Still no results after 14 weeks - what's wrong with this company? Here's a little overview of my ongoing saga with trying to get my results. Crazy stuff.

I ordered 30X Whole Genome Sequencing from Nebula Genomics last year, and they received my DNA sample on November 4, 2023. The company quotes processing times at 12-14 weeks, and the 14-week deadline passed on February 10, 2024. As of today, it's been 101 days since the sample arrived at Nebula's lab.

TL;DR: On January 25 (after nearly 12 weeks), only after I made a BBB complaint, I was told that the CSO flagged my results as not meeting their quality and data metrics. After I pressed them, they said that it was because the sequencing didn't achieve the purchased coverage/depth level of 30X, and that they were rerunning it.

On February 6 (after nearly 14 weeks), I was told that they finished the sequencing at that the "data transfer was initiated". They said it takes a few days to show up. But simultaneously, they sent a response letter through BBB that asked for a new DNA sample, and that letter was sent on the same day. So which is it, are they done or do they need more DNA? Who knows!

They told me on February 8 that someone would follow up with me on February 9 (last Friday) with a status update, but that hasn't happened. It's now February 12 and I still don't have results.

And now, for the detailed chain of events. The sample arrived at Nebula on November 4.

On December 29, I asked for a status update because my online account had been stuck at the Sequencing stage for several weeks. The online account noted already that the sample had passed Quality Control (QC). This was 8 weeks after sample arrival.

Matt from Nebula Support responded on December 29 (same day) to inform me that my sample was "in the QC stage right now and is being analyzed". That was not consistent with what the online account said, which was that it already passed QC.

On January 12, I asked for another status update. I was answered on the same day by Marta at Nebula Support, who simply told me that my sample was still being processed. I mistakenly didn't see this email until later on because the subject line was modified, and thus it didn't show up in the email chain. I asked again on January 18 (without seeing the response from January 12), and that wasn't answered.

On January 25, I informed Nebula that I had filed a BBB complaint due to incomplete information and approaching the deadline window without an update. This was partially prompted by discussions I had with several other customers that reported extremely long processing times from Nebula, and I wanted to ensure that I didn't become one of those many cases of missed deadlines. Again, sequencing experiments are not terribly difficult to do - I'm a biochemist and am very aware of the process - so there's really no excuse for it taking a quarter of a year to do.

I was answered on January 25 (same day) by Emily. To her credit, Emily was pleasant and responsive, although she did not resolve the issue.

Emily confirmed that the processing time was 12-14 weeks, but that this was only true for "samples that meet all quality and data metrics". She informed me that my sample didn't pass those metrics, although she didn't specify which metrics were not passed.

She explained that Nebula's Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) personally evaluated each set of results upon completion, and that in "rare cases", the CSO may identify "potential discrepancies", leading them to request an "additional quality control (QC) check". She stated that this was the case for my sample.

On January 26, I asked Emily to provide details about the nature of the metrics that were not passed. I asked her to use technical language, since I'm also a scientist.

Emily replied on January 30 (4 days later) to inform me that the metric that wasn't passed was regarding coverage and sequencing depth. She said that they were rerunning the sample to ensure that at least 30X depth was achieved, since this is what I purchased.

On January 31, I informed Emily that I was a bit concerned by her messages because I was told by other Nebula customers that they received the same message verbatim. I let her know that I would wait to close the BBB complaint until after I received my results.

Emily followed up on February 6 (a week later) to inform me that the "data transfer has initiated" and that I should see my results "populate in [my] account in the next few days".

Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was the same day that Nebula sent the strange response letter through the BBB. That letter was inconsistent with this message because it asks me to provide another DNA sample.

On February 8, I informed Emily that I didn't see my results online yet.

I was answered by Theresa from Nebula Support on February 8 (same day). She confirmed that she saw the data transfer initiation in their system. She also noted that "the full transfer can take a few days".

Theresa said that someone from Nebula would follow up with me on the next day (February 9), but this didn't happen. It's now February 12 and I still haven't heard from them. I also don't have results in my account yet.

On February 9, I asked for an update because I didn't hear from them. This was also not answered.

Today, February 12, I informed them that I was very concerned, especially because of the inconsistencies with the BBB response letter vs. what they told me directly. I still don't have my results.

I'm wondering what on earth is wrong with this company. Have others had similar experiences?