TJC refused to repair ring without charging me, sent it back to wrong address

MrsLewis2000

I ordered a ring from TJC November 23. One of the stones fell out in May 25. I contacted TJC and I was told to return the ring and the loose stone to them.

TJC tried to charge me for a repair which I totally disagree with as according to the consumer rights act goods must "... Last a reasonable amount of time..."  In my opinion. this ring did not last a reasonable amount of time. I have loads of jewellery which I look after very carefully. Stones in well made rings shouldn't be falling out of a ring that is worn occasionally and is well looked after. 

I rejected the repair offer as I was not told I would be charged for this  (I disagree with the charge as the ring should have lasted and not required repair) I asked for the ring to be returned to me so I can arrange for a repair myself with a local jeweller that I trust and requested that my postage costs for sending the ring to TJC  be refunded. TJC agreed to this.

The postage costs I paid were not refunded in full.

The ring was returned to an address I no longer live at, 500 miles away on the other side of the country! My new address had been updated on my TJC account so there is  no excuse for this. TJC said they were investigating this with Royal Mail. 

I was offered a £5.00 voucher as a gesture of goodwill whilst they were correcting my postage refund and trying to track down my ring with Royal Mail.  I declined this voucherand advised I definitely won't be ordering from TJC again once this matter is resolved.

TJC said they would keep me up to date with their investigation with Royal Mail in trying to find out where my ring was.

After numerous emails sent by myself asking for an update resulting in multiple new ticket numbers being raised, I called this evening and had to explain the whole situation again verbally. I was told that although my new address was on their system and is the only one I can see on my online address book and despite the fact that TJC have sent recent items to my new address, apparently their system 'keeps' old addresses on their system and so my ring was sent by default to the address I was at when I placed the original order! Apparently it wasn't made clear that the ring should be sent to the new address. 

Why on earth was I expected to advise TJC to send the ring to my new address? I can't even see my old address on my TJC account, the only one there is my new and default address.

The courier accepts no responsibility for the wrong address. As far as they're concerned they sent the ring to the address that TJC told them to.

Now I am out of pocket and have no ring. Any ideas? I'm not  really in a position to travel 500 miles to a remote village to the new owner of my house who I have no contact with; I moved over a year ago.

Below is the email I received from TJC today after phoning.

Dear XXXX

As per our last telephone conversation regarding the order - XXXXX, we wanted to keep you informed that we received the item at our end on 23rd May'2025 for a repair. 

On 13th Jun'2025, we were informed to return the item without repair. On 17th Jun'2025, we sent the item back through the Royal Mail tracking: XXXX.

We understand how disappointing this experience can be. We regret any inconvenience caused, but we were not notified of an address change. As a result, the item was delivered to the original address.

Since the courier service (Royal Mail) shared a confirmation of a successful delivery, this order no more stands for a refund/replacement. 

ThumbRemote

What an absolutely appalling attitude from them. They have a duty of care towards your goods, which by sending to the wrong address they have completely failed to fulfil. 

At this stage it seems like there's no way to progress the matter further with them, so you are looking at small claims court action. This means you need to do three things:

1. Gather proof of the value of the ring. This is not the new cost, but what an equivalent second hand ring of the same age would cost. 
2. Gather proof of everything they've told you, emails, dates etc. 
3. Send them a letter before action, stating the facts as plainly as possible including your valuation of the ring. Say that if they do not pay you the value of the ring (or supply a suitable alternative) within 14 days you will take them to small claims court for the money. 

Pollycat

Shocking customer service.

I guess you were at your old address when you bought the ring.
But you did advise them of your new address because they have sent items to that address since.
There's clearly a fault within their processes that automatically returns items to the order address, not the recent one on their files.
At the very least they should acknowledge that they were in the wrong there. 

Good luck with getting them to refund.

swingaloo

Have you tried writing or calling your old address to ask them to forward the ring to you. Not ideal as its shocking customer service but its a means to getting your ring back.

The new owner of your old house may be wondering how to get it to you. Im surprised you didnt do this straight away as they may send it back to the company with 'Not at this address' written on it.

