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My issue is with my wife's wedding ring that was created in the custom jewelry department at the Wegmans Plaza store. Due to the number of issues with the ring, the number of times the store has tried to correct it, and the irreparable damage caused to the ring by Jared's service department, I am planning to return the ring to the store and demand a full refund of the purchase price of this ring. I will explain in detail the reasons behind this below:
Background:
I purchased a platinum custom ring on 7/18/2006, at a charge of $2, 160. The Extended Service Plan was purchased for this ring at the same time for $149.99. The ring was using heirloom diamonds (ten round cut diamonds, approx. 1ctw), given to my wife by her grandmother. It was her family's wish to use those stones in her wedding band. The ring was to be ready for pick up just before my wedding date - I took delivery of the ring on 8/30/2006, and our wedding was the next day, 9/1/2006. I knew the ring wasn't quite right when I picked it up initially, but with the wedding the next day, there was no time for any repair of the custom ring. This led my wife and I to return to the store on 9/2/2006 to speak with the custom ring shop to fix some initial issues we had with the ring. These initial issues included:
- The ring was not symmetrical. The ring was not circular inside or out, and looked off balance, with one side of the ring thicker and wider than the other. To be plain, the ring was not round. This issue can still be seen on the ring as it is today.
- The ten diamonds were not placed in any real order, and the amount of metal around the stones was not even, giving the ring a 'thrown together' look. This also caused future problems.
First Repair: September 2006
To resolve the issues, the only thing the shop would do was machine out the inside of the ring to make it rounder. I asked that the ring be remade due to how assymetrical it looked, but the store refused. They machined the inside of the ring and also cleaned up some of the metal around the stones, but the ring still looked off. We took delivery of the ring back on 9/7/2006. We really weren't that happy with the ring, but the store said they couldn't do anything more to fix it.
Second Repair: January 2008
A little more than a year later, one of the stones fell out. When we took it back to the store in early January 2008, we found out that all the stones but one were very loose. When we spoke to the store manager regarding the construction of the ring, he immediately put us on the defensive and insisted it was our fault, as I had a ring designed that wasn't very secure. To be clear, I had never seen a wax mold of the ring when it was constructed, and was never offered the opportunity to. The design of the ring was suggested by the staff at the store when I purchased it in July of 2006. Now, they say, this ring should never have been made with such a design using heirloom diamonds, contradicting their own in-house designer. Regardless, the store needed to correct the situation.
I again requested that the ring be remade - melted down and recast, but they refused a second time. They took the ring, reset all of the stones, and added a bit of metal in between each stone for additional security.
Keep in mind this is the same store that created the ring in the first place. We picked up the ring around January 17, 2008, and were happier with the way the ring looked, although still not perfect.
Problem Today:
Sometime within the last two months, my wife noticed something odd with herplatinum custom wedding band, repaired twice by the Wegmans Plaza store. The additional metal that was added in between the diamonds on the band was beginning to tarnish. After looking at it more and more over the next few weeks, we have come to realize the extra metal that was added to our platinum band was in fact white gold. Not only is the ring now contaminated, which ruins the integrity of the platinum band, to add insult to injury, another stone fell out.
This is completely unacceptable. After some investigation, we found out there are no seats in the prongs for the stones, nothing is symmetrical, and now of the remaining 9 stones, 4-5 are loose, 2 are very loose, and the last two seem to be still OK. The Wegmans Plaza store is the only place the ring has ever been serviced. After the store has had the chance to fix the ring twice, they only succeeded in contaminating the ring as well as losing two of my wife's grandmother's diamonds, which cannot be replaced.
This ring is beyond repair at this point, and I am requesting that I return the ring, have the store return my remaining diamonds, and refund the full purchase price of the ring ($2, 160) as well as the Extended Service Plan sold with the ring ($150). As a repeat customer, and due to the nature of the issues, I expect that my refund be granted.
We called Jared Customer Service on Monday Feb 2, 2009 to raise our issues with a service reprensentative. We spoke with a Joe at extension 6379. After explaining the situation and the irreparable damage done to the ring caused by your store, he blatantly refused the possibility of any refund, and refused to let us speak to a manager. This obviously is not acceptable and need to escalate the matter further.
Hi,
I was able to get a refund, including my extended warranty.
Get all reciepts together, including any repair receipts. They do have them at the store if you need a print out. Make sure you visit the custom counter too because for some reason they had additional information.
