Postal insurance problems

[Broosta]

Hi all, I''ve had a problem sending my ring back to USA from UK.

Story in nutshell - saw ring at James Allen, liked ring, bought ring, received ring, saw fault in setting, contacted James Allen who confirmed they would make good due to lifetime warranty, tried to send ring back with insurance - problems due to value exceeding £500.

I tried Royal Mail - can''t do it due to £500 limit.

Data Post (Royal Mail connected) - same problem.

Fed Ex - can do it but only insured to max value of £500.

Can anyone explain what I have to do to send my ring and have it fully insured to value of about £2400?



Cheers,

Broosta.

 

[Maisie]

Ask James Allen if they will let you use their account to return the ring and you just pay them the shipping costs? Mind you, I would hope they would cover that if you are returning the ring due to a fault.

Also, be sure to phone Customs and Excise to get the code you will need to put on your parcel showing that you are returning the item due to repair. If you don''t put the correct code on it you will be liable for Import and VAT charges when the ring comes back to you.

 

[Splinter]

Date: 5/12/2008 9:05:36 AM
Author: Maisie
Also, be sure to phone Customs and Excise to get the code you will need to put on your parcel showing that you are returning the item due to repair. If you don''t put the correct code on it you will be liable for Import and VAT charges when the ring comes back to you.

Very, very, very, very, very good point. You might be able to argue this using original receipts, etc. but far better to avoid the hassle.

 

[Broosta]

Thanks for your replies.

I have contacted James Allen and they said they cannot use their FedEx company account out of USA.

I spoke to UPS yesterday who said they could do it and quoted 1% of value charge for insurance which was great but when I went to go ahead and sort it out today they said it was not possible to send diamonds (loose or otherwise). I called back to speak to a different call rep to make sure and it was the case.

Just called DHL who also can''t do it.

I am really puzzled now. Has nobody ever had to do this before?!

Who can I call next?

!

 

[Broosta]

I suppose the lack of response reflects the fact there aren''t many forum members from UK and have sent diamonds to non EU countries. Makes sense really.

Anyway, just to continue the story, it looks like I will have to go to a local jeweller to get them to remove the diamond from the setting. I will send the setting back to James Allen for a refund, and then either buy a new setting from James Allen or buy a new setting from the local jeweller.
I am under a certain amount of pressure here from my fiance who obviously just wants the ring on her finger! So the next step is to shop around locally for a nice platinum setting and weigh up the cost differences, hassle factor and time restraints with buying the setting from James Allen.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/16/2008 5:53:16 AM
Author: Broosta
I suppose the lack of response reflects the fact there aren''t many forum members from UK and have sent diamonds to non EU countries. Makes sense really.

Anyway, just to continue the story, it looks like I will have to go to a local jeweller to get them to remove the diamond from the setting. I will send the setting back to James Allen for a refund, and then either buy a new setting from James Allen or buy a new setting from the local jeweller.
I am under a certain amount of pressure here from my fiance who obviously just wants the ring on her finger! So the next step is to shop around locally for a nice platinum setting and weigh up the cost differences, hassle factor and time restraints with buying the setting from James Allen.

Are you insured and do you have a benchman you trust to remove the diamond? I know it sounds like a simple process, but the reason I ask is I am facing exactly the same issue as you at the moment, and have decided to send the whole thing back to GOG and have them remove the diamond. I would be too worried something may happen to the diamond and then I''d be scr**wd!

Also Maisie and Splinter are right to mention the customs code - I''m currently getting the run around trying to lodge my info to get those codes. I''m sorry I can''t help you further as I''m in Australia, but I find it really odd that you can''t get anyone to ship it through??
I just went to Australia Post and I will be sending mine in a nornal air mail package with extra insurance for the whole value. I''m not sure what your national postal service is - can they not help you? Also I''ve been told I can go through FedEx..

 

[Broosta]

Thanks for replying.

When we got the ring I added it to our household contents insurance policy as a named item, which means it is covered whilst worn anywhere in the UK and covered when not worn in house and garden areas. They won''t extend this cover to that which is needed at any cost.

UK national postal service is the Royal Mail and they will only cover items up to £500.

I just checked out Parcel Force Worldwide which is part of the Royal Mail group and got excited when I saw it covered goods up to value of £2500. But now I know this is unusual(for the uk at least!) I double checked by phoning up and was told the ''items we exclude from this compensation include precious metals and diamonds''. Gutted

. In fact viewing the list of things they don''t cover in their ''up to £2500 insurance policy'' here I''m struggling to see what they do cover!

