Woman Describes Her Experience With Cash4Gold.com

By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Cash4Gold.com was the subject of a recent story by The News On 6 that got a big response from viewers. Since the story aired, the company's "D" rating with the Better Business Bureau was raised to "C minus." They are still not members of the Better Business Bureau, which requires a B plus or higher.

When news on six anchor Lori Fullbright sent the company gold jewelry appraised at $277, they told her they never received the package. They have since sent her an insurance claim form.

A Tulsa woman has her own Cash4Gold.com story. When Terri Williams saw the initial report, she called to tell Fullbright about her experience. The company received her package and sent her a check for her jewelry.

It was the amount of the check that shocked her.

Terri Williams is on disability, so every penny counts. That's why when she saw a Cash4Gold.com add, advertising the high prices they're paying for all gold jewelry, she says she went straight to her jewelry box.

"I took it to the pawn shop to see what it would be worth," said Terri Williams.

She says she wrote the value down next to her list of items, two gold rings, three gold necklaces, two silver chains and one copper ring. Williams says the pawn shop valued it all at around $200 and offered to pay her half that.

Instead, she decided to try Cash4Gold.com.

"On the commercial, it said they were higher, so I thought great, I'll try that," Williams said.

She says she requested an envelope and mailed it off; then she received a check.

"It was pretty heartbreaking. I sat at the table a long time and cried," she said.

Terri Williams says she was in shock when she saw the amount of the check: 34 cents.

On the check it's printed that the amount is for payment of three earrings and two rings, but Williams says she never sent in earrings.

She never called the company to complain, but has since filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. She also never bothered to cash the check.

"Two hundred dollars worth of stuff, and I get 34 cents - 34 cents," Williams said.  "They would laugh at me at the bank if I cashed that check."

Terri's check did say not all her items contained precious metals, which would affect the price.

Since she never called the company to say she was upset or to reject the offer or to say she wanted her jewelry back, the company had no way to know there was a problem or make it right. Cash 4 Gold told me this afternoon they would've been glad to send her jewelry back for free, had they known.

See their complete statement below.           

Cash4Gold.com says customer service is their highest priority, and they feel their rating with the Better Business Bureau does not reflect their high standard of doing business.

Cash4Gold.com statement:

For reasons that defy explanation Newson6 has chosen tonight to profile a customer who was unhappy with an offer she received seven months ago.   

She could have contacted Cash4Gold by phone or e-mail 24 hours a day during the 12 days after we received her package and had her items sent back to her at absolutely no cost, but she never did. We want all our customers to be happy, which is why we extend a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, but we cannot address our customers' issues if they don't contact us to let us know.  

Cash4Gold purchases broken or unwanted jewelry, basing its offers solely upon precious metal content.  As we say on our website, we encourage customers to research their various gold selling options before sending in their goods since pawn shops and jewelry stores may be able to offer a higher price in some cases because they can sell the jewelry to someone else. 

Most of Ms. Williams' material was of no value since it did not contain precious metal. The offer she received from Cash4Gold was based upon the precious metal content of a handful of items that did contain sterling silver.  It is impossible that a pawn shop would have offered a scrap price of $200 for her goods, since that amount would be far more than the actual value of the silver.