UPDATE 3: We did a feature investigative article on Cash4Gold, entitled, “The Article Cash4Gold Doesn’t Want You To Read.”
UPDATE 2: Cash4Gold (Green Bullion Financial Services, LLC) sent us a copy of a judgement they obtained on default, granting a “temporary injunction” against the ex-employee to prevent them from “publishing any more confidential, proprietary information, and any defamatory information on the internet.”
We continue to look into the ex-employee’s statements and will keep you apprised. (7/02/09)
UPDATE 1: Cash4Gold has filed a defamation suit (right-click here and save to your harddrive to view the PDF) against the ex-employee who posted the below allegations against the company on ComplaintsBoard. The company asserts that the employee’s statements were entirely false, and claims that she said she was going to “make Cash4Gold be sorry for firing her.” They have also asked us to remove this story. We’ll be looking into this and will keep you posted on further developments. (4/3/09)
From the acid-cloud haze of the Cash4Gold processing center steps forth a shadowy figure, fingers stained with orange testing fluid. It’s an ex-Cash4Gold employee and in-between tuberculosic wheezes he manages to pass you a yellow legal paid with 10 confessions about how his former employer taught him to rip people off. Then he evaporates leaving behind a pile of gold dust. You dip your finger in it and touch it to your tongue. Just as you thought: fool’s gold.
If you decide to investigate the creaky clock tower, turn to page 4.
If you decide to read the confessions, to the post inside.
Spotted on ComplaintsBoard: “I would like an article to be posted pertaining to the refinery Cash 4 Gold, located in Pompano Beach, Fl. I am a former employee, who would like to alert/warn the public on the scamming process involved with this company. There are many of us who would like to vouch on behalf of this fast growing scam. We would like to get the word out to everyone on this step by step scam which involves so many people in this country and their valuables.
Below I have attached the full details on the scam involving this company. We know this first hand, because this is how we were trained. Please take note of this information and do what you can to get the word out there, especially in a time when the economy has truly affected everyone for the worst. Thank you!
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 determine from a description from you, the worth of your items to be, NOT an actual fully researched appraisal.
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 many times, your package has already arrived.
(All cash4gold customers who have called customer service to track a package can vouch for this)
3. Your jewelry gets appraised by hand, a magnifying glass, a plastic container, a small weight pad, and a bottle of ORANGISH fluid, which your items are then determined a value for. Not million dollar equipment or specially trained jewelry experts. The company was temporarily closed recently due to health and code violations. I have witness testers being transported to Medical Centers, due to the testing department environment. There is literally a cloud of smoke in the air from acid and other testing material. If you were thinking it was some state-of-the-art testing facility, you thought WRONG.
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. (if you are a customer check the date the check was issued against the stamped date on the envelope.)
5. We do offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee or your jewelry returned, BUT THE CATCH IS, that the guarantee is to contact us within 10 DAYS from when your check is DATED. (This begins with the time it took 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 INSINUATE THAT YOU GET YOUR CASH IN 24 HRS.*** If you request (sign) for FAST CASH (direct deposit) you automatically WAIVE your rights to have your items returned, EVEN if you are not satisfied with amount of your deposit.
6. You generally receive your check around the “7th-10th” business day, AND majority of the time Customers are outraged when they lay eyes on the amount of their check. Some Customer’s even receive a check for 0.01 cents.
7. There have been times when we have received your package and MISPLACED or LOST it at the facility. We CLAIM to not have received the items and even try to convince you that it was lost in the hands of USPS. At which point we begin an insurance claim process on your package. We ask you to send us an itemized list of the content of the package, trying to be as descriptive as you possible can (if you can remember everything in full detail) and a copy of your state issud ID. We then issue an INSURANCE CLAIM for UP TO 100 dollars. GOD FORBID your items are worth more then a 100 dollars. If you call customer service to check on the status of your shipment, and we actually have not received your package, we inform you of the insurance claim process. For those who know that their items are worth more than a hundred dollars, they become very upset and threaten to take action against the company, at that point we inform the customer that if they knew their items were worth more they should have added additional insurance at the Post Office. BUT unless you are paying to ship your items in a completely different package other then the refiner’s kit, you are unable to add insurance to the package.
