Chargeback for Custom Work? We''ve been duped!

[squarepear]

Hello,

Pls help, I believe we''ve been suckered...

My fiance and I recently purchased a pear and a custom halo setting for it while on vacation. We saw the EGL summary and the setting they were going to custom make to fit the pear. We were told the diamond was older and that they didn''t have the full EGL certification on hand. The plan was that they would locate the certification, send it to us, and then we would decide if we wanted to continue with that diamond or find a new one.

All was well, and we didn''t have any concerns as this jeweler was highly recommended by a close friend. However, a week later, we still had not received the full EGL certification (STRIKE 1!). We contacted them and were told the full EGL was unavailable. We could get the full EGL, for an extra price bc she had to go through some hoops to get it. They said they could find another diamond for us if that''s what we wanted.

So we email them the specs of the new diamond we want and wait a few days for their reply. They call me and tell me they''ve found a diamond. However, it does not fit the specs we want and she admits to us that she didn''t even read our email (STRIKE 2!). On top of that, she said the ring was already completed (STRIKE 3!!) and all we needed to do was confirm we wanted the new diamond. I was kind of confused as to how could the halo setting could be made if they didn''t have the diamond....

The fiance and I felt really uneasy about the situation, first with the jeweler not following through on the terms of our sale (the EGL cert), ignoring our requested specs and then going ahead and making a "custom" setting without knowing what diamond they had. We also explicitly told them over the phone that there were some modifications we wanted to make so please let us know before the setting is created.

Anyway, we ended up doing a chargeback with our credit card company and contacted the jeweler, requesting that they refund our money. Lo and behold, I get a message the next day saying they haven''t heard from us and they are assuming were going with the first diamond (the one we explicitly told them not to use). The ring was done and they said they were shipping it to our house!

What do you guys think, is this a lost cause? Has anyone out there had any success charging back for a custom order? We charged back under "misrepresentation of item," citing that the sale of the jewelry was contingent upon our receipt of the EGL certification, which never came. The difficult thing about this is that there was no other paper work involved. Any ideas? Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[AprilBaby]

No answer for you but I''m sorry it happened! You should get what you ordered!

 

[RBD hunter]

I have not had to do a charge back yet (Knocking On Wood)

I would call the jeweler and tell them about the charge back again.....Then tell them under NO circumstances are they to send out any of Their jewelery to get lost in the mail.

Ps get the name of the sales rep

 

[WinkHPD]

As a vendor I can tell you that the credit card will NOT stand up for the vendor, even if he is in the right, and this one is clearly not. You will get your charge back from the CC company and it will then be up to the vendor to make it a civil matter if he chooses.

This is especially true for Internet orders, but I am not sure if you physically swiped your card while on vacation or not. It can be a little more difficult for physically swiped cards, but the CC companies really like to protect the consumer, even when it is clearly fraud against the vendor, been there lost that argument before.

From the facts as you state them, I do not think you will have much trouble with a chargeback. Write a letter to your CC company and document the timeline and who you talked with etc. It may be a bit of a pain, but in the end you will have your money. If the ring arrives, refuse delivery.

wink

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 9/3/2008 10:58:33 PM
Author: Wink
As a vendor I can tell you that the credit card will NOT stand up for the vendor, even if he is in the right, and this one is clearly not. You will get your charge back from the CC company and it will then be up to the vendor to make it a civil matter if he chooses.

This is especially true for Internet orders, but I am not sure if you physically swiped your card while on vacation or not. It can be a little more difficult for physically swiped cards, but the CC companies really like to protect the consumer, even when it is clearly fraud against the vendor, been there lost that argument before.

From the facts as you state them, I do not think you will have much trouble with a chargeback. Write a letter to your CC company and document the timeline and who you talked with etc. It may be a bit of a pain, but in the end you will have your money. If the ring arrives, refuse delivery.

wink

What Wink said...dont sign for the box.

 

[squarepear]

You guys rock (pun intended). I feel a little better about it now. I put together all the documentation so I''ll be ready when the chargeback follow up comes. I''ll let you know how things turn out! Thanks a bunch!