Faulty Engagement Ring

SLYONE

Hello everyone - this is my first post. I am having a nightmare over an engagement ring and I now have to either go to the small claims court or move on with my life because this problem is causing me too much upset and life is too short.

1) Purchased engagement ring on 5 April 2010. Collected ring from shop on 19 July 2010.
2) 22 July 2010 I noticed the shoulder of the ring had come away from the setting and there was a large gap.....this was the day before my engagement party (no ring for party).
3) Ring was returned and fixed in order for me to have it for my wedding day (soldered ring on wedding day).
4) Repair was awful and they agreed to give me a new ring.
5) Fast forward to 26 March 2013 after a days shopping I realised that the shoulder had again come away from the setting (on the same side) but as I had been carrying shopping bags it had become damaged and a diamond was missing.
6) Returned to store, assessment form completed.
7) They have since told me they believe I had banged the ring, there was an obvious impact mark and they will not give me the money back for it (none of this is on the assessment form which was completed along with their manager and I signed in store). This is simply not true and I would never have signed the form if they had written that on it.

I have spent almost 2 years writing back and forth to try and get a solution but they are refusing to give me a refund. I have followed all the procedures when writing to them and I have an independent jewellers report stating they believe the ring has a poor joint and the reasons why.

I know in my heart of hearts I have done nothing wrong but I also know life is not fair and if I go down the legal route I could lose the case.

There are more details I could add but don't want to make this post too long. If anyone has experienced a similar problem then I would appreciate knowing if the small claims court worked in your favour. Any help or advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

TBagpuss

When did you get the new ring? It sounds as though you had it for 3 years between them replacing it and the break/damage in 2013.

When the seller said that the ring was damaged by a knock, did they produce any evidence, such as photos, showing the alleged impact mark?

The fact that you have a report from an independent jeweller is of course a positive one, but it means that a Judge would be deciding in effect whether s/he thought that your expert or the company's was correct.

I think the difficulty is then that a judge also has to decide whether the ring was inherently faulty, or whether it is simply a fragile design and that

How much is your claim worth? I assume that this would be the cost of replacing the lost diamond and repairing the ring, or alternatively returning the ring to the original seller and receiveing a refund.

ajb69

May or may not be of any use, but when I had a similar problem I went to Goldsmith's Hall Assay Office and they gave me a report on the quality of the ring - not just regarding the quality of the metal, but its manufacturing (which was the problem). The jeweller then immediately replaced it once i showed them the report, plus gave me - unasked for! - compensation: a complete turnaround from their previous attitude of "you caused the damage by knocking it".

This was several years ago now, so no idea if they still do it, but it's probably going to be a more definitive report than A.N.Other Jeweller. Think it was free too (but memory is fuzzy..). They don't just do gold, they also do silver, platinum etc, and *think* you can send stuff by post/courier - with appropriate insurance! - if not near London.

http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/welcome-to-the-assay-office/

Cheers

Drew

SLYONE

TBagpuss wrote: »

When did you get the new ring? It sounds as though you had it for 3 years between them replacing it and the break/damage in 2013.

When the seller said that the ring was damaged by a knock, did they produce any evidence, such as photos, showing the alleged impact mark?

The fact that you have a report from an independent jeweller is of course a positive one, but it means that a Judge would be deciding in effect whether s/he thought that your expert or the company's was correct.

I think the difficulty is then that a judge also has to decide whether the ring was inherently faulty, or whether it is simply a fragile design and that

How much is your claim worth? I assume that this would be the cost of replacing the lost diamond and repairing the ring, or alternatively returning the ring to the original seller and receiveing a refund.

I got the new ring in Oct 2010 and the damage happened in March 2013. Consumer Advice said an engagement ring should not be left in a box but should be worn on a daily basis - so its not really fit for purpose. They have not shown me any pictures but its not mentioned on the assessement form because there was not any impact mark - if this happened after I handed it over to the manager then that is a different story. Independent report also doesn't mention an impact mark. I bought it for 1,650 pounds and its been sat in its box for the last 2 years. The manager told me they no longer sell this ring but said maybe it was not very popular however, the ring is being advertised on television on a regular basis (which also adds salt to my wound)!

SLYONE

TBagpuss wrote: »

When did you get the new ring? It sounds as though you had it for 3 years between them replacing it and the break/damage in 2013.

When the seller said that the ring was damaged by a knock, did they produce any evidence, such as photos, showing the alleged impact mark?

The fact that you have a report from an independent jeweller is of course a positive one, but it means that a Judge would be deciding in effect whether s/he thought that your expert or the company's was correct.

I think the difficulty is then that a judge also has to decide whether the ring was inherently faulty, or whether it is simply a fragile design and that

How much is your claim worth? I assume that this would be the cost of replacing the lost diamond and repairing the ring, or alternatively returning the ring to the original seller and receiveing a refund.

Drew[/QUOTE]
Hello Drew thanks for the reply. I would have gone to these people if I had known about them sooner. My problem is I live in Germany and the ring was purchased in England. Its currently at my mother-in-laws house and they took it to a jewellers for me for the assessment. He said that in his professional opinion the ring shank that is attached to the heat has a poor joint. He believes the joint has been lasered, not soldered and consequently it is only the outer rimb of the joint that is keeping the shank attached to the head. He also said that the solder has not run through the joint making it brittle so any movement would result in breakage. The company concerned know all this but they just say take us to court then.