8. For those who do get in touch with us within the allotted time frame, we already know what you are calling about. Customers want their items returned, because there 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 realize that you just got scammed. For the smart one’s we are paid to offer u 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 don’t 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 cust srvc dept, 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 cust srvc 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 cust srvc rep makes a 15.00 bonus off of your transaction. If the customer service rep offers you under triple the amount of your orig check, he/she makes 10.oo in bonuses.
9. 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, or the box if full.)It’s 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.
10. If you only want the items that we do not find of any value back, you have to pay 10.00 shipping and handling fee to have your own items returned, which varies. Although it is listed under the terms and conditions, this charge varies from a 10.00-15.00 charge to NO charge, reason being, UNSURE.
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 advise you to think twice before sending in valuables or items inherited and of sentimental value, its not worth it.”
PREVIOUSLY:
Cash4Gold Offers Blogger $3,000 To Remove Negative Post
How To Avoid Getting Ripped Off By Cash4Gold
Sorry, maybe I am just stupid, but many of the things you mentioned don’t seem anything more than a business that keeps a tight control over their company.
#1 refiners pack insured for $100, yeah, so, USPS and UPS both have limitations on insurance and they could care less if the item is worth $2000,
#2 takes 3-4 days but tell them takes 7-10 business days, yeah, again, so what, who can predict the mail, the second you say we will receive them in 3-4 days the mail will take 5 and someone will freak.
#4 don’t send out checks for 3-4 days… again big deal, all the banks in the world float funds for more than a full business week just to collect on the interest, this is not even close to that…
I could go on, but I think my point is made. Not saying they are the greatest company in the world, but these are hardly a “scam”. No one is twisting your arm to send in your gold, AND, you are dealing with a pawn shop, what do you expect???
@Scott Fillmer: The not sending out checks for 3-4 days is a big one actually. The thing is, you have 10 days from when the check is DATED to say “no deal”, otherwise they go ahead. It’s quite possible to never even receive the offer before the window to cancel, and waiting to send the check out to narrow that small window even further is beyond just being shady.
Sounds good, where do I sign up?
I understand why Cash4Gold is shady. But the actual service they provide is not.
When recessions/depressions happen people buy and sell gold:
The rich buy it as a hedge against the falling dollar/inflation and hope to reap profits as gold goes higher.
The poor sell it hoping to cash in on higher gold prices.
But people tend to think their jewelry is worth more than it actually is. Your 10 to 14k gold chains, class rings and, bracelets are not worth that much. When you have that is 16-18 to 22k gold those will be worth a lot more- especially if they are solid and not electro-plated.
Your best bet is to pawn your jewelry, sell it on craigslist or go to a local jewelry who offer money based on its worth.
Rob at Cockeyed.com posted a couple of great articles about this company, one where he spray painted a few items in gold and sent them in, just to see what would happen. Ah, good times.
[www.cockeyed.com]
[www.cockeyed.com]
The only people stupid enough to use this service are thieves who know better than to try pawning hot items. They deserve what they get.
I think anyone dumb enough not to see that this is a scam, DESERVES getting ripped off. I mean why would you think that sending your valuables blindly to someone is a good idea? Common sense people.
Awesome “Choose Your Own Adventure” reference! Those books ruled!
Send us your precious heirlooms and we’ll send you a buck fifty. Sounds like a plan to me
Cosumerism is boon or bane?
One must remember that too much of anything is bad.
[reddy2007.blogspot.com]
Cash4Gold is a scam, but not the one I would have thought … considering that gold is consistently rising against the dollar due to the hyperinflation of the fiat based `legal tender` currency, the gold is already worth more than the money its being traded for … that Cash4Gold is also depreciating the trade-in value is a financial double-whammy … this scam seems in dire need of regulation …
Such a scam. It’s sad to hear how many people are ripped off by this company. The most important link to know about is the BBB. Click here and tell the BBB HOW YOU FEEL.
http://www.seflorida.bbb.org/ComplaintDetail.aspx?CompanyID=16000679
I’m thinking this is just a disgruntled employee. I see nothing that screams “Scam”.
