Ring stolen/given away by gem valuation lab.

[helpisneeded10]

TLDR; Valuable ring stolen/given away to unknown person at gem valuation lab - what are my options?

First of all, let me apologise for this long account but I think some of the finer points are relevant as it pertains to this case.

A year ago, I purchased a ruby/diamond ring for ~£4k from a prominent auction house in Paris. I wanted to know whether the gem had been heat treated, since untreated gems are more valuable. So I took the ring to a gem lab in Bond Street, London, to obtain a more detailed report.

My mother took the ring to a gem lab in Bond Street and the arrangement was that they would examine the item and then provide me with a verbal report and, if required, a written report. She handed the ring to the lab and was given a form where she filled in my details, including my name and address and her own phone number. The COO of the lab noted down the description of the ring and made a copy of the form and handed this back to my mother. They told her that we would hear from them by the end of the week. I called a number of times and was told that the ring was yet to be examined. About a week after the initial delivery estimate, I called again and was informed over the phone that a man had collected my ring. This, of course, came as a complete shock as I had not arranged a collection with anyone else. I did not know who this man was and had not given them permission to give my ring to anyone. The very least the gem lab could have done was to call me to confirm if I had arranged someone to pick up the item.

I reported this as a theft to the police via telephone after the COO claimed that she called the man back on his phone and he confirmed that he had been told to pick up the ring.

I then went to their gem lab in Bond Street and met with the COO. I also made a full audio recording of this meeting and still have this. She informed me that a man had supplied them with my name and address; he stated that he worked with me and my mother; he stated that I wished to cancel the report, and that he would therefore be collecting the ring on my behalf.

The COO stated that the company thought that the man was acting on my behalf as he had provided all of my details. They did not take his ID, but the suspect supposedly left his name and phone number with them. I asked when the man had called as I had also called on the same day. COO then stated that the man had actually called on the day after my call.

I was completely shocked upon hearing this information. I do not understand how the man got my details and knew about the ring. COO claimed that the suspect relayed all of the details on the form provided by the company, without actually presenting a physical copy of the form itself. I work from home in an industry completely unrelated to gems and have not informed anyone aside from my immediate household family members about my ring. The only other people that had the information was the gem lab. I suspect that someone working there was involved as that is the only way the suspect could have gotten the details.

It shocks me that the company released my high value ring to the suspect, despite having my mother’s phone number in their records. In the audio recording, COO claimed that the number from which the man called, resembled the one on the form and that his story was convincing.

The company neglected to verify any of the claims he made in addition to checking the phone number they actually had on file. COO admits in the recording that they made an error. She also stated that she had examined the ring, which poses questions as to why she hadn’t provided me with the verbal report in order to receive payment for the service I had required. They released the ring to the man without asking for payment for any services.
The COO denied responsibility by telling me to make a claim via insurance. I had no insurance for this item.

I then went back a second time to this office to meet with the COO. She refused to let me in and only spoke via the intercom and seemed very evasive. I recorded this encounter and sent it to the police.

After reaching out to the jeweller who created the ring, they informed me that the ring I purchased was worth about $25k-30k, if it were to be recreated in today’s prices. It was a custom-made ring and is unique.

No further effort was made by the lab to try and return the ring to me or to recompense me accordingly for my loss or accept responsibility for their grievous error. The company did not carry out a simple check by calling me or by asking the man for any form of ID. The COO told me she would supply call logs and CCTV to the police. The police only retrieved the CCTV and have closed the case since the suspect couldn’t be identified and the gem lab wasn’t treated as a suspect. It has been a year and nothing has been done.

I wanted to ask what sort of legal recourse is available to me and how likely am I to obtain some form of monetary compensation for my loss?

I would be grateful if readers here could point me in the right direction or give me any tips on the best way to pursue this. To that end, I have a few preliminary questions/points which I would be really grateful if anyone could clarify:

1. Do I pursue this through the small claims court or instruct a solicitor to send them a strong letter, or both?
2. If so, is it straightforward?
3. What do you think the likely chance of success is in a situation such as mine?
4. Would it be worth pursuing?
5. What would be the likelihood of a best case scenario/outcome or a worst case scenario/outcome?
6. Could I get recompensed for the loss I have made in terms of the potential worth of this ring. I could have made 2X the original buying price if the ring was handed back to me.
7. Or will the court only consider the actual monetary value of my loss? And what about the loss of time, expenses and costs I’ve incurred as a result of this whole ordeal?
8. Does the time lapse of a year after this incident took place raise questions as to why legal proceedings weren’t triggered before? I.e. does it work to my disadvantage?