First call the 800 to register your complaint, that way you have the 1st word. 2nd find out who the district manager is. The managers are the stores are not going to be helpful at all. Call the district manager (after you call customer service, get the name of the person you talked too). 3rd email your story/complaint to everyone that you can think of to get some attention. We emailed the Responsible Jewelers Association, BBB, the CEO of Sterling, some other peeps at Sterling Inc that were higher ups. I kept sending the same email with to the same people (CEO, etc) until I got a repsonse. It only took a few days of the emails before someone at corporate contacted us. Then we had to bring the ring into the store so they could verify what we were complaining about. Do not leave the ring with them. They can take pictures. Tell them they only way you will br satisfied is with a refund. I am sure Jared's lost your trust and confidence to repair the ring. Get your money back and take your business else where. Do not settle, fight to get a refund. Go to the news stations if you have too. Good Luck.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
So they shipped a ring ii specifically designed. its on its way back to the original place and they wont let me get the ring. instead i have to get a refund and pay for it again and have one made. whats the point of all that... jeezzz. need before christmas and of course always something.
Sorry, I do not know why my post has weird characters and numbers where the apostrophes and quotation marks are
I'm now in the process of trying to get my money back for my custom ring. I posted my story back in May 2009. They reworked the original ring and it actually looked decent, though I noticed it was perfect, they added a tiny bit of gold and buffed out the "knife cut" design. I accepted it since it looked a lot better, but the gold annoyed me a bit. Anyways, earlier this year I went in for the 6 month inspection and they said one of the stones was loose so they took it in tighten them. When I got it back everything seemed fine until I got home and looked at my ring in more natural light. They added MORE gold and this time it was very noticeable! They didn't even use white gold, it is yellow gold! I get so aggrivated when I look down at it and see yellow on my platinum. I'm going back and forth with customer service. They had me go back to the store and have the asst manager look at the ring to confirm gold was there, and he did, so now customer service is saying the district repair manager will need to see it and from there, he will decide how it can be reworked. Customer service is telling me custom jewelry cannot be returned, but I'm going to keep trying. It's just annoying...wish me luck
Sterling, Inc. alias Jared's is a horrible company. They are dishonest and their record keeping is erroneous and illegal. This company exhibits low ethics when it comes to consumer complaints, and assistance from an outside agency is needed in most if not all instances.
In addition to filing your complaint on the Complaints Board, and the Better Business Bureau of Akron. 222 West Market Street, Akron, OH 44303, file a complaint on [redacted], and your complaint may qualify for an investigation from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
However you decide to proceed - document, document, document, and do not speak to these people via phone - only via correspondence. Your correspondence is your proof that you have actively attempted to resolve your matter.
Lastly, tell your friends, co-workers, etc. about your experience with this company. Word of mouth is the best advertisement.
One of the main problems with Jared alias Sterling, Inc. is that they attempt to represent themselves as two different companies. In some cases, they try a method I like to call "double-dipping" where they place two different items on a consumer's credit report.
Another activity that Jared aka Sterling, Inc. does is report fraudently and incorrectly. In a statement from a Sterling Inc./Jared representative, "As a service to all of our customers, we reduce all reported delinquencies by a full 30 days..." This is false reporting, and Jared/Sterling, Inc. consistently does not report correctly to the credit bureaus. The result is that from them making their 'own rules' about reporting, they often times do not report the 1st date of deliquency and insert the date that they either reported the debt as a charge-off or closed the account, etc. Once again, that is false reporting.
File complaints against this company to the Better Business Bureaus of Akron. 222 West Market Street, Akron, OH 44303 and if you are a Maryland resident also report to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, 500 N. Calvert Street, Suite 402 Baltimore, MD [protected].
Remember, it only takes 3 people to file a Class Action Law Suit.
Hello.
I was able to get my money back on a customized ring as well. They do refund, but you have to keep pushing. A store manager will not help you, nor will a district manager. You need to go higher, and believe me you can reach them and they will listen(you will however have to go through them on the way up the ladder). No need to get nasty, just by saying "you aren't helping me, I want to talk to somebody who can" will most likely get you to the next person up the ladder. The link to the BBB website on the jared.com website will give you all the names of the higher ups you will need and calling the 1-800 number will most likely get you transferred to them or at least an email address to reach them. Talking to a store manager or a district manager is a waste of time, they do not have the authority to "bend" or "brake" that kind of policies. SO I'm talking to you. I know you might feel confused of like giving up your hard earned money because it is such a hassle, but you just need to talk to the right person and your refund will be authorized that same day. You can get your refund, even if you are over your warranty.