1. the refiner’s pack insured up to $100. I’m sure it clearly says that. If you think your stuff is worth more, don’t use the refiner’s pack.
2. Get it in 3 days say it takes 7 to 10. Saying it takes 7 to 10 days covers everything. It could be that Fedex or UPS’s ground shipping states 7 to 10 days.
3. Appraisals by hand. Do ads SAY that they use multi-million dollar equipment.
4. Not sending checks out right away. Show me any large business that can turn a check around in less a couple of days.
5. 100% satfaction. Ok, this one kind of stinks but, there are FAR worse terms on the internet. No refunds, restocking fees, etc.
6. Receive refund check in 7 to 10 days. See #5
7. Lost package. Ok, if a package is lost, of course they’re going to blame it on USPS. I’m sure this goes on everywhere. It’s not right but, I don’t think it’s part of a scam.
8. “BONUS”. This goes on everywhere. Have you ever called to cancel your credit card? They’ll offer you a lower rate. Ever call to cancel HBO? They’ll give you a reduced rate.
9. Call recorded. come on, now we’re streching to find stuff to complain about.
10. Pay shipping and handling for returned items. This would be a scam if they didn’t tell you that when you send them the stuff.
When I hear about these types of businesses I want to mess with them on a large scale, so I suggest everyone on this board sends them as much fake gold jewelry as you can find from your local goodwill and simply waste their time & resources.
What is it that makes Florida the scam capitol of the World anyways ?
First, let me say, I do not support or advocate Cash4Gold and am of the opinion that they do not pay top dollar and you most probably would get more from a local dealer, this post does not appear to be factual. The reason: the fluids used to test gold will leave a yellowish/orange color on your fingers if you do not use gloves when testing gold. However, the fluids for testing gold are clear in the bottle not orange as the poster states. As a jeweler I would advise you to get several prices for the gold you are wanting to sell.
As for the Cash4Gold commercial, they show you gold being melted and state “We are the refiner.” I refine some gold myself and I, also, send gold to refineries. Gold is refined using chemical processes, I don’t know of anyone refining anymore using a heat and melting process, it’s just to cumbersome and the loss of gold can be signigicant compared to the chemical processes that have been developed over time.
Hope this helps.
only suckers would mail their jewelry back after watching this commercial.
Reminds me of that 1800 dental commercial
I remember Inside Edition did an article on places like this. They found that Cash4Gold gives you the LEAST amount out of all of your options.
Plus, the idea of sending your gold in through the mail is just plain fishy and should be enough to make the average person nervous.
Hi there everybody! I just happened to stumble upon ths post and wanted to inform people that this whole operation really is unnecessary and way too time consuming for someone looking to make some extra money from their old, unwanted jewelry. I actually work at a jewelry store in Tampa, Fl, Arthu Yates and Son Jewelers. Why would anyone send THEIR OWN JEWELRY off to somebody in a plastic envelope when you could just take it to your local jewelry store. The store I work for pays 60-80% of market value, (most pawn shops pay anywhere from 20-45% typically for gold and silver pieces) and we are one of the highest paying stores in the area. All it takes is about 10-15 minutes of your time compared to 2-4 weeks! You simply bring your items into our store, we seperate the jewelry by content and karat, we weigh the pieces and then let you know what we will pay you for them. If you are unhappy with the price, there is no charge for us examining and weighing them, you can just take your jewelry and be on your merry way! If you are happy with the price, we cut you a check right on the spot!
Hope everybody does take this post from this former employee seriously.
If anybody in the Tampa Bay area is interested in bringing their jewelry into us, just give us a call (813) 253-2164, or just stop in … we are located at 1708 S. Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, Fl 33629.
