Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please!

[dk168]

Hello PS,

Long time lurker here since 2004 when I was looking for a reputable vendor in Antwerp for an EC as a 40th birthday present to myself, and have enjoyed browsing PS ever since.

I would be grateful if the experts can help me please with regard to a consumer related issue.

I would like to find out if there is a time frame limit for redress for a custom-made 3-stone ring being made in the wrong metal please.

It was commissioned a few years ago, and I still have the original e-mails detailing the specification, price and agreement etc., and the person I was dealing with is still in the jewellery business running a different company, and I have contacted this person with regard to the issue.

I tried to resolve the issue amicably, however, things are turning unpleasant.

I shan't bore you with the details in case the wise people on PS decides it is best to forget about it and move on.

I hope you can help me, and thanks for your help in advance.

DK

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

BTW, I went with Diamond House in Antwerp for my EC, and my dealings with Rob and his team was a breeze, and I love my ring.

I have not taken many photos of my diamond and gemstone jewellery except for pearls and my diamond studs, and shall post some pics in the relevant threads soon.

DK

 

[denverappraiser]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

At least in the US, responsibility for delivering what you bought lies with the company that sold it, not with the salesperson. Have you contacted THEM? Are they still in business? If so, what did they have to say?

Are you in Belgium?

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

I am based in the UK.

The original company that made the ring had gone bust 2-3 years ago, based in Israel at the time, however, one of the person who ran it, has a new jewellery business venture based in the EU.

It was he alone that I had dealings with in the past, and I had contacted him about the ring not being made in platinum as specified when I found that out earlier this year.

DK

 

[denverappraiser]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

I wouldn't begin to claim an understanding of Israeli or UK law but, in the US, I think you would have a weak case because the company that you did business with is gone. Was the transaction, meaning the selling of the ring, done is Israel, Belgium, or the UK? Where their former employees, or even former owners, now work doesn't much matter. The new employer is not responsible for the sins of the old.

 

[msop04]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

At what point did you realize it was made with the wrong metal? How did you come upon this realization? Also, did you have to sign off on a contract before they made it and/or afterwards to show that you approved of the piece? In what way would you like for this to be resolved?

Since the company is no longer in business and it's been quite a long time, I'm afraid it would be next to impossible...

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

denverappraiser,

When I commissioned for the ring to be made, the company that made the ring was based in Israel, and all the transactions were made via e-mail with one of the owners of the business.

It is he that has a new jewellery business. The reason I know this is because he kept my contact details and put me on his mailing list for his new business!

Since it was he that I dealt with directly in the past, I believe he was responsible for the mistake.


msop04,

I needed to have the ring repaired earlier this year as one of the diamond side stones had popped out and lost. The jeweller undertaking the repair tested the ring and found it was made of 18K WG and not platinum.

The weight of the ring is about 6g, and I am seeking 200 USD in compensation, and I based this amount on the price differences between 18K WG and platinum ring settings that I can find on reputable online vendors.



DK

 

[denverappraiser]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

In the US, you could sue him individually and try to recover damages that way. Given your description I think you would probably loose but tiny details about exactly how things were represented make the difference. The UK is a whole lot litigious than the US but I suspect there's a similar system in place there. You can try.

It probably would have gone better if you had addressed it earlier but given that you're happy with your ring, I would say you escaped with relatively light damages. Even if you were at 90 days instead of 9 years and even if the company were still in business I think you would be in a pickle because the jurisdiction is Israel. Israel is a pretty civilized place but if it's not home it's usually difficult to navigate the consumer protection laws no matter where you are.

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

He agreed a mistake had been made after I contacted him and presented him with the e-mails as evidence earlier this year.

He grudgingly agreed to pay me after I informed him I would come to PS to seek advice.

He agreed to pay me in separate instalments, of which the first was received in March 2013.

I refrained from coming to PS to seek advice as I wanted this to be resolved amicably, and deep down in my heart, I believe it was an honest mistake, and that he had not gone out of his way to deceive me.

However, not only has he refused to honour what he has previously agreed, he is now threatening to sue me for blackmailing him!!!

I do not care about the money, however, I do care about being lied to for promises that he has no intention in keeping, and worst of all, being called a blackmailer!

DK

 

[msop04]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

msop04,

I needed to have the ring repaired earlier this year as one of the diamond side stones had popped out and lost. The jeweller undertaking the repair tested the ring and found it was made of 18K WG and not platinum.

