BBB issues warning after repair shop loses Aurora woman's engagement ring
AURORA, Ill. - With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you might be hoping your partner is going to "put a ring on it."
One Aurora woman already received her engagement ring, but when she took it to a local jewelry store for a simple repair last month, she got quite a scare.
Heather Graham’s engagement on Christmas Eve was about as picture perfect as it comes during a pandemic.
"I was stunned. I started crying," she said.
Graham is working on setting a wedding date and has ideas for her dress, but there was one thing that went missing: her ring.
"I never anticipated not seeing it again," she said.
From the moment her soon-to-be hubby slipped the ring on her finger, it nearly slipped back off. So on January 2nd, she took it to Zales in the Fox Valley Mall to get it resized. She says she was told it would take three weeks and that her ring would have to be sent out to a repair shop.
"It was going to be back. The promise date on the ticket was January 23rd," she said.
Graham called the store a few days before the 23rd to see if it came back early and says she was told the repair shop was running a few days behind and that the ring would now be ready the 26th. When the 26th came, she called Zales again.
"I called them and I was like, ‘you guys said my ring was going to be back, is it back?’ And she was like no. It’s not. Let me call the repair shop. And immediately, I started having you know, started having red flags go up," Graham said.
She says Zales told her they were having trouble getting ahold of the repair shop.
"They’re not answering to phone calls, they’re not returning voicemails, and they’re not answering emails," Graham said she was told.
She says she also reached out to Zales corporate headquarters a few times for some answers, including the repair shop’s name.
"’Just wait.’ That’s all they tell me is just wait," Graham said.
In the meantime, Graham filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
"Time and time again. I’ve heard about this many times over my career at the BBB," said Steve Bernas. "No matter if you take it to a large organization or a ‘ma and pa’ jeweler, the chances of them losing it are there…so there’s no site, no store that’s 100 percent guarantee that they won’t lose it."
Bernas says some times the ring eventually turns up and sometimes it does not. That is why he adds it is important for consumers to find out if their ring will be sent out for repairs before handing it over.
"Usually those stores will assist you, even though they give it to another party because they are somewhat responsible because they took possession of your ring first and they gave it to somebody. You didn’t give it to that third party," Bernas said.
If you are not getting much help tracking down your ring from the store you took it to, the BBB recommends filing an insurance claim with your insurance company and the store's insurance company to see if the ring can be replaced that way. Chances are, though, it probably will not be the exact same ring.
So what is happening with Graham’s ring?
A few days after FOX 32 contacted Zales on her behalf, they issued the following statement: "We’re very sorry for the inconvenience to Mrs. Graham. When we make a mistake, we own it. We’ve since located the ring, and in fact, it was returned to Mrs. Graham on Monday night."
Luckily in her case, the ring did turn up in the end.
The BBB also recommends taking pictures of your ring and having it appraised in case you ever do have to file an insurance claim for it.