Cash for Gold Companies Made to Clean Up Their Act
Earlier this week the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) forced some unscrupulous cash for gold companies to either clean up their acts or cease trading all together.
The OFT investigations were triggered because many customers had complained that they were offered way below market value for their gold. There have been some shocking reports of extremely low offers being made by some companies. For example, one woman reported being offered £32 for her bracelet and when she later took it to a local jeweller she was offered £530.
Reports have confirmed that two companies who were being investigated by the OFT have voluntarily closed down.
The OFT focus was not so much on the price being offered but on the fact that customers are often committed in the small print to accepting whatever the company offered for their gold, however low. The OFT’s main concern seemed to be with companies who made an offer, which if the customer did not promptly respond to, resulted in the gold being melted down anyway. The business models of some cash for gold companies were judged to be unfair by the OFT.
Some customers reported that the only offer they received was a cheque in the post. If they were unhappy with the offer the only way to decline it was to return the cheque. If the cheque was not returned within a very limited time their gold would be melted down anyway – the company would deem the lack of an immediate response to represent acceptance of the valuation.
The industry generally has responded positively to the measures taken by the OFT. The negative reputation of some unscrupulous companies was reflecting badly on the industry as a whole and those companies who were operating a fair valuation and acceptance policy are delighted with the results of the OFT’s investigations.
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Link to this article: : http://www.goldmadesimplenews.com/gold/cash-for-gold-companies-made-to-clean-up-their-act-3001/
Posted by Kate Gerbich on Feb 17 2011. Filed under Gold News.
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