The REAL Process

Taken from TommyymmoT's link before it gets taken down: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/cash-4-gold-c115287.html

I am a former employee of Cash 4 Gold. I did not know much about the company before being hired. On my first day of being hired, I was taught the "Cash 4 Gold Scam" from beginning to end.

1. The "refiner's pack" that is used for you to put your jewelry is "insured for UP TO 100 dollars," according to how much they feel your items are worth, NOT appraised at.


2. We receive your "Refiner's Pack" within 3-4 days, but we are instructed to tell you that it takes "7-10 business days, for us to receive your pack," ALTHOUGH your package has already arrived.


3. Your jewlery gets appraised by hand/magnifying glasses, a small weight pad, and a bottle of mystery fluid, which your items are then give a value for. Not million dollar equipment or specially trained jewelry experts.


4. Although the payment (check) for your item is dated within 24 hrs of testing your jewelry, we sometimes DO NOT actually send out the check until up to 3-4 days later.


5. We claim a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee or your jewelry returned, BUT THE CATCH IS, that the guarantee is contacting us within 10 DAYS from when your check is DATED. (This begins with the time it takes for the accounts payables dept. to issue the check and also including the transit time for you to receive your check in the mail. **** NOTATE THE COMMERCIALS THAT STATE YOU GET YOUR CHECK IN 24 HRS.***


6. IF you are lucky you will receive your check around the "7th-10th" business day, AND more then 97% of the time customers are outraged when they lay eyes on the amount of the check. Some Customer's even receive a check for 0.01 cents. (TRUTH) Thats including items of great value (Diamonds, Platinum/ Gold and Sterling).


7. They sometimes even receive your valuables and like them so much THAT we CLAIM to not have received the items just so the "TOP" people or even "FAVORED" people can get first dibs on your items. From which point we issued an INSURANCE CLAIM for UP TO 100 dollars. GOD FORBID your items are worth more then a 100 dollars, and when you call in to check on the status of your items, we tell you " YOU SHOULD"VE ADDED EXTRA INSURANCE ON YOUR ITEMS." We do not have an actual Insurance company, they use customer service reps as the claim department agents.


8. For those who receive there check within the 10 day frame, GOOD LUCK with trying to get in touch with a customer service rep before your 10 days are up. Which after your 10 days, your items are "ALREADY MELTED" or NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR RETURN."


9. For the "LUCKY" people who do get in touch with us within the alloted timeframe, we already know what you are calling about. Customers want their items returned, because their check amount is so insultingly LOW. The first thing a Rep will ask you is "HOW MUCH WERE YOU EXPECTING TO GET BACK?" This way we can know how much to "BONUS" you.
   
   Definition of a BONUS: We issue low checks just to have you call us back if you are smart enough to realized that you just got scammed. For the smart one's we are paid to offer you a bonus up to 3x the original amount of your check and you accept. For ex: Sally Smith receives a check for $27.86 for a rolex watch (which we dont issue value for), a class ring, a ring with diamond chips, a pair of earrings with emeralds, as well as a few sterling silver pieces, and maybe a few items that were really of no value. Now Sally Smith calls the customer service department, where she speaks to a rep who seems so concerned and will see if she can do better with the amount by speaking to a "SUPERVISOR". We then place the caller on mute, and speak to our neighbors or doodle on a sheet, or twiddle with our hair for about 45 seconds, while we are supposedly speaking to our supervisor about Ms. Smith's complaint. We then come back with an offer to "BUMP UP YOUR MELT DATE" or any other lies the customer service reps can think of, and offer you a total amount of $53.20 which is a little under double the amount of your original check. In which case if you accept, the customer service rep makes a $15.00 bonus off of your transaction. If the customer service rep offers you under triple the amount of your original check, she makes $10.00 in bonuses.


10. If you accept the offer, the deal is done, and you are told that the call is recorded (which most of the time, the record button does not work). Just a way to make your feel binded by a verbal contract. IF you do not accept the deal, you have to return your check, and it takes sometimes up to a month to receive your items back after we receive the check.


11. If you only want the items that we do not find of any value back, you have to pay a $10.00 shipping and handling fee to have your own items returned, which varies depending on sales for that week. IF sales are good, there is no fee, when we are slow, you must pay.

Cash 4 Gold is definitely not a trustworthy or credible company to do business with. You are almost better off taking your items to a local pawn shop or shopping around for other companies. With the economy the way it is, Cash 4 Gold seems to be a way out of financial stress for some, but in actuality becomes a stress of its own. I would advice you to think twice before sending in valuables or items inherited and of sentimental value. It's not worth it. I am not doing this as a way of bashing their money making process :) but more so to warn everyone.

FAQ

Where is Cash4Gold based out of?
Cash4Gold is actually a company named Albar Metals which is based out of Florida. Here is their Better Business Bureau report. Since they are two different companies it is hard to distinguish the overall complaints directed solely towards the Cash4Gold process. Of the complaints at the BBB you can clearly see the frustrated customers.

How much is Cash4Gold buying gold for?
From the complaints and testimonials of ACTUAL customers the average rate is around 5% and most of the time less. This is also not the appraised value of the item. Cash4Gold only buys your jewelry to refine it so they pay even less than what you would expect. They also do not pay for any gemstones.

Cash4Gold also doesn't advertise anywhere on their website or kit the amount they will pay for your gold/silver/platinum. You are pretty much at their mercy as to how much they give you. Once you send in the packet you have given them all the control as to how much they give you, when your items will be melted, what recourse you have, and how much it will cost you to get your items back. Read the actual Cash4Gold process.

Are my items safe to send through the mail?
There is always a risk in sending packages through the mail... be it FedEx, UPS or our United States Postal Service. It is a good idea to carry insurance for this very reason. Cash4Gold will only insure your package for $100... not the appraised value but what they deem your items are worth. Things that are mailed to Cash4Gold seem to go into a time warp and mysteriously don't show up so be careful.

There have been numerous complaints about packages not showing up and then never being returned through the normal process by which a package eventually finds it way back to the sender. Cash4Gold has no record of these packages.

Did you see that Cash4Gold Super Bowl commercial? How perfect is it for this company to use washed up celebrities to pawn their horrendous product.

Hopefully you are here because you decided to do a little research before sending in your valuables for which Cash4Gold will give you pennies. Simply put Cash4Gold is a scam and you should know the facts before sending in your valuables. If you are perfectly fine with sending in your valuable watches, rings and precious metals and getting next to nothing for them then read no further. If however, you are wanting to know the real process that Cash4Gold uses then keep reading.

Check out more at www.cash4goldisascam.com