To demand a refund?

[BirthdayStress]

I bought a ring for 2.5 K at the weekend. I only wore it straight after buying it to get a coffee and then put it back in the box until last night. I looked at it with my phone light to look at the sparkles and I noticed it’s got a scratch on the band. I’ve emailed the company and they are basically saying that I must’ve done the damage and they can only offer a polish and the 18 carat gold is known to be fragile. I am saying that I would like a refund under the consumer rights act 2015 as I was made unaware that it was this fragile, although I’m pretty certain the damage was not done by me they are offering to polish et cetera but I am saying that if it is causes damage by this light use then I do not want the ring as I was made unaware that I wouldn’t be able to wear it for three hours or less without damage see photos they are claiming it was not damaged when it left the shop but surely it is my word against theirs and I myself did not notice the damage until actually my light on it. Does anyone here know that consumer rights please and could advise me on where I actually stand as obviously I don’t always trust AI thank you.

I’ve found it really useful for eg, parking tickets. I don’t know the ins and outs of my councils rules so I ask AI to tell me the grounds for complaints based on the specific published rules. Our council is definitely using parking tickets as a source of revenue and are over zealous in their application. However, I’m having a quarrel with the council at the moment which is bemusing as I think it’s AI on AI and their AI isn’t giving up either. I’m curious to see who is going to win (I’ve escalated the complaint so I think it will go to a human soon and they will have to face the AI logic square on).

Also: The garage refused to honour an expensive repair and I asked AI to tell me my rights under consumer law and then asked it to write a very concise letter. The manager wrote back within hours telling me to bring the car in. I always keep the letters short unless it’s to the council as they send wordy ones they expect me to wade through so I like to return the favour.. . It generally saves so much time - stops me wasting hours and hours researching my rights and then crafting replies. .

In this specific case, if I really believed the ring was sold scratched, I’d find out what my rights were and then decide based on that whether to persue the vendor or fix the issue myself.
The more pertinent questions are whether this is making me intellectually lazy (yes) and if this AI help is worth oceans of water and land eaten up by huge data centres (Probably not).

@FeralWoman That is lovely for you, but every situation and couple are different.

My first ring I was overweight and pregnant so had it made larger, it was only a H Samual cubic zircona ring as we were skint at the time.

we then - had 2 babies, a wedding cancelled by COVID lockdown, broke up for a while, family deaths, I had a mental breakdown and was sectioned for 6 months (unwell for the best part of 2 years), various other shitty things over a 5 year period.

Meaning a new ring was not only symbolic to a fresh start, we could also afford better. My 2nd ring is a real diamond which I love but it’s a completely different style to this. I want this ring to be perfect as it’s the one I’m going to wear when we finally get married next year.

I'm not sure why I felt the need to have to explain my situation as to why, but just please - don’t judge, everyone’s circumstances are different.

@BirthdayStress I have no idea what a H Samual is. If your second ring has a real diamond why didn’t you get it remodelled into a new ring? I’m not in the financial position where I could afford to ignore a genuine diamond and stick it away like cheap costume jewellery. I certainly wouldn’t choose a synthetic diamond over a genuine diamond either. Synthetics will never be as beautiful as a genuine diamond. They’re too big and clear, rather like cubic zirconias. However you seem to have found a partner who is happy to provide you with multiple engagement rings so you obviously suit each other. Just be aware that no ring will ever be perfect if you’re seeking perfection. A beautiful ring? Definitely possible. A ring that you love? Of course. A perfect ring? Almost impossible. I’m sure you’ll be back in a few years asking for opinions on a new second wedding ring which of course will mean you’ll need a fourth engagement ring.

I'm a jeweller. 18ct isn't very scratchable, it's probably the best alloy to get, 22ct and 9ct would be more prone to damage.
I think it would be hard to prove that it wasn't there when you bought it, as it looks like an obvious mark. It's easy to dint things without realising though.
Polishing shouldn't cost too much, we charge £30 on average.

@FeralWoman H Samual’s is a high street jewellery chain, a bit like Warren James. I’m not sure if it’s as prominent on the high street as it was 10 years ago.

We’re lucky that we are the financial position to do so now, which we weren’t when we had our eldest child - we couldn’t even afford a takeaway on a weekend back then. I love my real diamond but it’s a 0.37 round diamond on white gold, where as this is a 1.5ct oval on 18ct gold. I’m aware I’m very lucky to be able to have these, and I did not create this post to show off.

Lab grown are actually chemically identical to natural diamonds, just made in a synthetic environment.

@lilkitten Thank you. They polished and resized free of charge, I have just collected it and it looks good 😊

Oh my gosh I’ve got 3 engagement rings too. My first was like £89 cos we were young and skint. It got an upgrade when we could afford it, and then again when I lost loads of weight.