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Ripped off..do I have recourse?

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AprilBaby

AprilBaby

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jul 17, 2008
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First of all HI! Long time lurker, several years to be exact, but never had anything to say. I have spent hours drooling over all your lovelies! I have found myself a problem that I dont know how to proceed. In 2003 I purchased a .50 bezel pendant from JB Robinson. (I know , I know, I dont shop there anymore
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) To make a long story short, I have had the pendant in my jewelry chest for the last year not being worn. I decided to have the diamond set into a ring for DD for her 21st BD so I went to Jared to have it set. (again, I dont shop there, but Jared and JB are related and I trust their jeweler more). The jeweler unmounted the stone and brought it to the manager (whom I know) and said it looked a bit small for a .50. Sure enough when they weighed it it is a .29 ct. It is set in a bezel to make it look larger. The manager , jeweler and associate pulled up the original receipt from 2003 and it says I paid for a .50. They suggested I take it back to JBR and see what they would so. Manager at JBR agreed they gave me the wrong size, called Jared to confirm they unmounted it, and said she would talk to corporate. Corporate now says since I didnt come have it checked every 6 months I am out of luck...no warranty. The paperwork says they warranty the diamond if it is checked, yes. BUT...It also says further down they guarantee the accurate carat weight of my stone ...so....Am I out of luck? (and out $899.00?) Or do I have recourse? What would you do next? Thanks for taking the time to read my post...and I will put of pictures of my REAL lovelies over the weekend!
 
My understanding is that the 'checkup' keeps the warranty valid for replacing the stone if chipped or broken. That's quite a stretch to cover them for selling you the wrong size stone!

I'd start with the manager at JB Robinson - even if it is someone different that it was at the time you bought the stone. If they won't work it out, I'd ask them to call their corporate headquarters for you from their phone in their store. They have regional managers for these stores and I'd ask to be put in touch with them as well. That's just wrong - and I wouldn't go away easily.

There may be limitations to returns but you in good faith bought and paid for what you thought was a .50 diamond. It would just be bad business practice on their part not to make this right. At the markup these stores charge, they can afford to either refund you the price difference or come up with a like stone in the correct size.
 
ouch -- sorry to hear this!! you''re probably going to have to make your own recourse, since it wouldn''t really be prudent to pursue this legally, but since they don''t know what you''re willing to do you might mention to them that a guarantee and a warranty are not the same thing, and that their guarantee is not invalidated by any terms of the contract of sale, even if the warranty was. legally, you have a right to it. (at least it sounds like you do, i can''t really make that judgment without seeing the documentation you''ve mentioned.) don''t be afraid to throw a little weight around!!

hope everything works out!!
 
Ditto MissGotRocks.

Also tell them you will go to small court for claim if you don''t get a 0.5 stone. The replacement should be of the exact specs (or better) you paid for 5 yrs ago. Tell them you ask the people in PS, and they all agree that quote "My understanding is that the ''checkup'' keeps the warranty valid for replacing the stone if chipped or broken. That''s quite a stretch to cover them for selling you the wrong size stone!". Just so they know you are spreading this bad news about them, but you can reverse the bad reputation if they correct their mistake.
 
Here''s what might have happened:

The pendant could have been mis-tagged by corporate, then sent to the store.
The store could have mixed up the pendants/tags during cleaning, inventory, whatever.
These stores handle hundreds of items in and out of inventory on a daily basis and mistakes do happen.


My suggestion is always to go to the District Manager level with this type of problem if the store manager can''t/won''t resolve it.

Then if you receive no satisfaction..the next level is Regional Vice President. At that point, problems usually get resolved quickly.

Be assertive...you should get what you paid for, absolutely. Good luck.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com
 
Well, the warranty you were Supposed to maintain was Supposed to be for 0.5, Not a 0.29.
So thats just BS.
I haven''t seen their receipts, but you state ...It also says further down they guarantee the accurate carat weight of my stone
So why is this guarantee effectivey being ignored?