If any of you could give me any insights at all, no matter how small, or point me in the right direction— even in terms of the best way to seek legal advice for such an issue, or best avenues to pursue this.

Thank you all for reading, I’m really grateful for your help and time.

TLDR; Valuable ring stolen/given away to unknown person at gem valuation lab - what are my options?

Their process is odd. Whenever I have left something of value to be worked on I am given a receipt that has to be presented to get the item back. It is really strange they don't have something that has to be handed over in order to get your ring. Some random coming in and saying he is there to pick up the ring without ID or a receipt and not being you or your mother wouldn't cut it for most places.

Yes I have the crime reference number.

And yes, I have the form. All it states is that they aren't responsible for damage to items they receive. Nothing about giving it to someone else or theft or loss.

If they called the man back on his phone number have you tried calling the number? Have you given the phone number to the police?

This all sounds very dodgy on the part of the lab but I'm surprised that you hadn't insured the ring before handing it over. Do you have all the documentation for the purchase and evidence that you handed over the ring and they gave it to someone else without your permission? I would take out a civil action if the police are not investigating.

Was it you or your mum that took the ring to the gem lab in Bond Street? This part of your OP is confusing and contradictory ( and potentially very important, especially if the ring was out of your hands for part of the process).

Apologies if it wasn't clear. I went to the lab in the first place and I told them my mum would be dropping off the ring as I was working that day.

I know. It's all very dodgy. They claim that the person said they know me and are not picking up the phone anymore. The police closed the case as they said the CCTV was not clear. And the gem lab have refused to reply to me since then.

I have all the paperwork and have even recorded conversations with the COO where she admits that they made a mistake.

@helpisneeded10 I know you 100% trust your mum, but what is her recall like regarding the event? Did she say who she spoke to? Did she need to show ID or sign anything? Was there more than one person in the room? Was there CCTV footage of her visit?

This is what I found to be so ridiculous. They didn't call me to double check. They simply claim that someone came and gave my name and number and said they were here to pick up the ring. It is all ridiculous. Not a single person beyond my mum knew about this ring. I'm thinking they either made a big mistake or it was an inside job.

It was a simple drop off, she was given a form with details of the ring and signed it with all her/my details and we were told to expect the report within a week. There was no one else there apart from my mother and the person working there.

Have you asked to see their policy regarding handovers? Agree with comments below. Their process is odd.
I can't get my dry cleaning back without handing over a ticket! Surely there is a document hand over?

This is a terrible mess. For a business dealing with such valuable items, you would expect the most rigorous procedures.
It almost seems like they had never considered such an eventuality. That's absolutely not normal.

I would be thinking about contacting a consumer show on TV, or a newspaper.
Someone needs to investigate the shit out of this.

As PPs have said, normally there would be a very clear, non-negotiable process for collecting a valuable item such as this - i.e. it wouldn't just be a case of him saying he knows you and knows your name and address. At the very least I would expect the lab to ask for the copy of the completed form with what I'd assume would be a unique ref number (like having a receipt at the dry cleaners).

I'd be amazed if they don't have a policy around collections and what's required to prove authority/ownership - this is their bread and butter, surely?!

What does the form actually say? Usually it would function as a receipt - assuming you are producing a valid receipt for an item that they cannot return to you then I would 100% get legal advice and take things further.

There doesn't seem to be any possibility of the mum having dropped this off at the wrong place in confusion, as the lab aren't denying that they did have the ring at one point (do you have a receipt for it, @helpisneeded10 ?).

Agree with pp who suggest a solicitor.
I am shocked at the jeweller. My dm had some jewellery "go missing" when it was in for repair, the jeweller admitted fault and replaced. Part of what you were doing was establishing value, so it makes sense that the ring was uninsured. Fingers crossed for you op.

No - it's impossible. Have a receipt form which they gave to my mother and I also spoke to them on the phone before and after this all happened. The form has a description of the ring and also states that they aren't responsible for any damage etc. But in my case it isn't damage, but gross negligence. They gave my ring to another person (or so they claim) and then have refused to reimburse me.

If they had damaged your ring through negligence, they would have been liable regardless of anything it says on the form.

This is far worse. They have given your ring to someone else through negligence. They are liable.

Send them a letter before action - Which? have a good template at Letter before small claims court claim - Which?