Express how upset you are (exaggerating helps), and how you will not be satisfied until you get your refund you will get it(no need to threaten with court or going to local news channels although you could use it with upper management if it really comes to that). Upper management doesn't really want to be bothered by this, so they do not tend to give you a fight at all. Don't give up, don't negotiate, you are going there to return an item, nothing else. Yes, you can do it, and you will. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Jared's has been my jeweler for the past 5+ years. We make purchases several times a year, and have all our jewelry work done there. THAT IS CHANGING TODAY! Upon trying to rectify a situation I have contacted customer relations of Sterling Inc. (the parent company). Upon dealing with these people, they do not care about their customers, nor do they care if they lose business. I was told on 4 different occasions at 2 different locations, that as long as I kept the receipt, an exchange could be made on a promise ring that would no longer be given to the intended recipient. Upon attempting to make the exchange, Their computer system would not allow it without an override number. The branch headquarter refused to authorize the exchange. They did this knowing that their employees had assured us that an exchange would be no problem as long as we kept the receipt. Over a $300 dollar ring, they are willing to lose thousands of dollars in sales. This is simply poor business practice. Their dishonesty will ultimately come back to bite them. Please note, Jared's is only one of the daughter companies. Kay Jeweler, sterling and several others all have the same contact for any problems you may have which ultimately will not be resolved. I encourage any one considering a Jewelry purchase to do your homework, use a locally owned jeweler or one of Jared's competitors like Zales. DO NOT TRUST WHAT WHAT THE EMPLOYEES TELL YOU! JARED'S, KAY'S, STERLING, AND SIGNET JEWELRY DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR WORD OR MERCHANDISE!
Oh man I am so frustrated at the Jared's place, and called their customer service line.
I brought it in Sunday right around closing to get resized, the repair guy had left for the day and so they would have it back Monday after two pm for $27, not bad. The little sales lady looked at it in the microscope and commented on how it was a really nice diamond. The manager (no GIA cert) roughly appraised it for $6700. Nigel and I still need to get it independently appraised, but I wanted to wear the ###ing thing without yarn on my hand.
Some saleslady calls on Monday and says that the repair guy looked over the whole thing and saw some problem with the diamond not being totally set straight (it wasn't too bad to my naked eye) and they were worried about the baguettes possibly coming loose if they resized it. I said, "Can't you just resize the ring and I'll bring it back later to deal with the prongs and the setting". She said no, it would take them like a week to fix it. I said I want it back faster than that, I just got the damn thing and that seems like a stupid long time to fix a damn prong that could be done in one afternoon. She said, we'll need to make those corrections with the prongs and setting to do the sizing, and it will be $168 instead of $27 for the re-alignment. That's not a huge price, so I give her the go-ahead.
I get there today on Friday and talk with a different sales lady who goes and gets my ring. The 6.25 fits fine, but I take a look at the diamond and it is not straight *At ALL* now, one side of the emerald cut almost looks like it is at a 10% angle higher than the other side, and it looks visibly like the prongs have been messed with - it looks WAY worse than when I gave it to them. Also looking quickly at the diamond, it looked like the base wasn't straight, it hadn't been cleaned, and looking at it straight on from the table just wasn't the same - maybe because the angle wasn't right now. I tell the sales lady that this is NOT the condition that I gave them the ring, both she and I can see that it is hugely crooked, and how could the repair guy even try to give a customer back this ring in this condition? I mean, it almost looks like someone opened the ring up, took out the 1 carat diamond that the girl said "oooh, this is a nice diamond" and put something else in there that doesn't totally fit right, and tried to pawn it off.
I am so frustrated right now I don't even know what else to do. Their head repair man will be in tomorrow afternoon after 12, and I almost think both Nigel and I should go in there, and I would be willing to stir up a show of tears and rapture. I just don't know what to do now, and who you can trust to even get an independent appraisal. I mean, what if they are all in cahoots, and the manager appraised it for less than it was worth with the intention of taking a really good diamond? A week for a prong repair seems very fishy, even if they have a long line of repairs.
