fatscoobyfella

In early November,my girlfriend and i got engaged..Now that aint the prob!!!For an engagement ring,my mother in law gave us her great grandmothers engagement ring.We were to do with it what we wanted.The ring was in white gold with 5 diamonds in,the main diamond bein 0.80 carat,with 2 smaller ones on each side.Ring dated at mid 1800's
We decided to have a more modern setting made and use the single large diamond.We commisioned a respected jeweller and specialist ring maker to make this.
When we was discussing our requirements with him,he suggested that he could use the old ring case and the 4 left over diamonds and fashion them into earings.We agreed and chose the design.We paid for all the work upfront with cash.
Now..the ring was made within 2 weeks and was excellent,and we was happy..the earings he said,would be done for xmas 2004.Great,we could give them to my Mum in law as a prezzie and a "thank you " gift.
As ya can prob guess,the earings still aint made.We go in every week and he promises,that they will be done the following week.This of course has gone on for approx 6 weeks,involving a 40 mile round trip every time.On saturday just gone,he said that he just had to place the diamonds and he would personally deliver them on the Sunday.This didnt happen,he is closed Mondays,so a call to the shop was made early this morning.A woman behind the counter said"he has gone away for 2 week,ring after the 14th Feb".I was disgusted and insisted she call him so i could talk to him and see what was goin on(i have a feeling he has lost the original piece,i have no evidence of this).
She did and i asked what the situation was regarding the jewellery.He replied"im on holiday" and hung up.

Personally i wanna tear his ***** off and shove them in his mouth,can anyone offer any advice on what kinda recourse we may have against this guy?I realise it aint the end of the world,but i think we have been treated badly at best.
Sorry for length of post,just didnt wanna miss bits out!!

TIA

john_s

iTrader: (1)

I'd suggest contacting a solicitor and getting a letter sent to them. It's not a something and nothing issue, so I'd be looking to make sure things get done correctly.

John.

Harry_Boy

There are no 'strict' time limits for this type of contractual agreement. Consequently, in determining what remedies you might have, a court would end up imposing some arbitrary length of time on your jeweller to deliver the finished product, on the basis of what it regards as 'reasonable'.

If he won't admit that he's lost the piece, then you need to 'make time of the essence'. In other words, you have to send a letter (if possible by recorded delivery) to him, stating that you need the work finished byu a certain date. The letter needs to state what you require to happen if the piece isn't completed to a satisfactory standard by that date. I'd assume that you'd want the original diamonds etc back, so you can take them elsewhere.

Then, if he can't a) complete the work or b) return the original bits, you have to threaten him with taking proceedings to recover your loss.

Under the implied terms of the contract between you & jeweller, your loss will be the value of the items that he has 'misplaced' as determined by an independent expert. If you have already paid him in full for the work, then strictly your loss is equivalent to whatever it would cost to fully perform the terms of the contract - in other words how much it would be to buy the earrings you have asked him to produce, both materials and labour.

HTH.

fatscoobyfella

Thanks for replies..Harry,when you say no "strict" time limit for this kind of agreement,do you mean that he doesnt have to give a time when they are to be completed?
If this is the case,we may as well just sit tight till there done!!
One thing i will say is that on the original receipt he did write that work was to be completed for christmas.
Now im not after compensation or reimbursment of petrol for the approx 250 miles of driving we have done,from this guy..I just think a "sorry" would be nice and maybe some small gesture.But the guy has handled the situation totally wrong,if he would have said"wont be ready for 8 weeks",well fair enough.But to keep saying they would be ready and constantly wasting our time is beyond a joke.
Im gonna call trading standards in the morning to see exactly where i stand legally.
If all that can be done is sit tight and wait,well that is what we will have to do.

Its infuriating that we are being treated this way,especially when he knows they are very personal items.
And i for one will drag his name through the mud whenever possible because of this.

Thanks again for advice guys..

Harry_Boy

Hi Mate - should have clarified a bit more for you....

What I meant was that, unless you both agree an exact date AND agree that the 'contract' between you will be null & void otherwise, the law states that the work need only be completed in a 'reasonable' time frame.

I know it sounds daft, but that why you have to make 'time of the essence' and be clear about what will be done if he doesn't produce the goods by x date.

I agree that you've been more than reasonable and given him more than sufficient time over and above the original estimate.

PM me if you need a further chat.

fatscoobyfella

Thanks harry..will PM you later if thats ok..will try and ask a few questions at TS this mornin too!!