Damaged Wedding Ring

petesales

Hi

I have been doing a little research into a problem my wife and I have but hopefully someone can clarify the situation for us.

We bought a wedding ring on November 5th 2011 from an independent jewellers in Bristol. The ring cost £485. On 27th of December one of the 4 clasps/claw holding the emerald in place has broken. My wife is absolutely positive she hasn't ever caught it because she has been extremely careful with it - £485 is a lot of money for us.

We took it back to the jewellers today (the shop was closed over Christmas and my wife was away) which is 2 months after it was purchased. The jeweller was not particularly cooperative and said he could attempt to repair it but we would have to pay costs and there is also the possibility that the emerald could break thus considerably devaluing the value of the ring.

I then phoned him later after checking out a few websites saying we did not feel that was adequate and he then said he would cover the repair costs but again warned that if the emerald was damaged he would accept no liability. He claims that my wife must have caught it on her jumper, and although he did tell us to be careful with it when we bought it he did not say we had to be careful to the extent of not wearing tight jumpers etc.

We don't have insurance and are a little concerned with the whole situation.

I would be very very grateful for any advice. I paid for the card on a debit card not credit card unfortunately.

Thanks again for taking the time to read,

Pete

BlueAngelCV

The ring should be fit for purpose. Whilst you should be careful with it this does not extend to not wearing tight jumpers! As the fault has occurred within 6 months it is for the jeweller to prove that the fault is not inherent and it seems unlikely that he could do so (and he doesn't seem inclined to try).
If he breaks the emerald whilst trying to fix the ring then he is certainly liable for it whatever he says.

petesales

Thank you for your reply. Do you have any advice on what our next step should be? Should we bring in any particular paper work because last we spoke to him he was extremely uncooperative.

Thank you again,

Pete

wealdroam

Have you read MSE's Consumer Rights article?

fluffnutter

petesales wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. Do you have any advice on what our next step should be? Should we bring in any particular paper work because last we spoke to him he was extremely uncooperative.

Thank you again,

Pete

Go back to the jeweller and explain that the SOGA stipulates that any fault that develops in the first six months is deemed inherent and it's up to the retailer to prove otherwise. Ask him to fulfil his legal obligations and offer you a refund, repair or replacement, unless he can prove that the damage was caused by misuse.

Here's a useful link on the SOGA.

You can also find the legislation here but it makes for dull reading.

You won't need any paperwork (other than proof of purchase).

Hintza

I always thought a wedding was meant to be a gold band, must be getting old.

petesales

Thank you very much. This helps us immensly.

- Pete