Unreasonable charge - not quote provided beforehand despite requested.

Jirmette1

Is anyone able to advise me please?

Last year I needed to have my engagement ring repaired as had knocked one of the claws which was making the stone vulnerable, I knew the jeweller that I used so there was a fair bit of conversation around this.

They were aware that I wanted to have the metal part of the ring remade (reshanked) at some point in the future, but during this email thread I...

• Specifically stated that whilst I wanted the ring reshanked, I was not in a position to pay for it at the moment so asked them not to do that at this point.
  
• I asked for a quote to repair the broken claw so that the diamond was safe again and wearable.

I sent the ring off for them to look at, it took a while but I appreciated they were busy as this was summer / wedding season. When I next heard from them they contacted me with a bill for £460 saying the ring was ready.

When I queried this, I was told that the claw wasn't repairable so the remake had to be done, this was not discussed with me beforehand.

We decided to just pay this as we'd had good relations with them in the past and had intended to have it done at some point.

In December of last year I asked them to quote to resize my wedding ring, I didn't want the ring cut but was aware they can heat & stretch wedding rings.

No quote was provided.

I was invited to send the ring off to them, which I did, expecting some communications / a quote.

The ring was sent back to me a couple of weeks later with a bill for £97.

Being rather shocked at this amount, I emailed to challenge it and was told that it was a big job at a busy time.

There was no quote, no discussion and I hadn't agreed to this work being done at this amount, which I think is unreasonable.

Now that they have done this to us twice, we're not happy and I don't wish to pay £97 for work that I had (rightly or wrongly) assumed would cost in the region of £35-40!

Please can anyone advise me of how to handle this and if I have to pay this amount to them. It seems incredibly unfair and unethical to me to carry out work without quoting or agreeing a price range beforehand.

Thank you

nannytone_2

you sent them the ring without them giving you a price?

Jirmette1

nannytone wrote: »

you sent them the ring without them giving you a price?

Yes, to see the ring to enable a quote. Jewellers need to see a piece of jewellery to understand what is needed.

RoonilWazlib_2

You would greatly strengthen your position if you could get evidence that what they have charged is not reasonable - assuming that's the case.

Quotes from other jewellers (multiple if possible - 3 is good) to show what might be a fair/reasonable price for that work could be good evidence that they are overcharging.

If £97 is about right it's going to be difficult - you could argue breach of contract - Ie that the agreement was for them to quote only and not to actually carry out, however you would have the onus to prove it (and it sounds like it was verbal?)

Jirmette1

RoonilWazlib wrote: »

You would greatly strengthen your position if you could get evidence that what they have charged is not reasonable - assuming that's the case.

Quotes from other jewellers (multiple if possible - 3 is good) to show what might be a fair/reasonable price for that work could be good evidence that they are overcharging.

If £97 is about right it's going to be difficult - you could argue breach of contract - Ie that the agreement was for them to quote only and not to actually carry out, however you would have the onus to prove it (and it sounds like it was verbal?)

Thank you, I hadn't considered getting other quotes, that's really helpful.

No it was all via email, so I have a trail of proof

agrinnall

I have to wonder why you used a jeweller again who had already done an unauthorised repair.

Jirmette1

agrinnall wrote: »

I have to wonder why you used a jeweller again who had already done an unauthorised repair.

Jirmette1 wrote: »

We decided to just pay this as we'd had good relations with them in the past and had intended to have it done at some point.

I really appreciate people helping, but if you're just posting to criticise me, please don't, it's not helpful or kind. Thank you.

DoaM

The part you highlight was the first unauthorised repair. The question was ... since they'd already done it once, why did you use them again? (After all, the relations couldn't have been so good after that).

Getting other quotes is the best advice - that'll at least give you an idea as to the general pricing for that work.