If they fail to reimburse you by the deadline you set, you can take legal action against them. This will be a small claim so you should deal with it yourself. If you use a lawyer, you will not be able to reclaim your lawyer's fees from the gem lab.

I suspect that the ring was indeed worth the much higher amount than the 4k you paid

There was no man, and this will not be the first time they've played this little trick.

In the audio recording, COO claimed that the number from which the man called, resembled the one on the form
What does this even mean? Either it's the same number or it's a different number. There is no 'similar' number relevance. What, it contained the same number of digits? It had the same network code? It's a meaningless comment

There is a lot of focus here on the lack of insurance but since you took the ring to be valued you would be unlikely to have it insured already as the purpose of a valuation is usually to get the item insured. I am not a lawyer but just wanted to make that general point.

Also, the gem lab will presumably have some form of liability insurance. They lost your ring, you didn’t! However, they are clearly not going to be helpful so you will have to get legal assistance for a civil claim. You need to check what the T and Cs were that you mum presumably signed on your behalf or you signed before she took the ring in. They might have tried to include statements about not accepting liability etc in which case you may need a lawyer to advise you whether a court would consider such terms acceptable/enforceable (they might not be enforceable).

Regarding what happened. I feel for you and you have confirmed my own fears about the risks of handing over a piece of valuable jewelry in this way. I need to get a valuable ring repaired but don’t know who I can trust! I got my ring valued a few years ago in the Hatton Garden area but the valuer did it there and then in my presence, never taking the ring out of the room so there must be an understanding in the jewelry trade of the potential perceived risk of small valuable items being substituted for fake or ‘lost’. The gem lab have clearly been either duped by a scammer or an insider but if it has happened once this or similar tricks have probably happened or been attempted a number of times to them or other jewelry companies in the area. Hopefully someone in the jewelry trade will see this thread and be able to offer some insight. It would probably help you if someone who knows the business would know what sensible precautions are taken in these sorts of situations and also what scams get attempted (I bet there are loads of attempts made to dupe jewellers, repairs, labs or other companies in the business to hand over items in an unguarded moment, switch items for fakes, ‘lose’ items etc!

A ring with a replacement value of £25k is not a small claim. Over £10k is fast track.

OP speak to your home contents insurance. Although the ring was not insured you may have legal expenses cover which would mean you don't have to pay for legal advice.

Get a solicitor on board to make a civil claim against the lab. You are entitled to be put in the position you would have been in "but for" the negligence so that means you are claiming for the replacement value of the ring, not the purchase price. The delay is not an issue you have six years to bring this type of claim.

I would also get onto the police again, the delay might be an issue here but the lack of interest/investigation in what is likely to be an organised theft of a high value item likely not to be a one off is very poor. It might be worth considering their complaints procedure.

I strongly suspect that there was no man collecting the ring as reported and it was either an inside job or a cover up because they have lost or destroyed your ring.

Do you have any photos of the ring in case it turns up in a dealership somewhere? If it is unique and old, with a higher suspected value than you paid for it, there will likely be databases to monitor the trade in these things (although only through legitimate traders). As others have suggested it may have had a higher value than you originally thought and it caught someone’s attention - either someone hanging around the same area when your mother brought the ring in or some inside the lab.

Well the gem company wasn't wrong when they said to claim on insurance. What you didn't realize is you were supposed to claim on their insurance, because the loss of the ring was down to their professional negligence - they didn't follow procedure and gave it away to a thief as a result. They're not going to pay out of their own pocket, that's what businesses have insurance for. Their insurance isn't legally obligated to pay out unless you put in a claim and successfully prove they should.

You should claim on their insurance, you don't need your own insurance to do this. That would only happen when you claimed against your own insurer (if you were insured for theft) for the loss and your insurer in return persued the gem company's insurance to recoup it's losses. I've no idea how an insurance claim would fare a year down the line.

You haven't lost £4k, that's the price you paid for the ring. You lost the ring and that ring's value was £25-30k. You'd need to be able to prove this to prove that's the amount you'd lost, so need that valuation from the manufacturer in writing.

Although that's complicated by the valuation they gave you for the price of a new identical ring, made today. Does jewellery depreciate in value or gain it as it gets older? That could affect the amount you've lost. Without that valuation from the manufacturer all you can prove is you've lost £4k.

£4k you could claim through small claims court, £25-30k is too large an amount for small claims court, I'm unsure of the next level up for these larger claims but I know it exists.

It's s meaningless comment as their defence. It's not meaningless as an admission that they didn't check the information he gave. It's an admission of failure.