 

[Broosta]

Sorry forgot to add that we have friends with a family jewelry business which is nearby and pretty good quality by all accounts, so having them reset the stone shouldn''t be a problem.

 

[anemone]

I ran into these issues when sending a swiss watch back to Bienne for repair. No one will do it and insure for full value AFAIK.

 

[Broosta]

Yeah it just seems so weird that no one can do it.
Does jewelry go missing in the post that often that they can''t afford to cover it?
Makes me even more dubious about sending stuff in the mail, even if it is insured, as there could well be issues making a claim.
I mean its fine to send stuff insured if you are 99% certain it won''t go missing. But the extra hassle of actually making claim and paying the excess and all that sort of stuff really puts me off - and thats with insurance, absolute non starter without!

 

[D2B]

That is just awful that James Allan wont let you use their account or have the facility to do so. I must admit I was a bit paranoid about this with my first purchases from US to UK and triple checked with the vendors. Signed Pieces , Whiteflash and Blue Nile will let you use their account (obviously offer to pay), so I really cant see why James Allen cannot do this - it really will limit O.S purchases. I just recently returned a piece to Signed Pieces to the US using their fed ex account, no hassles at all.

I would contact james allen again and let them know that some of the other Pricescope vendors provide this service and is there any way they can assist you, pretty please!!! Cant see how else you could do it, unless you wanted to take a trip to the states on holidays?
Good luck, keep us informed what happens.

d2b

Oh, just a question, how did james allen ship it to you, if they said they cant use their fed ex account out of the USA???? However they insured it to you, should work for the reverse ( or am I missing something??)

 

[Broosta]

Hi D2B, I had asked James Allen if i could send using their insurance - this is a quote from Jim Shultz of James Allen, "I contacted our Fedex representative but was told that our account is nontransferrable outside the US."

They sent it to me with FedEx.

I''ve been in contact with Jim regarding this and I think he is doing all he can to help, I have no doubt that if the info is incorrect then Jim doesn''t know that to be the case. I trust him.

Here is his latest email to me,


"I''m sorry you are having such a tough time returning your ring. We''ve had
other international customers return items before, so I''m not exactly sure
why this has become so difficult.

With that said, however, I think the idea of just returning the setting
might be a good one. The value of just the ring is well within the limits
of the different courriers and the cost to remove and reset the diamond into
the new ring should be minimal. I will even offer to pay $25 of the fee,
since I''ll be saving a little money on the return insurance."


I can only assume not many people send rings to the US from UK, and that maybe some rules have recently changed and are now more strict.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would definitely find another setting locally and have that jeweler remove your diamond. Then just return the setting to JA. I wouldn't want the hassle of sending the diamond back and forth even if you could find insurance.

 

[Pandora II]

I''m afraid I sent mine for a bit of tweaking while I was over in the USA.

If you have a friend going out there who you trust, give them all the documents and get them to send it via UPS out there.

The only people I could find who would do it were Brinks - the bullion company, but there charges are quite hefty. Might be worth giving them a call though, they were very nice and helpful.

 

[Doomaise]

Date: 5/12/2008 8:18:27 AM
Author:Broosta
Hi all, I''ve had a problem sending my ring back to USA from UK.

Story in nutshell - saw ring at James Allen, liked ring, bought ring, received ring, saw fault in setting, contacted James Allen who confirmed they would make good due to lifetime warranty, tried to send ring back with insurance - problems due to value exceeding £500.

I tried Royal Mail - can''t do it due to £500 limit.

Data Post (Royal Mail connected) - same problem.

Fed Ex - can do it but only insured to max value of £500.

Can anyone explain what I have to do to send my ring and have it fully insured to value of about £2400?



Cheers,

Broosta.

Hey Broosta,

You should look into Lloyds of London.....they''re an "Insurance Market" not an "Insurance Company." You''ll need to find a Lloyds broker in your area.

The way Lloyds works (and by the way, Lloyds has been going on since 1689, it''s not some shady deal), is there are groups of independent businesses (both corporate and personal) who are part of "syndicates" that provide capital and underwrite risks.

Basically you go to a Lloyds broker or agent with what you''d like to get insured, they''ll give it to a Lloyds underwriter who''ll determine the risks and come up with a premium, you sign the contract, pay the premium, and then you''re set...

Check it out: http://www.lloyds.com

Hope that helps....