I also don't really trust their store appraiser who comes once a month for 'insurance appraisals' but I can't find anyone in NOVA who is a certified gemologist that is unaffiliated that will charge either a flat rate, or per time that it takes them to analyze the stone. This guy at Jared's wanted to charge based on how valuable the item is, which would give him every reason to over-inflate the value to make more money for him and my insurance premiums.
I am just so frustrated now. Someone help. I mean, everything that I am reading online says that it generally isn't even worth "switching out" most diamonds unless they are really valuable. But the girl saying "this is a really nice diamond" and them taking a week and now the prongs being sideways and the diamond not looking like it should all make me overly suspicious. What else can I do or what legal recourse do I have? All I wanted was a size 6.25, and you would hope that a place like Jared's would be a reputable business. It just disgusts me that they would even try to hand me back something in that condition.
And then the sales lady tried to offer me a cappuccino. I almost looked at her like I wanted to throw her out a window.
Jared's is the worst place to buy any jewelry. They sold me and my husband a pair of lever-back diamond earring. When I got the earring home, the spring on one of the earring was too tight. When I went to put the earring on - it immediately spring back. I cannot put this earring on.
I took the earring back three time for repair. Each time - they said that they made the repairs and that if I was not satisfied, I could bring back the earring and exchange them.
I took the earring back today - for the fourth time. They still did not repair them and now they are going back on their word to exchange the defective product.
I even called their so-called Customer Relations line. All you get when someone answers the phone is a scripted conversation. They will not honor their exchange and claim that no one in their company - including executives can do an exchange.
This is absolutely ridiculous! I
Jared - the House of Crap. "I got it at Jared" ... Translation I got screwed at Jareds.
Don't shop at Jared.
Customer Service ? They haven't any! Complete Satisfaction (as on their guarantee) ... translates into completed DISSATISFACTION!
I will tell everyone that I know and will broadcast in as many areas that I can - that Jared's is not the place to buy ANY kind of jewelry. They do not stand behind their product. They just want your money - and will tell you anything to make you think they are customer oriented.
Spend you hard earned money elsewhere - anywhere but a Sterling's owned business - Jared.
heres a photo
I am not satisfied with my custom ring either! I fell in love with a Scott Kay design--but the price for it in platinum was out of our budget. The Jared associate said they could make the exact ring for me in platinum for 1/2 the price. We went back twice to make sure that's what we wanted to do, then finally gave the okay. I got the ring a month later (this past Friday). At first I was SO excited when my fiance brought it home, then within a few seconds I noticed all these little details that were all wrong. The prongs aren't symmetrical and their surfaces are lumpy (it looks like they tried readjusting one side so the side diamond fits--but it throws the whole design off), the diamonds aren't evenly set, there are marks in the metal and the whole head of the setting tilts more to one side. I started to panic--I spent all this money for it to be the exact same ring design, just without the brand name and it looks like crap. I took it back to the store that same day. The associate look me over to the jeweler that does the services. I told him all the flaws as he looked at it, then he just gave it back to me, said okay and went back to what he was doing. I was stunned--how rude! The sales associate was kind of confused as well and asked him if I should get it serviced--he answered her yes. She said that I should bring it back on Wednesday when there are more then one jeweler there. So she told me to hang onto it over the weekend and bring it back--and they would be able to fix it on Wednesday--it would be ready same day. But since there is so much that is wrong with it, I think it will need to be recasted. They didn't even bring out the Scott Kay ring they had because I think then knew if they compared them side by side it would make their craftmanship look even worse. I dont' know why the sale associates even looked at it under the scope--because you can clearly see it with your eyes. My family and friends all noticed the flaws as well. I'm so disappointed, this ring is supposed to be a symbol for us and its all lumpy.
I can't believe that other people have had the same problems with custom work! I got a beautiful promise ring from my then-boyfriend, and I absolutely love it. So when the time came to custom design an engagement ring, Jared's was the first name that popped into our heads, for sentimental reasons and practical. It turns out that the 'craftsmanship' that we loved about Jared's is only for ready-made pieces. We ordered a white gold band and bought four little diamonds, .1. We had the store replace the head of the ring to fit my 1 carat sapphire and put the diamonds in. When I went to pick it up, all the diamonds were crooked. Even after looking at them under the microscope, the sales woman had the nerve to tell me they were fine. I finally called for another sales person who took one look with her naked eye and said, "wow, those are crooked!" So they agreed to fix their defective craftsmanship, and I was to pick it up the next day. I went in to pick it up, and not only was one of the diamonds still extremely crooked, but there was a visible gouge in the gold AND there is no "14K" stamp on the band. I didn't notice if it was there before, but I am assuming not. They had the nerve to tell me that it was a custom job, and no custom ring will ever be perfect. We are still in the process of trying to sort it out, almost two weeks since ordering it. They take no returns on custom work so we may have to take the loss, even though their work is what is at issue. I will never buy another piece of jewelry from there as long as I live! Buyer Beware! I had another jeweler look at it and it is going to cost several hundred dollars to fix it, and they noticed scratches on the prongs as well. Let me know if either of you were able to sort out your problems with them! I am SO upset.
