Problem with 2 week wedding ring.

themilkman23

Afternoon all, just after a friendly bit of advice please.

We bought our wedding rings from a company that came out to our house to show us samples (don't want to name and shame yet). We picked our rings decided sizes and engraving and then paid for them via direct debit over 6 months.

Once the 6 months were up and the rings were all paid for the rings were then sent out to us and looked lovely and just what we wanted. We did received the rings 2 months before the date of the wedding which took place on 17th July 2010. There can't be any arguments over the amount of time that the ring was worn as the wedding date was engraved on the ring!

The ring I selected I had made out of palladium as that is what the salesman recommended to me as being a network engineer I am quite hands on and he said that it was so strong it is almost impossible to mark and comparable to titanium. So I went for that.

So wedding took place, started wearing the ring and went on honeymoon. Whilst away I could notice the ring picking up quite a few scuffs and scratches but thought because it's on the hand it is obviously going to pick up a few marks and resigned myself to accepting this, even though my wife's white gold band was still mint.

We returned home from the honeymoon and looked at the ring and there were now three big dents missing from the ring. These were hugely noticeable and you could run your nail over them and feel it. So I contacted the company who asked me to send the ring back to them Special Delivery which I did.

The company received the ring back and eventually contacted me back to say that the ring has been tested and is definitely palladium and that all metals scratch so they were going to laser the marks out and send it back to me. I advised them that I had accepted the scratches on the ring but was worried that it had picked up so many AND the fact that there were three chunks of the ring missing. This coupled with the fact that if that was what it was like after 2 weeks of a relaxing honeymoon I am worried what it will be like after even a year of wear.

I was told that something must have happened to the ring, to which I countered by saying that I could take a picture of my hand and send it to them because the only mark on there is the white mark where the ring was. So it's not like my hand has suffered a major impact like having it caught in a door or anything. So they offered to remake the ring and send it out again.

I advised them that I had looked into the properties of palladium and it seems that the salesman not only put a slant on the truth but completely exaggerated it's strength as it is nowhere near as strong as titanium. The company advised that the salesmen are told the properties and they just pass this information on.

At this point he went straight into talking about how a ring is obviously worn on the hand no if I did contact any consumer groups they would obviously agree with them and I would have no ground to stand on. I returned by saying that if I had come to them after a year of wearing the ring I could understand them taking this stance, but not after 2 weeks after all I felt like I had been mis sold on the ring promising it's strength and also if I buy something I expect it to be fit for purpose and not in the state it is in after 2 weeks!

So I asked what my options were and was told if I wanted a titanium ring from them (as this is the strongest metal they supply) they would refund me 75% of the value of the ring that I had bought but they only stocked one style of titanium rings. Or if I didn't like that style I could have a refund but this would only be for 50% of what I paid originally.

I then closed the call by asking them to send me a quote for a titanium ring which he said he would do but one day later I still have not received anything even though I chased him this morning for it.

So just wondering what my 'rights' are regarding this due to it being engraved and because it's a ring that is intended to be worn on the finger which means it's 'exposed' to damage?

Bottom line is that I do not want a palladium ring because it seems a soft metal. but even if I do get a titanium ring from them I will lose 25% of my money and if I don't like the one style they do and want to go elsewhere I will lose 50%

Don't know what to do at the moment just want to be able to wear my wedding ring and not get robbed by this company.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post!

fluffnutter

Hmm, I've just googled palladium. Although it has many qualities that mean it's good to use as jewellery (it doesn't tarnish, oxidise or lose its sheen) it does seem to be quite soft. Here's just one extract from wikipedia. "Palladium is a soft silver-white metal that resembles platinum. It is the least dense and has the lowest melting point of the platinum group metals."

Despite this, the myriad of sites selling palladium jewellery suggests that it's becoming a very popular alternative to platinum. The problem with buying a ring made of something not previously commonly used is that there's not much to go on. At least we know what happens to gold, platinum, silver etc: people have been wearing jewellery made out of these for millennia.

I don't know what to suggest. If it's pure palladium (and not been weakened in some way due to its manufacture or combining with another material) I don't think you're going to be able to argue that the ring wasn't fit for purpose. You could continue to try but I think you're going to have to go for a different metal (and take the hit financially).

themilkman23

fluffnutter wrote: »

I don't know what to suggest. If it's pure palladium (and not been weakened in some way due to its manufacture or combining with another material) I don't think you're going to be able to argue that the ring wasn't fit for purpose. You could continue to try but I think you're going to have to go for a different metal (and take the hit financially).

Thanks for that, would this be case even though the properties of palladium were greatly exaggerated by the salesman? If he had said that it is a soft metal I wouldn't have gone for it in the first place. Especially after he is mentioning it in the same sentence as titanium which is regarded as a strong metal.

iamana1ias

Do you never do your own research? Do you always accept what salesmen tell you?

themilkman23

iamana1ias wrote: »

Do you never do your own research? Do you always accept what salesmen tell you?

Having never worn any type of jewellery apart from a watch I did a little. And if you have a look at the properties of palladium some websites say it is as strong as gold whereas others (as quoted) say that it is a soft metal.

Equally should the onus be on the buyer to do complete research which means that the salesman/company can say whatever they want to get a sale and have no responsibility there after?

Equaliser123

One of the key problems you will have is proof. What the salesman said and what he didn't say are open to debate and interpretation.

My wedding ring is platinum and even though I do not have a manual job it gets covered in scratches. However, a quick polish and it is as good as new.

iamana1ias

themilkman23 wrote: »

Having never worn any type of jewellery apart from a watch I did a little. And if you have a look at the properties of palladium some websites say it is as strong as gold whereas others (as quoted) say that it is a soft metal.

Gold is a notoriously soft metal :rotfl:

themilkman23 wrote: »

Equally should the onus be on the buyer to do complete research which means that the salesman/company can say whatever they want to get a sale and have no responsibility there after?

Would you buy a car on the basis of what the salesman tells you?

cyberbob

iamana1ias wrote: »

Gold is a notoriously soft metal :rotfl:

My wedding ring is 18 carat white gold and and it just gets general scuffs and marks. A polish now and then and its as good as new. Pure gold is incredibly Soft 18ct is stronger as are the lower carats.

iamana1ias

cyberbob wrote: »

My wedding ring is 18 carat white gold and and it just gets general scuffs and marks. A polish now and then and its as good as new. Pure gold is incredibly Soft 18ct is stronger as are the lower carats.

And 9 carat gold is harder again, but less pure. It's the addition of other metals that provides the strength. Gold, as a metal and an element is a very soft material.

All of my jewellery is platinum. It gets scuffed, but all of the original platinum remains. It can be polished back to perfect again (whereas other metals can lose volume through scratches).

Chimpofdoom

Well I spent some time this evening trying to find notes on the tensile strength of Palladium.. couldn't find any, which probably means it's not used in anything that requires strength!

Googling has turned up the same information that everyone has posted, so nothing new to report.

My next step would be to ask another jeweller to see what their advice is (not on the legal aspect) but Palladium versus Titanium, then you could ask them to check out your ring, it might cost you, but it could be worth another opinion.

Freddie_Snowbits

My wife, the Current Freda, has had a problem with her wedding ring for 23 years.

It gives her a headache!