Sorry to be so frank, but I would take it further and demand reimbursement.
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Date: 7/17/2008 9:11:47 PM
Author:AprilBaby
First of all HI! Long time lurker, several years to be exact, but never had anything to say. I have spent hours drooling over all your lovelies! I have found myself a problem that I dont know how to proceed. In 2003 I purchased a .50 bezel pendant from JB Robinson. (I know , I know, I dont shop there anymore
2.gif
) To make a long story short, I have had the pendant in my jewelry chest for the last year not being worn. I decided to have the diamond set into a ring for DD for her 21st BD so I went to Jared to have it set. (again, I dont shop there, but Jared and JB are related and I trust their jeweler more). The jeweler unmounted the stone and brought it to the manager (whom I know) and said it looked a bit small for a .50. Sure enough when they weighed it it is a .29 ct. It is set in a bezel to make it look larger. The manager , jeweler and associate pulled up the original receipt from 2003 and it says I paid for a .50. They suggested I take it back to JBR and see what they would so. Manager at JBR agreed they gave me the wrong size, called Jared to confirm they unmounted it, and said she would talk to corporate. Corporate now says since I didnt come have it checked every 6 months I am out of luck...no warranty. The paperwork says they warranty the diamond if it is checked, yes. BUT...It also says further down they guarantee the accurate carat weight of my stone ...so....Am I out of luck? (and out $899.00?) Or do I have recourse? What would you do next? Thanks for taking the time to read my post...and I will put of pictures of my REAL lovelies over the weekend!
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That''s outrageous -- corporate should know better than to pull a stunt like that. They misrepresented the stone they sold you the first time and are now trying to cite the warranty provisions to wriggle out of it??
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This situation should not have anything to do with the warranty. It''s quite simple really -- they misrepresented a material fact about the diamond that figured largely in your decision to purchase it, and to purchase it at that price. And to top it off, they violated their own carat weight guarantee.

Don''t let them get away with this! Feel free to tell them that you will report them to the BBB and otherwise make it known that they engage in fraudulent practices, or that you''d be wililing to bring this to small claims court (if you are). In any event, it is unacceptable that they would try to pull a fast one on you by citing the warranty provision to divert attention from their original fraudulent misrepresentation.

Perhaps there was a mix up at the corporate level, but in any case, I think you shouldn''t feel shy to confront them about this. Good luck!!
 
Do you know any lawyers? I''d ask one about this if you do. That almost sounds like fraud to me. I''d check the statute of limitations for fraud in your state and mention small claims court to them. If you ask nicely and they don''t play along, sometimes, you have to threaten them. I had a carpet layer try to weasel out of a slice in some brand new carpet that he blamed on me... grrr, but when I called him to ask him for his contact information for the court papers, he started singing a different tune. Best of luck!
 
I had concluded the same thing. The store manager is trying to get rid of me but I will go back and ask for the regional manager. It always helps to have another opinion so thanks so much for the fast replies. I AM willing to go to small claims court if thats what it takes. I wonder how many other people dont know what they really have?
 
I would fight them. Keep calling and calling, and going in there!
Eventually someone will abide by their policy!
Sterling Jewely Group...

My family pendant was made by Jared...and I have that 6 month policy warranty thing... and all it does is cover me against loss... that's why I have it checked... to make sure it's not LOOSE!

You on the other hand... we sold less than what you thought you were buying... that's completely different!
 
I think it''s a shame that you paid for something you didn''t get. But I can see it from their point, that without the regular checkups too much time has elapsed for them to remedy the problem. With checkups they would be able to verify that the stone was in the original setting, etc.
 
What form of payment did you use for your purchase? If you paid via debit card you may still have dispute rights with your bank. Under federal regulation E, you have 2 years to file a claim. The claim would be not as described. You will need to get a letter from the jeweler who unmounted the stone listing the carat weight and the original purchase reciept. Similar dispute rights exist with credit cards although I am not sure of their limitations timewise.

Susie
 
This type of dis honestly make me so ticked off that i cant even finish reading everyones post!The company should have begged your forgiveness and given you what you purchased...the cleaning warrently has nothing to do with their screw up...if the stone fell out then yes because this warrenty is against loss...but they are out right being dis- honest and i would write everything down in detail to date and then contact the manager again and demand a meeting with the district manager explaining that you have been taken advantage of...this is their fault and they need to make you whole...or you will contact a lawyer or go on telivision on Judge Judy...remind them you are not afraid to contact the local media either...AND you should be able to pick your stone for quality and it should be backed up with an appraisal....i would get a letter from the jeweler and manager showing that the stone was .29 and show the district manager that you will win in court with this info...after this is all done then contact the better business beau...if this goes to court then also contact the BBB and your states fraud devision and file a complaint so the store is investigated.
 