The weight of the ring is about 6g, and I am seeking 200 USD in compensation, and I based this amount on the price differences between 18K WG and platinum ring settings that I can find on reputable online vendors.

Wow! That would make me so angry! I'm sorry I don't have a lot of advice for you. As a long shot, maybe you could contact your credit card company?? If they sold the ring to you as "platinum" (and you have paperwork stating so...), then that's fraudulent. I'm just afraid it's been too long. It may be worth a shot.

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

Yup, I was very disappointed when I found out.

I suspected the ring might not have been made in platinum for a while when I could see yellow tone emerging from the shank.

However, I thought I was imagining things and did not have it tested. Bad mistake!

It is a matter of honour now, in that he has turned nasty, called me a blackmailer and threatened to sue me, when I confronted him about the missing payments that he had promised!

DK

 

[AprilBaby]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

How long has it been and why didn't you have it fixed immediately? Sorry, didn't see the previous post! I would say its probably been too long but outing the vendor might get them to keep their promise.

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

The ring in question was the second ring this vendor had made for me about 6/7 years ago.

I have not had the first ring tested as I do not believe it had been made wrong.

Allegedly he made the promise/agreement to repay me before he had spoken to his lawyer, hence he has now wised up and refuse to honour his promise/agreement.

I shall let the thread run for longer to gauge wider views and opinions.

If the consensus opinion is that the time lapsed is too long to warrant any redress, then so be it.

What is really annoying me now is that he calls me a blackmailer for wanting to come to PS to seek advice, after he had made promises that he had not kept, all documented in writing!

This shows a serious lack of integrity on his part, and I am not going to take it lightly!

Mind you, this person used to list items already sold in order to make the inventory looked more attractive, and I found this out when a ruby I purchased from him continued to be listed on the site long after I had it made into the first ring, perhaps his latest actions should not have come as a surprise to me.

DK

 

[HoratioNelson]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

UK based lawyer here...

You are in a tricky situation, given a) the fact that the purchase was a while ago; b) the fact that he is aboard (not just outside the UK, but outside the EU in Israel); c) facts can be difficult to prove - do you have any original order documents/correspondence, specifically referring to the metal you intended for the ring to be made in and of course d) the company you purchased from is no longer in existence.

As other posters pointed out, it may be that you have grounds for an action grounded in fraud, rather than any consumer law, but it is always good practice to make sure you have a strong case where one'sallegations are so severe. Although the occasional angry letter about breaches of consumer law (such as faulty goods, poor service etc) are usually fired off without any hesitance, accusing someone of fraud is quite a big deal. So you'd need to be sure you have sufficient documentary evidence and carefully build a case before going down that route.

 

[peacechick]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

I think it will end up costing you more than $200 in time and expenses to sue this jeweler, and even then you may not have the satisfaction of winning. If it is a matter of honor, maybe see if you can report him to any consumer watchdog in Israel or equivalent of BBB. I was once scammed by a dodgy watch shop for a repair, and since the amount was small, I just left bad (but honest) reviews on Yelp, Google and any Internet site they were listed.

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

Indeed I have the e-mails confirming the ring was to be made in platinum, including a breakdown of how much I needed to pay, after deducting the value of the scrap precious metals that I sent him.

Although I believe I have a strong case based on documented and physical evidence to hand that the ring had not been made to the agreed specification, the hassle and effort involved in trying to get him to honour his agreement and repay me the remaining small sum of money is really not worth it.

It is only money!

Based on what I can gather from the responses posted so far, the time lapsed is probably too long to justify a redress, now that the company that I was dealing with had folded, even though one of its owner is still in the jewellery business and contactable.

I shall repay him what I had received from him, minus what PayPal had deducted, and forget about it.

I am doing this not because he is threatening me with legal action, it is because I do not wish to receive money from a person with questionable moral, integrity and business ethics.

I am no lier or blackmailer, and I have not made anything up about the ring being made wrong, based on documented and physical evidence to hand. If he wants to sue me, I'd say bring it on!

The nasty tone is his recent mails has really wound me up, and I am not going to let him get the better of me.

And the lesson I have learnt from this? Work with PS recommended vendors at all times!!!

Time to draw this to a close, and I thank you all for your input and advice.

 

[dk168]

Re: Need help with redress for custom ring made wrong please

Refunded him the money he had paid me.

Feel better now as I have closure.

Once I have the ring repaired, I shall post a pic or two in the Colour Stone Eye Candy thread.