I am also so fed up with Jareds! My husband purchased a $5, 000 wedding band from Jareds for me when they were selling the Hearts on Fire brand. The center stone chipped and when I took it in, they said it would be 2 months before I would get the ring back.
Now it's 2 months later and I still don't have the ring. I called the Store and had to leave a message and 3 days later I got a return call stating it would not be another month and a half before I would see my wedding band again!
What have they been doing with my ring for 2 months and need another month and a half!
I called the corporate location where I spoke with Lorie in Customer Relations (what a joke!) and she said all she could do is call the Diamond Dept where it's been for 2 months now and call me back tomorrow.
When I asked to speak with a manager, she said that they do not escalate calls to supervisors and she was it!
I was furious...if I don't get a response tomorrow, I am going to find a # to the CEO of Jareds!
I am also fed up with Jarde's after my experiences with them. As my husband likes to say now..."It used to be, "He went to Jared's!' and now it's, "UGH, he went to Jared's?' "
My husband bought me a 2 carat clustered diamond ring with the warranty. It was to celebrate our 10 yr Anniversary. It took some time to pay it off but we did it!
I got it for Christmas and all seemed well! It was custom made in yellow gold as I requested.
Well, after a year of wearing the ring and loving it, the problems came.
One of the diamonds fell out! My husband miraculously found it on the floor and we ruched the ring to Jared's. They said they would have to ship it out to their main office in another state because the ring has an invisible setting and that once a diamond falls out...others start falling out, too. (what? how come no one ever told me this before?)
So we left the ring. We were told in 2 weeks it would be back and ready to pick up. I called back in 2 wks and was told that the service dept. was closed (Sunday) and to call back on a weekday, but to rest assured because my ring was sent out and being repaired.
When I called back, I was told there was an issue and the manager of shipping would call me back. She did, and she told me I would hate her for this, but...the ring was never sent out. (So I was lied to.) It was sitting in the repair dept. for 2 weeks.
Mind you, my 12 Yr Anniversary was coming up. This happened in Jan 2009 and my Anniversary is in Feb.
They apologized and we spoke with the GM and let him know we expected the ring back by Valentines and/or our anniversary (Feb.12)
We were called Feb. 10 that the ring was ready for pick up. We picked it up and 30 minutes later...the same diamond had fallen out! This time it was lost for good!
We drove 1 hr to another Jared's where we have received better customer service and asked them to fix it. They also said they would have to send it to the main office.
I was extremely disappointed! This time we were quoted 4-6 wks. because a new diamond would have to be cut to fit the ring. Again, I am told that invisible settings are very difficult to repair (wish someone told us that before we bought it!).
We have been called twice since (it is now March 2009) and told...1-that the ring can not be repaired by the US techs so it ahs to be sent to EUROPE?
and 2- that the ring had to go through customs so it won't be shipped back out until March 10 and then arrive who knows when in the states!
This is outrageous! It's not the Hope diamond! It's a 2 carat ring with 4 princess cut diamond grouped together on top and baguettes and round diamonds on the band.
We asked Jared's to just replace the ring for all our trouble with another one brand new...they refused. Then we asked them about the TRADE IN policy we were told about when we purchased the ring. They said we were given fasle information...you can't trade in your ring for another ring UNLESS you are willing to buy a ring DOUBLE the value, which in our case the retail value of the ring was $2799, so we'd have to buy a $5600 ring and put in $2800.
Where is the justice with Jared's? Where is the quality? Why does the ring have to be shipped to EUROPE to repair? Something is not right.
If we get the ring back and it's not right r the dioamond falls out again...we are demanding either a brand new ring (quality questionable now) OR a refund OR an exchange for an equally valued ring...
or we will be calling our friend from the newspaper and our other friend who is a producer for a local news station.