Macon woman shares experience after paying for headstone that was never completed
Family says they paid a deposit for a memorial but faced months of delays and no communication
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Investigators say Preston Brown faces charges connected to his business, P. Brown Memorials, after multiple people reported paying for headstones or slabs that were never completed.
The Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia says complaints about the business go back several years.
“We opened a file on the company back in 2021, and the complaints were that people were paying money, not receiving their product,” said Kelvin Collins, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia.
Collins says about 20 complaints have been filed, but that number may only reflect a portion of those impacted.
“Typically when you see 20 people that have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, that means we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, because a lot of people don’t think about, ‘Where do I file a complaint?'” Collins said.
Lisa Hill says she had used Preston Brown’s services before without any issues. After her sister passed away in December 2024, she and her family paid a deposit expecting a headstone to be completed, but she says that did not happen.
“No phone calls, no touchups, no callbacks, no communication whatsoever, no emails, no nothing,” she said. “Every now and then he would send my niece a text saying, ‘We’re working on it,’ that’s all we would hear.”
She says after repeated delays and missed deadlines, her family demanded answers.
“You hurt us badly, you lied to us repeatedly, you keep giving us excuses, you’re not communicating, not calling us back, no texts, no nothing,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘That’s not how you do business Mr. Brown. I work hard for my money.'”
Hill says they eventually got their deposit back after threatening to go to small claims court and later had to pay another company thousands more to complete the headstone.
After her experience, Hill says she looked into the business and was shocked by what she found. She says she sent Brown a final message.
“I even told him in my last text, ‘Mr. Brown, you done scammed so many people. Please don’t do this to nobody else. All I do is beg you, don’t do it to nobody else.’ And look what happened, here it is 2026 now, and you’re still doing it.”
Collins says situations like this highlight the importance of researching a company’s history and documenting every interaction.
He says during emotional times like losing a loved one, it is important to slow down and avoid rushing major decisions.