Quick update on my original post...its been a month and no reply from Sterling Jewelers. The store manager wont speak to me. I was given the name of the Chicago District manager who promised to call back in 24 hrs (3 weeks ago) and has not answered a single one of my calls (5). I have sent certified mail to 7 persons, starting with the President of Sterling and working my way back down to the District Manager. So much for customer service and guarantees.
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Date: 8/14/2008 8:00:42 PM
Author: AprilBaby
Quick update on my original post...its been a month and no reply from Sterling Jewelers. The store manager wont speak to me. I was given the name of the Chicago District manager who promised to call back in 24 hrs (3 weeks ago) and has not answered a single one of my calls (5). I have sent certified mail to 7 persons, starting with the President of Sterling and working my way back down to the District Manager. So much for customer service and guarantees.
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Are any of the 7 persons you've sent certified mail to in the *Better*Business*Bureau*? If not, it might be time to trot yourself to the Post Office with letter #8.
 
You mean send one to the BBB too?
 
Date: 8/14/2008 8:21:50 PM
Author: AprilBaby
You mean send one to the BBB too?
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Absolutely! And copy all of the other seven people you already sent one to showing THEM that you're sending it to the BBB.
 
Another option would be to write to the BBB and cc everyone that hasn''t responded to your original correspondence. This is SO outrageous. Good luck!
 
Oops! Deejay and I posted at the same time. Great minds and all that!
 
April, I have some names of Executives at Sterling Corporate - their assistants may be able to find someone to rectify your problem. I''m not involved with Sterling in any way shape or form - just was able to get a huge list of their executives.

Sterling Jewelers Inc. Phone: 330-668-5000

EVP and COO - William (Bill) Montalto Sr.

EVP and CFO - Robert (Bob) Trabucco

VP, Regional Operations - Perry Bignotti

VP Public Relations and Promotions - David Bouffard

VP, Merchandise Inventory Management - Joy Ehmann

If you need more names and their titles, let me know. I''m happy to help you get to anyone you need. Good luck!
 
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OMG! That is TERRIBLE! What a horrible thing to do! I can''t believe someone would try to do that! WOW! I mean a .5 to to .23?!?!?!?!

I understand perhaps an error in the grading report (thank god you kept that reciept!) by a point (which shouldln''t happen)

BUT IT''S NOT EVEN HALF OF WHAT THEY CLAIMED IT IS! WTF?!?!?!?!?!?! I''D MAKE THEM GIVE ME LARGER THAN A HALF CARAT JUST FOR THE HASSEL AND TRYING TO SCREW YOU OVER!

People like this make me boil! Stand outside and picket at their store! Tell everyone what they did to you! Take away their business! Tell the newspaper (not sure they''ll care, but you can try!)

Also, write a bad review on the yahoo yellowpages search. I know when I look up things I actually read those!

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I''m sorry this happened to you!
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April, I think you are doing a fantastic job of taking care of this, I''m so sorry they haven''t responded to ANYTHING you''ve sent them. Have you sent a letter to the BBB yet? Companies tend to respond QUICKLY when the BBB is involved. Please keep us updated!
 
Thanks Lauren for the list of names...some differ from mine so I will send more letters...DeeJay and Dogmom, I will also contact BBB...Thanks for all your helps so far!
 
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NOT ONE OF THESE LETTERS WAS ACCEPTED FROM THE USPS BY STERLING....they will try to redeliver or be sent back to me!
 
Get on the horn again....this isn't a warranty issue .... it's a freakin breach of contract...you paid for something you didn't get despite them telling you it was a .50....statute of limitations is 6 years....I'd use those words...

Call back and get the corporate contact and the top dogs brilliant suggested...
 
Final update!
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Today the VP of Customer relations at Sterling called to apologize for all I have been through and tell me the BBB contacted her about my problem. After a through investigation, I am correct (I knew that) and I could have a promotional grade .50 ct ering or pendant to make up for the loss. I didnt want promotional grade and insisted I get store credit to buy whatever I want. I went right over to the store to return my incorrect diamond and after education here nothing was looking too good. I ended up with a nice heavyweight yg .75 diamond bracelet worth (on the tag) $300 more than my trade in but they gave me an even exchange. The bracelet is cute, the diamonds are small but white, and I am happy! They DID make me sign a legal document saying I would leave them alone concerning the previous incident which I did because I will never shop there again anyways. But Three CHEERS for STERLING CORP for finally doing the right thing!
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That''s fantastic news AprilBaby! I''m so glad they finally responded to you! Now....let''s see some pics of that bracelet
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That''s fantastic news! Good job!
 
I am glad you had a good resolution, I have dealt with JBR before, but I have not had the problem you did, but since I have found PS I doubt I will ever deal with them again
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