A resident of the Stolinsky district contacted the editorial office of NP. The man entered into a contract in December 2025 with a company to manufacture and install a monument, with a deadline of September 2026. However, things did not go as planned. The company postponed the installation to October. And in the contract, there is not a word about the possibility of changing the deadlines. Neither about the weather, nor about production circumstances, nor about the illness of workers. Nothing. The reader asks: "What to do? Frost is just around the corner."

What the company says

The on-duty correspondent contacted the director of this company, who explained that the shift in deadlines was due to weather conditions, and the delay was a forced measure, not negligence.

It would seem that 20 years in the market is a significant amount of time. I think that there is also a huge base of clients. But as soon as you dig deeper, unpleasant facts come to the surface. There are many complaints on the internet about missed deadlines. And here it becomes really interesting: is this "veteran" of the market as reliable as it seems?

When the correspondent asked about the violation of the contract, the company's director laughed. He said that since when did journalists become lawyers? Why are you calling and asking about deadlines?

Well, I will respond like this: indeed, we are not lawyers. We are correspondents. When our readers contact us, we try to help them figure out the unpleasant situation that has arisen.

And now - to the point

If the contract does not have a clause about changing deadlines, the company has violated the contract. Period. Weather, rain, production delays - all this could have been prescribed in advance. Over twenty years in the market, it is possible to learn how to draw up contracts so as not to put oneself or clients in a difficult position.

By the way, the company's director assured me that the monument will definitely be installed in October, and they will necessarily apologize to the client for missing the deadline. Well, we will see.

P.S.

Let's be honest: such a situation is far from unique to monuments. This applies to any service. It seems that for many companies, the main thing is to attract as many clients as possible and take their money. And how to do something - that's a secondary concern. They drag their feet. They feed clients promises of "any day now," and the client sits and waits. Because the money has already been paid, and there is no alternative.

And what's frustrating is that the contract often has everything written in such a way that the company seems to have nothing to do with it, while the client remains liable. That's why we draw your attention to this: read the contract CAREFULLY. Don't pay the full amount upfront, even if they demand it from you. Even if the company seems reliable and they're smiling nicely at you. A deposit of 30-50% is acceptable, with the rest paid after installation or provision of services. This way, you'll have leverage. If the deadlines have already been missed, don't stay silent. Write a complaint to the company's director. Contact the relevant authorities. Take them to court. The Law on Consumer Protection is on your side.

Olga GUSAK