to expect to be paid full amount?

[QBEE]

I sent a ring in to be resized. Jewellers (small independent) sent it away and the package was stolen.
Aftre three months of general pissing around being offered a ring that look very different to the ring to the lost one I decided to accept the cash value.
Even though an IDENTICAL ring to the one lost (as affirmed by them) costs £1450 they are only willing to give me £550 because this is the cost to them to replace even though they do not have a suitable replacement available
Is this right?
In an ideal world I would just like an identical ring back but if I have to take cash because they cannot provide a similar enough ring then surely they should allocate the full amount it wuld cost for me to buy it again?
They claimed via Royal mail and are sorting through their insurance. This has been going on for MONTHS and I just want it resolved. Im sick of having to chase it up.

erm no idea - is there anything in the small print you originally got?
on the face of it i'd say yanbu!!

If it is their fault for loosing it, i would assume that they would have to give you the full amount.

Of course YANBU. It'd cost YOU £1450 to replace your ring - it's not relevant that it'd only cost them £550 to replace it. Bit curious as to how they've come up with this figure TBH - surely if they can't get hold of an identical ring, they can have no idea of how much it would cost to replace?

presumably thats how much they bought it for, adjusted

no t&c regarding loss or anything, just a reciept of payment for alteration.
Surely the items would be sent insured to their shop value and not market value?

It's common for insurers to either replace the item like for like or if cash then the cost to them to replace it.

Yes, cost price adjusted for inflation might give an indication. But surely QBEE has the right to be put back in the same position she was before they lost her ring (trying to remember bailment loss lectures many years ago) and so they need to pay the actual cost it would take to put her in that position, and not a made up figure.

Never like bringing in entirely spurious arguments, but if (let's say) she sent away a limited edition print to be cleaned/framed/whatever and it was lost or damaged, then she'd have the right to the current replacement value which might have gone through the roof compared with the inflation adjusted purchase value if the artist had died or become mega famous? Can't see that this is any different (apart from the obvious difference that it isn't a limited edition print).

hmm, hasnt the cost of gold plummeted? (assuming it's gold)
i'd insist on them continuing to look for a replacement

And again (sorry, in ranty mode this morning), it doesn't matter what the insurance value is. That's to defray the shop's losses, not QBEE's. If the shop hadn't bothered to insure it, it wouldn't mean that QBEE wouldn't be entitled to anything, because the insurer wouldn't pay out anything would it?

I have a letter from them accepting liability but not negligence. Understandable as RM lost it but given it was sent insured I expect to get back the full value to replace.
I have given them overthree months to find a replacemnet and have been shown one ring in that time that was far removed from the original type of setting and was of 9ct not 18ct gold
I can source an indentical ring so why cant they?

Because they are trying to cut costs. Have you tried Trading Standards, your local Council or the Citizens Advice Bureau. I think they are behaving badly and you shouldn't give up. And look in their window and see if they are part of any Jewellers Federation. They might be able to help. Good luck!

Under the common law principles of the law of restitution if they have been negligent because they have lost the ring they must either provide you with an exact replacement ie in terms of value or provide you with sufficient monetary compensation to enable you to purchase a replacement.

Tell them to stuff their offer and that you will sue them in the small claims court if they refuse.

If you can source a similar ring I would give them the details stating you wnat that ring or the same value by x time. Then you will be forced to go to Small Claims