BEWARE. DO NOT do business with Greg Stefan. It has been an absolute nightmare.

Please run in the other direction! The owner, Greg Stefan, Jr. and his father troll the Obituaries in The Philadelphia Inquirer and local newspapers and call you almost immediately after the passing of a loved one. These two men are literally wolves posing in sheep’s clothing! They are professional con men who come off well-​educated and sincere — both a farce. They have conned close to 100 families in the PA, NJ, DE and MD areas out of literally hundreds of thousands of dollars — while the younger Stefan lives in a million dollar home in Gladwyne, PA. Please do yourself a favor and pass along the warning to anyone you know who may have lost a loved on and make them aware of these two in case they come knocking on their door in a time of great sadness. Also — this company has 16 aliases — Alessi Memorials, Cartledge Memorials, Easton Memorials, Gallagher memorials, Hillside Memorials, Jersey Shore Memorials, Kaeppler Memorials, Lifestone by Stefan, Lifestone Cherry Hill, Lifestone Malvern, McKinney Memorials, New Britain Memorials, Quakertown Memorials, Shellenberger Memorials, So. Philadelphia Memorials, and Stefan Studios Rating is F

I unfortunately have to give a star to write this review. I wish I could use a middle finger emoticon instead. My mother passed on in November 2014 and we are still waiting for her tombstone from Lifestone by Stefan. I am the listed contact on all the paperwork and I was inundated with call after call from Cartledge Memorials and Lifestone offering discount and sale prices. I turned the matter over to my brother to handle the stone ordering. Without knowing their reputation we went with Lifestone by Stefan. A red flag should automatically have gone up when full payment was requested before any work was even done. Needless to say as it is obvious from all the other reviews, there have been phone call after phone call — story after story — lie after lie. Today my brother spoke with the quarry that supposedly had the finished stone already engraved and waiting on shipping and they told him the stone hasn’t been started because Lifestone and the numerous scam company names they work under have been put on a credit hold for non-​payment. Greg Stefan denied this in a phone call today. I’m done dealing with them and am demanding a refund (which I know won’t be forthcoming). I am also going to join the Attorney General’s lawsuit which was recently filed against them. If you have been scammed by this or any of the other companies run by Greg Stefan then I suggest you also join the suit and contact the AG’s office at 800−441−2555 or at
. I feel this is the best possibility of recouping any losses. If a small claims action is filed against the company you can bet you will never see any money judgement because the company isn’t paying up as is evidenced from claims that have already been filed. You will have better luck with the AG as they will do the work to recoup the losses from the companies’ assets if need be.

A disgusting company to deal with in my opinion. Our family has been waiting since May 2015 (it’s now Jan 30, 2016) to get our parents’ tombstone finished. I would strongly consider other companies. The Lifestone by Stefan company has 12 other business names that are used; I am guessing to hide their deceit.

Stay away, stay away, stay away. That is all I can say. This company is the most unprofessional company I have ever dealt with. It took almost 10 months to get the engraving only and it was crooked. When I contacted them, they gave every excuse in the book. We will just have to live with the stone the way it is. I understand there was an article in the Inquirer Sunday that the State is investigating. I hope they get what they deserve disappointing so many folks during such a sad time in their life.

Please do not do business with this company. They have an F rating by the Better Business Bureau and are currently being sued by PA Attorney General for their shady business practices. Last May my grandfather paid in full for a headstone for my grandmother. Now, 6 months later, the company still has not delivered the stone and has been giving my grandfather the run-​around. Limestone by Stefan has a history of taking payments, promising delivery dates, and then not following through. Stay away!

I paid in full on Nov 20^th 2014 and now it is nov 5^th 2015 and the grave marker is still not installed. I called in June to see when the marker would be installed. They told me it would be installed in July. I go up to the cemetery at the end of July to see if they installed the marker, Nope it was not installed, so i call them again and this time they said that they were having problem with the designed and at the cemetery where my parents are buried at has problem with the grounds and the markers wash away total BS, because there are so many marker at that cemetery that have not washed away. Don’t know why they did not tell me that when i called the first time. They told me it would be in sometime in sept. I go up there at the end of sept to see if they installed it. Nope still not installed. I keep calling and they say someone will get back to you with 24 to 48 hours no has called. I love how a company take your money and does not have any communication with you. I want my money back.

Lifestone by Stefan has done nothing but take our cash (more than 6 months ago) and made nothing but excuses. I would suggest not going near this place with a 10 foot pool. In my opinion they are completely unscrupulous.
STAY AWAY!

If I could I’d give this company no stars.
My father in law went in contract with this company for a headstone for my mother in law. Services were agreed upon and paid for in full. It’s been over a year and there is still no headstone in place. The company sites a backlog from cold weather. Well the weather thawed out last year and the ground softened. Spring had came as well as the summer and STILL no headstone. Soon philly will go come to another spring. Calls have been made and additional deadlines promised and no delivery of PAID services. This company is not fulfilling its own contract under full payment. Make it Right!

My mother passed away September 2013. We paid this company $ 800 just to put my mother’s name on the stone that was already at the cemetery for my father. I called them upset at Easter when I went to the cemetery and the work was not done yet. The 1^st year anniversary came and went and still the work wasn’t done. By November I was so upset. I called crying that they were treating my mother like a pauper lying in an unmarked grave. I was told the work would be done that weekend. Weekend came and went. The work was still not done. I finally called and told them I was going to call the Upper Darby Police because they basically stole our money from us. The work was finally done. I have a feeling the police have gotten phone calls about this company before. Also check Better Business Bureau. There are numerous complaints. Some of them unresolved.

Apr 26, 2014: I paid 100% upfront in early Oct 2013 because I was offered a discount and encouraged to pay before price increases from the archdiocese. I was promised that the etching would be completed in early December 2013 and at the latest by Christmas. I am still waiting…
The email address on the owner’s business card bounces back as undeliverable. I have called several times. They say it’s the weather, they’re busy, they have a backup and they send nice postcards. Very frustrating experience!