Check with your local coin store – they usually buy “scrap” gold or other jewelry you no longer want or care about -or pawn shop before sending off anything to this outfit. You’ll get your payment on the spot and (generally) be dealing with a local business rather than someone off in Florida or some other never never land.
look at this new commercials cash 4 gold Diggers?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srb54nRBeLo
It’s important to keep in context that this is a short-time employee who was terminated, so they were bound to have some hard feelings. Even so, Cash4Gold takes all accusations seriously. Following is a response to this article:
http://cash4gold.blogspot.com/2009/02/response-to-complaintsboard-article.html
It’s important to put into context that this is a terminated short-time employee. More on the story can be found here:
[cash4gold.blogspot.com]
What’s truly amazing to me is that 2 big name private equity firms invested in this company? I bet the investors in those funds – usually universities and the like – wouldn’t be happy if they read the postings on this site.
Someone at Consumerist do a story on this please.
[www.xconomy.com]
use Midwest Refiners- they are totally honest, I weighed and tested my own gold before I sent it to them- the only difference in what I calculated and what I got was that gold had gone up when they settled so I got more. Local pawn shops were only willing to give me 40% of what I got. I don’t work for them or have any affiliation with them- google them if you want and always do due diligence
FYI-I just heard on the news of a a new service that pays a fair amount for your gold. The story said they were mainly for fund raising efforts because charitys were in the hurts…but have another site for the consumer. It was a story on legit companies to go to. I think it was called officialgoldfundraiser if you want to check them out.
[www.cash4goldisascam.com]
There are many ways people can protect themselves and find out what their items are really worth.
We just released an iPhone app: http://metalbug.info
that will let you get an accurate estimate BEFORE taking it to a pawn shop or cash 4 gold service. It’s all about making yourself aware so you don’t get jipped.
Thank You!!
For the info, they should pay you 3 million to take it away i’m sending this to all of my email friends which total over two hundered which i will tell them forward to all on their list.
I used cash4gold last year and got 17. and change for a bunch of gold and steling silver items. I got pennies on the dollar. This is a scam. I advise anybody reading this, PLEASE do not use Cash 4 Gold. I didn’t call and said the heck with it which is what most people will do especially if the jewlery is broken and your not going to use it anyway. I got the lowest dollaramount not top dollar. I am not a stupid person or ignorant, I am disabled with fibromyalgia and memory and thinking process is messed up. Along with everytining else, I didn’t call them. PLEASE DO NOT SEND GOLD OR SILVER TO THIS COMPANY. THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!!!!
PLEASE!! Just go to a quality jewlrey store. I sell gold all the time don’t get ripped off. Quality place will weigh and price at current market price.
The Judge is David Krathen and the Defendant is named Michele L. and she should sue the crap out of them for deformation of character. She should also turn states evidence for the cheating they are doing. Also she should claim her Sovereignty and all her Rights.
Hmmmmm….spray paint some bricks gold, and just keep shipping them, and shipping them, and shipping them……
I totally agree with many of the articles about Cash4Gold being a rip off. I sent gold rings, silver bars plus other gold and silver items. I had the diamond ring I sent evaluated at seventeen hundred dollars and they gave me less than two hundred for it. I sent a hundred dollar gold piece which they offered less than its face value, infact they offered less than 25% of its face value. The silver consisted of four pure silver bars, each 5 grams which they offered 17 cents each for.
I am in the process of trying to get all of the items back but so far nothing yet. I was fortunate that I called the day I got the cheque and was within the nonmelt down period. I am into the excuse period at Cash4Gold and I concur that they are definitely scam artists. Too bad I didn’t do my research before I sent in my valuables
It’s always amazed me that people will dump jewelry in an envelope, and send it off to some company that is spending a lot on cheesy commercials. I’m all for protecting consumers, but some people are too dumb to help.
I am sorry to say that I too was a dumb sucker of Cash4Gold. I sent my jewelry in their packet after being pressured to send it in; I knew better. I knew I should have sent it in my own insured packet but the lady assured me that their packet was registered mail; no worry. It was “lost”. I am just sick!!! I am out $1,000.00 worth of jewelry and will be lucky to get their little $100 settlement. And to get them to communicate with you? Forget it! I was stupid, and lost out on alot of money to try to make some. Please people-DO NOT use Cash4Gold!! Biggest scam going!