Sold ring to jeweller now he wants his money back

[Chopsticks2829]

Hi can anyone give me advice for a friend…
My friends mum enjoys buying bits and bobs of costume jewellery and beads from eBay as she enjoys arts and crafts and making things.
She bought a bag full of rings, beads and other bits and bobs recently, and inside it was a men’s gold ring. My friend took it to her local jeweller, she signed paperwork to say she had the right to sell the ring and was given £425 for it.
The jeweller has now come back to her several weeks later and said he wants his money back as the ring isn’t what he though and is just heavily plated.
The ring was sold to an experienced jeweller in good faith. The price was agreed and the deal was done. Had the opposite happened, and the jeweller made a mint, my friend would have had no come back.
Is the jeweller within his rights to ask for the money back? He’s been sending my friend screenshots from the internet about sale of counterfeit and fake goods which I don’t think applies to this case.
Thank you for reading 🙏🏻

They can't claim it from your bank, they could only take you to small claims court, but I doubt they would, if they did I can't see they would get anywhere.

Nope. Nope. Nope.
If a professional jeweller agreed to buy it for a certain value then that’s that. If they are so shit at their job they can’t assess properly before making an offer, that’s no one else’s problem and any claim they make will be laughed at.

Trading standards is for businesses selling not individuals going into a shop to sell

Why on earth did she engage?! Ignore and block him.

Trading standards… Jesus. Just IGNORE HIM.

Is this a 'cash for gold' jeweller? Sounds very dodgy. If he mis identified the ring himself that's on him and not your friend's problem. She wouldn't know if she was getting the same ring back so it may be a swap scam. Either way she should just ignore the jeweller and block him. She could even report is as harassment to 101. Reputable jewellers won't use scare tactics like screen shots about counterfeit goods. Reputable jewellers would know they can't deal with your bank. Reputable jewellers won't mis identify a ring.

No, they are trying it on. They will not be able to take money from your account and trading standards won't be interested as I assume you're not a business. Perhaps try and speak to Citizens Advice? But I wouldn't communicate further with them or worry about it.

Am I the only person wondering whether the jeweller is a crook?

I agree with Walkden on all counts, by the way.

I would block and ignore. How would you know if the jeweller hadn't just switched the ring for a less valuable one and then wanted his money back?

They can't claim it back from the bank. It sounds incredibly scammy. Was this a legit company?

It’s not your friend’s fault that they are “only able to test so far in store”. They took that risk. I can’t imagine that it’s all that hard to distinguish solid gold from gold plate.

She must not let them harass her into returning anything.

He's talking through his backside. He can't just take money out of someone else's bank account and Trading Standards are not relevant to this circumstance.

If she feels the need to respond, I'd say something like "It's a pity that you made a mistake when you valued the ring, however I in no way misled or deceived you. I came to you because you are a professional to hear your professional valuation, which you gave. Please do not contact me again or I will report the harassment to the police."

And then block and ignore. He can do nothing.

Absolutely this.

They're trying it on. I'd ignore and block.

Nah, cheeky fucker - I'd ignore him. If I was the jeweller in this scenario I'd be embarrassed I got it so wrong. There's no way I'd entertain reimbursing him in any way at all - his problem!

In fact I'd report HIM to trading standards.

Assuming that your friend isn't running a business and the friend didn't misrepresent the ring to the jeweller i.e. say it was solid golf when it isn't, then the jeweller can't report your friend to trading standards, as she isn't running a business. Nor has he any other right of recourse as the principle of "caveat emptor" or buyer beware applies and as a professional jeweller he should have been more careful before buying it.

Just to add, I assume that none of the paperwork your friend signed included a representation or warranty from her that the ring was solid gold?

No, the item was sold "as seen" and the jeweller should have sufficient professional knowledge and experience to make a decision on the basis of observable facts. Your friend didn't misrepresent anything. Individuals making private do not have to abide by consumer protection legislation and have no obligation to make any refunds unless the item was not theirs to sell or they lie about it.

No.

Either it's a scam, and the jeweller would be returning a different low value ring

Or he is a shit jeweller who can't tell the difference between plate and solid gold

Either way, not your friends problem. None of what he's suggesting applies to private sales.

It's total nonsense.

There is a thing called the
Chargeback scheme for debit/credit card purchases but he would have to apply and supply evidence as to why he deserves his money back. The bank/scheme would probably laugh at him.

As for trading standards, if your friend is not running a business, TS won't care.

Tell him to stop contacting you and then block him.

He can't report her to trading standards! She isn't trading. He seems to be confused about who the consumer is (it is NOT him!!)

He's the buyer and the onus was on him to satisfy himself that it was indeed gold before parting with his money. He's a professional jeweller and he valued it.

Caveat emptor.

well it doesnt appear to have been the gold content which he based his value on!! There would never be 425 pounds worth of gold in a ring unless it was 22 carat!! it could only have been the stones in the ring and as a jeweller he would have had an instant diamond tester available!! it is a case of buyer beware!

If he ‘can only go so far in his evaluation’ in the shop, he should have known about it and not given that estimate/pay for it.
Instead he should have said ‘we’ll need to send it over for evaluation. Are you ok with that?’

The comment about the ‘honest thing to do’ is guilt tripping her into stepping down.

Id go back to him saying something along the lines of
’i sold it to you in good faith and relied on yor expertise. If an evaluation in the shop was never going to be enough, you should have said so at the time.Im afraid I cannot refund you for the ring’

And I agree about not responding to him afterwards.