• Report: #430479

Complaint Review: Garfield Refining Company

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  • Submitted: Tuesday, March 03, 2009
  • Last Posting: Friday, May 20, 2011
  • Reported By:Anonymous North Carolina
Garfield Refining Company
810 East Cayuga Street Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19124 U.S.A.

Garfield Refining Company Offered me $300 for $1200 worth of gold / silver? PLEASE READ! PROTECT YOURSELF! Philadelphia Pennsylvania

*Consumer Comment: My dealings with Garfield have been satisfactory


1Author 4Consumer 2Employee/Owner

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I was told by a friend who used to own a local Pawn Shop that Garfield Refinery was a dependable place to send your scrap gold to for converting to cash. I had already taken my gold to a local pawn shop and was told they would pay $11.00 a gram for 14 Karat gold. I called Garfield Refining Company, and they said they would pay me $16.21 per gram to individuals for 14 Karat gold AFTER their small refining fee. I was pleased to see they would pay this much. I tested my gold, weighed it, and calculated I had AT LEAST $856.00 worth of gold according to their quote, and I also sent in over 2 pounds of sterling silver (with an approximate value of $400.00). When the check arrived, it was for $302.00!!!

I immediately called, and was told it would be TWO DAYS before they could pull my information to see if there was a mistake. I was also told "Perhaps the items you thought were gold were actually gold plated." Again, all of this gold was tested twice by myself and the local pawn shop before sending it in! When this didn't work, they told me perhaps they could try to give me a better OFFER two days from now! I was also told "perhaps you should have included a detailed list of what you sent us and what you had already been offered for the items...this way, we could see if our company could match or beat that quote." **I told them I was quoted $16.21 per gram by THEIR company BEFORE sending it in!** Their "detailed report" accompanying the check stated "Gold--$165.00; Silver--$137.00." No details such as weights, any non-precious metals found, etc. I asked them on the phone "How much did my metals weigh?" They would NOT tell me! I just told them I was sending the check back to them. They still tried to get me to wait until two days later (this would have made me pass the 10 day guarantee date, and by default, I would have had no choice but to take the $302.00!)

I returned the check, and received melted blobs of what "looks" like gold and silver. Now I have no clue what percentage of gold vs alloy I have, or what percentage of silver vs alloy! What in the world can I do with this now! Send it off to another refinery??? I DON'T THINK SO!! I would have been better off to have kept my gold and sold it locally. I am glad of one thing....that I do not belong to a company who reaps their rewards by preying on the elderly and those who desperately need any money offered to them. If that's what it takes for this company to get ahead in life, I don't see how they can sleep at night knowing that it all comes back to them in the end.

58chevy348
Anonymous, North Carolina
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 3/3/2009 5:50:05 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/gold-scrap-buyers/garfield-refining-co/garfield-refining-company-offe-8wdf9.htm.

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
1Author 4Consumer 2Employee/Owner
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#1 Consumer Comment

Garfield has gone downhill. Better off dealing with Midwest refiners.

AUTHOR: Alan - Hillsboro (U.S.A.)

I've had a similar experience to original poster, only I've dealt with Garfield several times in the past. About two years ago Garfield really started playing games with their assay and fees......my last sale to them in 2008 was very similar to the original posters in that I sent a large quanity of sterling/gold to them and their "assay" value was around 35% of what it should have been for items which were weighed/acid tested prior to submittal (and items identical to those we submitted to them before). Garfield is now just as bad as the Goldkit companies and I wouldn't deal with them in the future. Like I said, we've sent material to Garfield several times in the past, but it seems that they have recently become much less generous in their assay/valuation.

We're now dealing with Midwest Refineries and very happy with them. You may want to check them out.
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#2 Consumer Comment

Garfield has gone downhill. Better off dealing with Midwest refiners.

AUTHOR: Alan - Hillsboro (U.S.A.)

