Montica store and HOF brand does not honor guarantee

[caracol]

Prestigious HEARTS ON FIRE: does not honor guarantee, Montica.com non reputable retailer

I want to tell as many people I can before they purchase a diamond from Hearts on Fire about my terrible experience. I want them to know that they are paying $ 10,000.00 US more than an actual diamond price elsewhere because of retailer s profit and marketting of the company.

Yes, HOF are WOW if you don t know anything about diamonds, but let me tell you what happened to me.....and THEY DO NOT HONOR THEIR 30 day GUARANTEE !!!!!

Last year ( july 2005) on a trip to Miami with my family we went to Montica store (family we knew from El Salvador) and my husband got impulsive and bought me a 2.47 radiant H SI1 diamond. (over $ 15,000.00)

After the purchase of the radiant I sent the GIA report by e-mail to a jeweler friend and he told me I had paid too much for this diamond.

At that time Montica was not a HOF retailer, but several months afterwards the owner let me know she was selling the most beautiful diamonds. She knew I was searching for the ultimate top of the line and I had been learning a little about diamonds, because I did not know anything before the purchase of the radiant. She told me about HOF and I decided for an upgrade. If she was offering upgrade with HOF I must assume that guarantee, etc applied.
I wanted to upgrade especially to recuperate what I knew now I had overpaid for my radiant. I had read in the HOF site about beeing a tremendous diamond etc.

So after a couple of weeks trying to find the appropiate size, color and clarity that suited my budget I wire her more than $20,000.00 on february 17th,2006 for a HOF 2.20 ct set on HOF setting. The suggested retail price for this diamond by HOF was $45,000.00 !!!!

Due to families issues, before the 30 day guarantee expired I ask Montica to apply the 30 day guarantee and refund me my money. To my amazement she told me she could not, because it had been a special order, her guarantee only applied on her stock items and anyways her bussiness was to sell diamonds, not reimburse them !!!???? I told her that it could not be a special order,that as a retailer she did not have large diamonds from HOF in her store, that HOF had an inventory list where customer choose what suit them and of course she as a HOF retailer had to order them to HOF .

Seeing no results with Montica, I called VP Peter Smith at HOF and send him an e-mail. In my conversation with him he told me that the guarantee had to be asked to the retailer. I told him I had but with no results and commented everything that was said to me. He told me if I had a problem flying AA airlines I could not go to Boieng for a claim !!!! OK but then he told me that the HOF guarantee only applied on loose stone !!!!???

To which I told him ironically: Then what, if a man wants to get engage, he has to give his fiancé a loose diamond and hope the marriage take place (before 30 days) so he does not have to apply the HOF guarantee or if he has to apply for guarantee it must be the loose stone ???? How is his fiancé suppose to wear her engagement ring ??

By the way, the loose diamond I purchased at Montica was set on a HOF setting called TIMELESS BRIDAL and set by HOF !!!!!

One week later I called back and spoke to the owner Susan R. She told me someone was going to call me back because she was in a meeting.
This person called G. Strauss did call back and call Montica too.

Do you what to know what HOF , well Mr. Strauss offered me for a HOF listed at a $ 45,000.00 retail price. He offered me to send the diamond back to HOF and they would pay me $ 28,800.00 !!!!! I told him I finally understood that the stone was worth $ 28,800.00 and the extra (more than $ 10,000.00) a customer was paying for the retailer and of course MARKETTING of their BRAND. !!!!!!

He asked to think about it, because no jeweler would give me even half of what he was offering and it was a super deal they were offering. He told me to call him back if I agreed, that I had his number !!!.

I told him, don t worry I will never call you back, I will not consider that option but I would write to Better Bureau, Consumer protection and of course I would post in the Pricescope forum for people to know what a NON prestigious company HOF and Montica.com was. (losing more than$ 10,000.00 is a very small amount related in my story of what they are offering for a settlement to my situation with Montica compare to the profits HOF generates annually)
Terrible, isn´t it ???
I would like to know if anyone has experience an experience like this and what do you suggest more I can do? I do not live in the USA neither.
Everything I will do has to be done from a distance.

Thank you,

Caracol

 

[pricescope]

Caracol, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your frustration.

It is not unusual that jewelers charge restocking fee for the custom made jewelry. However, this should be explained to you prior to the sale. Montica.com site only states: "UNCONDITIONAL 30 DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE. Your purchase at Montica is virtually risk free."

Did you pay entire "suggested retail price" for the diamond/ring?

 

[jasontb]

Did you want back all of your money or to return the HOF for the original diamond ang get back the difference?

 

[caracol]

Pricescope,

Montica.com states "At Montica your purchase is risk free. Unconditional 30 day money back guarantee".

When Montica upgrade me my diamond for my choice of HOF, I am sure she carged her "charge restocking fee" !!! I doubt she would have not done this !!!
My purchase of HOF diamond was not a custom made jewelry. Jewelers do try to obtain what the clients want, they have a lot of suppliers and like I said HOF have an inventory list where you choose the serial number depending on whatever ct, color and clarity you are searching. Those have to be ordered by the retailer. The retailer does not have the diamonds in their stock items. They might only have the D stone that sparkles like fire to show customers and say WOW.
You know that a retailer has a margin of the HOF "suggested retail price" that he can lower or increase at his wish. I paid within this margin.

The thing is that she had already made a lot of profit on the first sale on me with my radiant, around $ 6,000.00 and with the HOF I am sure she did around $12,000.00.
I have learned today that HOF charge around 20 to 25% more for its brand on the same type of stone (ideal 000, A +) than an unbranded diamond of the exact same quality.
Eightstar, which is also a brand name for diamonds has a more realistic price for the same type of stone (ideal).

Caracol

 

[caracol]

Jasontb,

I believe a lot in ethics, and I think at this point I know that neither Montica has honor their guarantee, neither has HOF.
Yes I do want all of my money back and never again will I purchase at Montica, and I will never wear a HOF diamond.
I believe that when Montica upgrade my diamond, she should have then explain that no guarentee applied to it. But this issue was not mentionned by them at all. This for me was hidding or let´s say no telling all the facts.
If she did so much profit on the first ring, which she got back in the upgrade I am sure she would have done again a lot of profit on someone else when she resold it. And for me at the time she sold me the HOF, she paid HOF and claimed her profit, so what is it she is loosing in honoring her guarantee ??? ( the first profit she did on me ???, )

Regards,

Caracol

 

[strmrdr]

let me get this strait...

you bought a HOF
traded a hof in on a bigger hof
now want the entire price of the second hof back?

They told you to get bent?

AS would every other dealer out there.

The same terms do not apply on trade-ins or upgrades at any dealer that I know of that apply to new sales.

As for the price...
hof has a set price that any dealer charges for them... you paid the going rate for hof so you have no case there either even if the price is in smokin dope territory.
Its up to you to do your homework on brands/pricing before putting that kind of cash down.