MrsLewis2000

swingaloo said:

Have you tried writing or calling your old address to ask them to forward the ring to you. Not ideal as its shocking customer service but its a means to getting your ring back.

The new owner of your old house may be wondering how to get it to you. Im surprised you didnt do this straight away as they may send it back to the company with 'Not at this address' written on it.

I've been away from that part of the country for over a year and I don't have a telephone number for the new owner. So again I've got to spend money sending a letter, paying for them to send to me etc.

It's really the principle of the matter, TJC's processes caused this error and even if I get in contact with the new owner I'll have to fork out money again to get the ring returned. Doubt they'll refund me for that postage cost either😞

What if I couldn't contact my old property, e.g. fleeing domestic abuse? Or what if the new owner denied receiving the ring😳

HampshireH

MrsLewis2000 said:

swingaloo said:

Have you tried writing or calling your old address to ask them to forward the ring to you. Not ideal as its shocking customer service but its a means to getting your ring back.

The new owner of your old house may be wondering how to get it to you. Im surprised you didnt do this straight away as they may send it back to the company with 'Not at this address' written on it.

I've been away from that part of the country for over a year and I don't have a telephone number for the new owner. So again I've got to spend money sending a letter, paying for them to send to me etc.

It's really the principle of the matter, TJC's processes caused this error and even if I get in contact with the new owner I'll have to fork out money again to get the ring returned. Doubt they'll refund me for that postage cost either😞

What if I couldn't contact my old property, e.g. fleeing domestic abuse? Or what if the new owner denied receiving the ring😳

At this point I can't believe you haven't done that if you want it back.

Whilst you say it's about principle the reality is you won't get it back if you don't.

So separate what you need to do to get it back from your complaint.

Yes the owner may deny receiving it but you won't know if you don't ask.

Your not fleeing Dv from the address unless that's something you haven't disclosed so that's a moot point in your case 

sonearandyetsofa

Small claims court, but first you must demonstrate you've done all you can to minimise your losses which absolutely will include contacting the people at that house requesting the ring. Then you itemise every cost and you claim against the jewellers.

I would recommend you send the new owners a polite letter, recorded post and stress the sentimental value of the ring. Legally the jewellers remains responsible for the location of the ring, they are the ones who engaged Royal mail to deliver it. If the new owners don't respond or say they don't have it, then the cost of a like-for-like replacement of the ring or the insurance value of it goes on the claim too.

swingaloo

MrsLewis2000 said:

swingaloo said:

Have you tried writing or calling your old address to ask them to forward the ring to you. Not ideal as its shocking customer service but its a means to getting your ring back.

The new owner of your old house may be wondering how to get it to you. Im surprised you didnt do this straight away as they may send it back to the company with 'Not at this address' written on it.

I've been away from that part of the country for over a year and I don't have a telephone number for the new owner. So again I've got to spend money sending a letter, paying for them to send to me etc.

It's really the principle of the matter, TJC's processes caused this error and even if I get in contact with the new owner I'll have to fork out money again to get the ring returned. Doubt they'll refund me for that postage cost either😞

What if I couldn't contact my old property, e.g. fleeing domestic abuse? Or what if the new owner denied receiving the ring😳

But you can contact the old property and why assume the new owner will deny having the ring. They may want to contact you to let you know they have it.

Its all very well  going on about principles but if it is not worth a fiver to try your old address the ring must not hold much value for you so why not just avoid the stress and let it go.

savergrant

How much did the ring cost? A reasonable time is open to interpretation but the cost price will be a factor.
Secondly what paperwork did you send with the ring?

lincroft1710

What is the secondhand value of a ring with a stone that has fallen out? Because if you tried suing TJC, that is all you could claim for and it is well known that jewellery has a very high mark up. So for a faulty secondhand ring you will not be looking at a lot of money.


Forget "principles", they don't get results! As others have said, try contacting the new owners of your old address.

TELLIT01

If the OP wants their money or the ring back, they are going to have to be more pro-active.  A second class stamp costs less than a £1.  The most likely response from the old address is going to be that they returned it to TJC as 'Not known at this address'.  Nobody can disprove that.  At least with that statement, if received, the ball remains firmly in TJCs court.