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.