Beware Of Cash4Gold
We’ve all seen them – the flashy “Cash4Gold” commercials, at times they feature people on the street dancing, or at other times, M.C. Hammer promising fast cash in turn for your old, unused jewelry. Although human nature makes us want to unconditionally trust the dancing person or even with his track record, M.C. Hammer, it turns out that Cash4Gold may not in fact be too legit to quit.
Recently Representative Anthony D. Weiner called out Cash4Gold on their bad business practices. Standing in front of legitimate jewelry appraisers, Weiner warned consumers to take their business to a place that they knew was valid as opposed to the shady mail in gold exchange.
The way that Cash4Gold works is that consumers use special envelopes to mail jewelry and gold to the company’s offices in Florida. According to the advertisements, the company will provide customers with a quick appraisal of the value of the items they have sent, and then they will mail them a check for that amount.
In theory, customers will be given a twelve day period in which they are able to return their check and get the jewelry back. Yet according to research by Rep. Weiner and Consumer Reports, Cash4Gold paid out only 11 to 29 percent of the actual value of valuables sent to them, and sometimes they did not send jewelry back when it was asked to do so within the 12 day period.
Weiner proposed that the Federal Trade Commission should do some research the whole Cash4Gold problem, adding that he wants to introduce laws that would regulate companies that use mail to exchange cash and jewelry.
This law would impose fines on businesses that melt down gold without the owner’s consent or before a return period has passed. It could make companies allow enough time for consumers to request a refund and ensure that companies actually insure the jewelry they are returning to consumers.
Mallory McGuinness is employed by a debt collection company. She also writes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.
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