CASE warns of ‘questionable practices’ by gold jewellery retailers
SINGAPORE — Consumers buying gold at jewellery shops will need to be more wary and check if those pieces are truly worth their weight in gold.
SINGAPORE — Consumers buying gold at jewellery shops will need to be more wary and check if those pieces are truly worth their weight in gold.
During a recent check on 20 randomly selected gold jewellery retailers, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) discovered that while all the gold pieces passed the fineness requirement test, most of the shops engaged in what it called “questionable practices”.
Some of the unfair business practices included failure to initiate weighing the jewellery and to provide detailed receipts with cost breakdowns, as well as using scales not meant for gold jewellery retailing, said CASE in a statement yesterday.
All 20 retailers did not initiate weighing the jewellery. When requested by the customer, most of them complied except Kedai Emas Kampung Melayu and Lam Liang Kwang Goldsmith and Jewellers. Both shops are located in Geylang Serai.
When questioned by CASE, the first shop claimed the salesman who attended to its surveyor was new and that its normal practice was to weigh all gold pieces for its customers.
The second shop claimed it would weigh gold pieces only for regular customers, a practice that CASE said was unacceptable.
It has notified the two shops to weigh their gold pieces for all consumers who make purchases.
The consumer watchdog also found that 13 of the other 18 retailers did not initiate removing the price tag when weighing the gold pieces, which would have affected the net weight of the jewellery.
When asked to do so, most retailers complied except for one.
Of the 18 retailers who weighed the gold pieces, four used scales that failed to display the Accuracy Label and three of the four used battery-operated weighing scales, which are not approved for weighing gold jewellery.
Four retailers failed to provide receipts with a detailed cost breakdown (gold price, workmanship, etc).
CASE has advised consumers to exercise caution when buying gold jewellery and take measures such as checking the net weight of the piece without the price tag, ensuring the right weighing scale with the Accuracy Label is used and requesting for a receipt with a detailed breakdown.