Highland Stone /Michael G. Padilla Run away as fast as you can, do not do business with Highland Stone or Michael G. Padilla 145 S. Pecos Street, Denver CO 80223 Colorado

You do not want to engage in any business transactions with Highland Stone or Michael G. Padilla. He uses the phone numbers 720-998-7998 and 303-668-8047 and his place of business address is 145 South Pecos Street, Denver CO 80223. He posts granite and other items on Craigslist a lot of the time.  I would be skeptical of buying granite or anything else from him.   

 I have never taken the time to write a public complaint but I feel the public needs to be forewarned about this man and his shoddy and wrong business practices. It has been a nightmare experience that began in November of 2013 and now we are headed to court.

In a synopsis, we were remodeling a 7’x11’ master bath and we wanted (simple, straightforward) granite countertops.  I saw granite slabs advertised on craigslist in the variety I wanted. I viewed/purchased one slab from Michael Padilla (Highland Stone) and in talking he said he could fabricate and install for us. I asked how long it would take; he said “a week or so”.  I said “fine”-it was convenient. I paid in full for the slab.

He came out early December, after the custom cabinets were installed to measure the dimensions of the 4 pieces of granite we needed. At this time I paid him half of the fabrication fee.  A week later he sends 2 of his installers out to install without bothering to call to set up a time.  A tile contractor was working at the house and he assumed that I knew they were coming- which I didn’t. I come home to 2 strange men in my house.  I called Michael to tell him how unprofessional this was- he apologized. A few minutes later I rush upstairs to the bathroom because I hear a sawing noise and smelled smoke.  They proceeded (without my knowledge or approval) to cut the custom vanity, in order to get the pieces to fit. To their knowledge, but not mine, 2 out of 4 of the granite pieces were cut too short- they installed them anyway. The installers tried to convince me that everything was fine and could be remedied with thick grout or caulking.  I didn’t agree and told them I was not going to accept these pieces.   The polishing craftsmanship of the edges was uneven and shabby looking. I called Michael to let him know that the pieces were not acceptable; the whole experience had been horrible.  He said he would make sure to take care of everything.  He came out the next morning (12/12/13) to re-measure.  I didn’t hear back from him for three weeks thereafter.

Things proceed to go from bad to worse. From 1/3/14-1/21/14, 33 phone calls are exchanged between me and Michael Padilla regarding when the 2^nd install will take place. Michael starts feeding me excuse after excuse as to why the second set of pieces of granite aren’t ready. He tells me on 1/9/14 the pieces would be ready to install, we plan on the morning of 1/13/14, when I called to confirm that morning he wouldn’t answer his phone.  3 days later I got a call back from him with excuses saying his shop froze up and he couldn’t do any work, yet he already had told me the pieces were ready to be installed.  At this point I feel like I am getting the run-around and get my husband involved.  

My husband calls Michael on 1/17/14 to see when the pieces will be ready. Michael says they are ready and could install this evening. My husband calls me to confirm the install that night, I say fine. My husband drops in without notice to Michael’s shop that afternoon and finds that the granite has not been cut, nor polished nor is it anywhere ready to be installed.  Michael Padilla has been lying to us all along, stating that it was.

The next evening, he and an installer show up to do the install again and find out the pieces have been cut too short a second time.

He said he had a third piece of granite for me to come see the following morning. I go to see it and when I arrive I am told the piece has been cracked and cannot be used. I tell him I want my money back and he says I will receive a partial refund.  I haven’t heard or seen of any return of funds yet, so on to court we go. Upon researching, I am only one of many unhappy customers. The Denver Broncos are taking this guy to court too.  

I sustained further damage to the bathroom because these guys never took any of the miss-cut pieces with them, just left the adhesive on to dry. The window sill had to be pried out and the adhesive on the other pieces peeled off the drywall in many places. Now a big mess with more money and time involved.  

Save yourself the hassle of dealing with this guy and just don’t.