Lowveld families face financial heartbreak after tombstone supplier Lowveld Tombstones abruptly shuttered its branches without delivering pre-paid orders.

According to affected customers, several of the company’s shops in the Lowveld have been closed for some time, while repeated attempts to contact the business have been unsuccessful.

Calls to the company’s telephone numbers go unanswered, leaving clients with no way to obtain updates or request refunds.

Many customers who paid deposits or settled full amounts of more than R10 000 now fear their hard-earned money is lost.

Sindi Sambo said her family paid R11 200 for a tombstone at the Hazyview branch in October 2025, which was promised before Good Friday but has not been delivered.

She said that earlier this year they were asked to submit the name that was to be engraved on the tombstone.

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“We submitted everything that was required, but the tombstone was never delivered. When we visited the shop, we found the doors locked. Neighbours told us the business had been closed for a long time. We tried calling them, but they do not answer our calls or respond to our text messages. There is now a huge dispute within our family because some relatives assume someone collected the money, which is not true,” she said.

Sambo added that her family had worked hard to save the money because they wanted to honour their late mother.

“Now the shop is closed, nobody answers the phone, and we don’t know what has happened to our money,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ntombi Mokoena said her family paid R16 800 for her father’s tombstone at the White River branch in November 2025, with plans to unveil it in March.

“We tried to engage with the company, but they kept promising they would install the tombstone, saying their workers were on strike. To our surprise, when we returned to the shop, we found the doors locked and the contact numbers were no longer working. We even visited their Mbombela branch, only to discover that all their shops were closed,” she said.

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Mokoena said the family attempted to seek assistance through the Small Claims Court, but does not know who to serve with legal papers because they have no address or contact details for company representatives.

She said the ordeal caused deep divisions and pain within the family after they completed monthly payments in November 2025 without receiving the product or a refund.

Other affected customers feel they have no option but to pursue legal action if the company fails to communicate with its customers.

The affected families are calling on the owners of Lowveld Tombstones to explain why the stores were closed without notice and to either deliver the tombstones that were paid for or refund customers in full.

Some customers have also urged anyone else affected by the closures to come forward so that they can explore possible collective action.

At the time of publication, attempts to obtain comment from Lowveld Tombstones were unsuccessful, as known contact numbers went unanswered, an email received no response, and attempts to identify the directors failed.