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Problems with YDL Group...
There are often horror stories told about dealing with Chinese companies and problems that can occur when the factory turns out to be unprofessional and dishonest. These stories are, unfortunately, true, and this website is dedicated to exposing one such company.
YDL Group has a nice website, and it appears that they can do anything from all the pictures and information provided. The power of the Internet makes them appear to be a great source for natural stone products. But what is the reality?
Our company has been buying countainers of prefabricated countertops from China for about 10 years. The quality has varied over the years and it is not uncommon for a company to raise prices over time, or for the quality to decline so we are always looking for reputable Chinese companies to buy from. YDL Group was given a chance after their prices came in at a fair price, and, they assured us that their quality would be high and they would stand behind their work.
So... we placed our first order in August of 2008. The order arrived in October of 2009 and it was terrible. We had been promised by their US agent that our order was to be given top priority as the factory was committed to a long term relationship with us. We were extremely disappointed as we opened the crates and found the following:
- Slabs of Tropical Brown and Black were bowed to the point that they were 1/2" out of plumb in 3 foot distance.
- Scratch marks on the surfaces, some tried to be hidden with black pen marks, others left exposed and obvious.
- Unpolished hazy areas on the surface, especially on the Absolute Black pieces. (I think this is the result of the slabs being cupped/warped and not flat as the polishing wheels probably cannot polish properly when the surface is not properly level).
- Giallo St. Cecilia did not match the color sample that was approved- not even close as they sent a completely different stone.
- The Giallo St. Cecilia had chipped edges that were filled with a dull grey color that stand out like a sore thumb
- Backsplashes and tops in several colors that were thinner at one end- about 1/8" difference in thickness from one side to the next
- The Giallo St. Cecilia was supposed to be resin filled after cutting and prior to polishing, and it was not. But, to make matters worse, a few pieces looked like the tried to drizzle some resin after the fact into some larger pits/holes and the result was terrible. We mailed back samples to the factory and they admitted somebody screwed up.
We took pictures and wrote up a report documenting the mistakes. See pictures below and keep in mind that it is often difficult to photograph scratches or haze marks so the actual material was much worse than the pictures indicate.
Thickness problems
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Thickness problems
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Warped material
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Warped/Cupped material
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More Warped/Cupped material
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More Warped material
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Filled edge- non-matching epoxy
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Chipped edge
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Filled edge- non-matching epoxy
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Scratches
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Chipped edge
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Non-polished areas- serious blem
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So what did YDL Group do when given this documentation?
YDL's US agent visited our facility and inspected the material. He concluded that 70% of the material was defective, and the entire order should be replaced because the value of the remaining 30% was compromised... If you order 20 tops and 6 islands, what can you do with 5 tops that might be good when all the islands are bad and all your kitchens require islands?
YDL Group's response to the initial complaint (written on 2/16/09)
"For GDS problem, we're shocked when we received the complaints, and we
reacted right away to research thoroughly and carefully into this issue. The
situation found out is the Giallo Santa Cecilia big pieces were not cut in
our factory, but to bring in big slabs from outsides to process further --
those big pieces were realized as not qualified after our research back.
This is very bad as YDL see this first supply to GDS very important issue
and had requested the production people to follow up very carefully -- that
one who covered the problem of the Giallo Santa Cecilia big pieces without
getting any permission before shipping out was fired out of YDL with
punishment. For the rest of the GDS order, there're not big problems found
according to our research here -- but, this doesn't mean that we don't
believe the GDS' complaint or your report.... Best regards,
YDL
We agreed to place another order with YDL Group if they would give us a credit of 70% towards our purchase. This was generous as we were unable to use hardly any of the material, plus it cost us plenty to have it thrown out (about 30 tons worth of unusable granite) plus we were stuck for about $4000 in shipping costs on the first order.
Incredulously to us, YDL Group took the position that only 15% of the material was defective by THEIR calculations, ignoring the inspection report of their US agent and the pictures we sent them. They said "For the container supplied to GDS, GDS requested for 70% compensation of the total amount. But YDL suspected this number of 70%, and asked for photos and related documentation as proof which are necessity for compensation claiming according to the common pratice. GDS provided some photos, over which YDL studied thoroughly but found as not sufficient for the number of 70%. Further on, YDL asked for complete and sufficient proof from GDS... GDS requested YDL to send people over there for inspection. YDL thinks it should cooperate with the client’s request and agrees to arrange the inspection trip, however, the number that YDL is going to prove for the coming inspection trip is 70% as what requested originally from GDS. Best regards,
YDL
So, YDL Group said that they would come over and inpsect the materials and if the defective material was not 70%, then GDS would have to pay for the expense of the inspection. YDL Group required that GDS pay for 3 people to come from their factory in China because for some inexplicable reason, one person could not perform the inspection task... NOW FOR THE KICKER- GDS agreed! GDS was so confident and knew that they were telling the truth that they signed the agreement and agreed to pay all of YDL Group's expenses if they damage they reported was not as they had claimed.
So, keep in mind this order arrived in October, and it is now March and GDS has signed and sent back the legal document so that YDL Group will inspect the material. So, did YDL honor the agreement and perform the inspection?
YDL GROUP replied next:
We’ve been discussing and communicating for quite some time which causes delay, and we really need to put it to the end with fair solution. We’re willing to take this inspection trip in spite of only one container issue. However, we’re afraid that we will not be able to carry out this inspection trip now, as Mr. Zhang is assigned by the director board to go to Yokohama, Japan to run the subsidiary company there for some time. Thus, we have to have you to ship back this container to Xiamen in order to move forward, and YDL will pay for the expense.
We have to inspect the goods in order to decide the compensation. Otherwise, could we both compromise a little to reach something, like you lower down and YDL goes up to come up a compensation percentage acceptable by both sides? Best regards, YDL DATED MAY 13, 2009
So, now YDL Group is refusing to come to the US as per the inspection agreement that GDS signed, and they want GDS to send the container back... I am not making this up! Of course, GDS agreed to send the materials back as long as it was YDL Group paying for the expenses... no reply, no reaction from YDL Group... until this email arrived on June 26, 2009: We have been stating to you that we stay responsible and are willing to pay compensation at a fair rate – below is one of the emails. We don’t find 70% compensation is a fair rate, and you don’t provide enough evidence to support either.
We also still hope we can work out the solution soon and fair to both sides. Best regards,
YDL
Conclusion- Welcome to the complete 360 degree circle jerk from YDL Group!...you can draw your own conclusion regarding YDL Group as to their honesty and professionalism and whether you want to do business with them. If you see them at Coverings in the future run, don't walk away!
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