Cash-For-Gold Buyers Have Been Exposed
By Marie Keyworth
January 21st 2010, 1:50pm
People who want to sell their gold to make some quick cash are in danger of losing out. The situation was uncovered by an investigation by the consumer magazine Which.
Customer were paid around 6% of the retail price for new gold jewellery. The worst offender was CashMyGold which offered £6.43 for the £115 gold bracelet, £9.64 for the £215 gold bangle and £22.50 for the £399 gold necklace.
The magazine sent three identical items of gold jewelry costing £115, £215 and £399 to three other gold buyers that advertise heavily on TV. These were Cash4Gold, Money4Gold and Postal Gold.
| Company | Gold Retail £115 | Gold Retail £215 | Gold Retail £399 |
| CashMyGold | £6.43 | £9.64 | £22.50 |
| Postal Gold | £7.97 | £10.89 | £24.04 |
| Money4Gold | £8.17 | £11.26 | - |
| Cash4Gold | £10.31 | £14.57 | £31.48 |
| Pawnbrokers | £26 | £32 | £80 |
| Jewellers | £33 | £46 | £102 |
They also sent the jewelry to three independent jewelers and pawnbrokers. Overall they offered higher sums than the TV advertised companies who consistently offered the lowest rates.
The investigation also exposed worrying terms and conditions imposed by the TV advertised companies. All the cash-for-gold buyers gave quotes by posting cheques. Only seven to twelve days were given from the date of issue to reject the offer, or the gold would be melted down.
The cash-for-gold market remains un-regulated and the magazine advises that people can get better rates for their gold elsewhere.
Post your comment