I've had a similar experience to original poster, only I've dealt with Garfield several times in the past. About two years ago Garfield really started playing games with their assay and fees......my last sale to them in 2008 was very similar to the original posters in that I sent a large quanity of sterling/gold to them and their "assay" value was around 35% of what it should have been for items which were weighed/acid tested prior to submittal (and items identical to those we submitted to them before). Garfield is now just as bad as the Goldkit companies and I wouldn't deal with them in the future. Like I said, we've sent material to Garfield several times in the past, but it seems that they have recently become much less generous in their assay/valuation.

We're now dealing with Midwest Refineries and very happy with them. You may want to check them out.
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#3 Employee

Rebuttal to Anonymous Complaint

AUTHOR: Joshua - Philadelphia (Virgin Islands (US))

We are a precious metals refiner that has been in business for 118 years. Any quotes we give over the phone are approximations based on the customers description of their material. We tell our customers that their material will be melted and assayed and that payment is based on assay. Assays are conducted in our fully equipped laboratory using the latest in spectrographic technology.

This person reports that he had material tested, presumably by acid test or an electronic tester. A test is not an assay, but rather a rough approximation of purity. It cannot detect gold-plate or gold-filled, unless properly administered, and even then, not accurately.

I cannot comment on this person's case, because he chooses to remain anonymous. I can, however, state unequivocally that we do not do business as he describes. We have over 500,000 customers nationwide, a large percentage of which are precious metals professionals. We would not survive long doing what he describes. Furthermore, we do not make second offers. We will re-assay material in some cases, and in the rare case of a variation in lab results, adjust our offer. This may take an extra day or two, but the terms of our guarantee are not affected. 

Any customer who requests it can get their material back within ten days of payment. It will be in processed form, because an accurate assay requires melting so a homogeneous sample can be taken for analysis. This is the accepted method throughout the industry.

I might point out, in passing, that I first saw this complaint posted on a page surrounded by advertisements for a competitor.

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#4 Employee

Not how we do business

AUTHOR: Joshua - Philadelphia (Virgin Islands (US))

We are a precious metals refiner that has been in business for 119 years. Any quotes we give over the phone are approximations based on the customers description of their material. We tell our customers that their material will be melted and assayed and that payment is based on assay. Assays are conducted in our fully equipped laboratory using the latest in spectrographic technology.This person reports that he had material tested, presumably by acid test or an electronic tester. A test is not an assay, but rather a rough approximation of purity. It cannot detect gold-plate or gold-filled, unless properly administered, and even then, not accurately.I cannot comment on this person's case, because he chooses to remain anonymous. I can, however, state unequivocally that we do not do business as he describes. We have over 500,000 customers nationwide, a large percentage of which are precious metals professionals. We would not survive long doing what he describes. Furthermore, we do not make second offers. We will re-assay material in some cases, and in the rare case of a variation in lab results, adjust our offer. This may take an extra day or two, but the terms of our guarantee are not affected. Any customer who requests it can get their material back within ten days of payment. It will be in processed form, because an accurate assay requires melting so a homogeneous sample can be taken for analysis. This is the accepted method throughout the industry.



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#5 Consumer Comment

Ripped off too

AUTHOR: saditrustedgarfield - Brick (United States of America)

I am sorry you got ripped off too. A very expensive lesson. Wish i researched online before I left my valuable jewelry there for minimal cash and got nothing but a lie that it was not real 14K. I was cheated of about $850 by Joel
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#6 Consumer Comment

My dealings with Garfield have been satisfactory

AUTHOR: USAyinpa - Downingtown (United States of America)

I can only say that on both occasions I have dealt with this company, the results have been what I expected and fair. I sent about $200 in silver and $200 in gold in by my own calculations and low and behold that was what I got back less about $23 for processing.

On a previous occasion, I sent in silver when it was around $16 per ounce and got back pretty much what I expected.  I cannot speak to other individuals experiences but my own have been fair minded. And yes customer feedback could be better on their part because I also found the gold silver reports with the check a little terse and confusing. good overall however
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