Artcarved College Rings Artcarved Balfour, Balfour Resizing Ripoff-Won't Honor Lifetime Warranty Austin, Texas

I sent my 10K yellow gold college ring back to Artcarved/Balfour to be re-sized on 7/9/12 to a larger size. I have done this on several past occasions and each time the ring had been upsized they re-cast the ring and there was no charge, as their lifetime warranty states. The last time previous that I had sent the ring to be re-sized was in 2007, they re-cast the ring and sent me back a new ring that appeared to be identical to the old one-the only difference I noticed was the engraving of the personal information inside the ring. 

When I finally received information on this current re-sizing I was told that the ring needed to be re-cast, and, because the palm side (aka-the band) was too thin it would need to be re-cast, and there was a $175 charge for this! I explained that the ring had ONLY been worked on by them and the last time the ring had been re-sized in 2007 they had re-cast the ring then. I had last worn the ring in 2009 and then it was put in a drawer and forgotten until recently. With the ring being a 10K ring there was no possible way that the palm side had been worn down in only 2 years of use, let alone a total of 5 years EVEN IF the ring had been constantly worn. 

I also quoted their online warranty guarantee, termed as Chargeable Repair Schedule, and under Re-Sizing it says "No Charge"  .

When the ring was last re-sized in 2007 and since they did the work, if the palm side was cast too thin at that time it is a defect in workmanship and should then be covered under this warranty classification anyway.

Artcarved/Balfour is insisting that the palm side is too thin and will crack and the ring will need to be re-cast. I DO NOT disagree with the part about the ring needing to be re-cast-it is standard industry practice to re-cast a ring when upsizing it rather than chance a substandard repair that will be noticed and ruin the aesthetics and quality of the ring. I am objecting to the facts that they originally recast the ring in 2007 and if the palm side is too thin, then they are responsible for that as a substandard repair, and, being charged a $175 fee for what has always been advertised-and is CURRENTLY advertized-as a 'NO CHARGE' service.

It appears that Artcarved/Balfour is unwilling to forego the 'cost' of adding the tiny bit of gold alloy to make the ring to the proper size and is refusing to honor their stated and advertised warranty claims. I never asked for the value of the gold alloy back when I've had the ring re-sized to a smaller size and that occurred several times over the years. This is a ripoff and an issue where the Consumer Protection Agency should step in and force Artcarved/Balfour to honor their stated and advertised warranty.

I would strongly recommend that NOBODY purchase a ring from Artcarved/Balfour if you think your ring WILL EVER NEED SERVICE OR RE-SIZING since you cannot trust this company to keep it's word!!!!