ComplaintsforBirch Gold Group

• Initial Complaint

  08/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I invested $20,581.97 in gold from representative ******************* and *********************. It included 7 $10 Liberty, graded ** 62 for $1,813.29 each and 6 1/4 oz Gold Australian Florin which I purchased for $812.61 each. In May of 2022, right after I received the coins, I contacted Birch Gold via email and explained that there must of been an error in my invoice and that the $10 Liberty coin, which has a little less than 1/2 ounce of gold, was only valued around $813 at that time. The response I received was that they had attempted to contact me by phone but couldn't get in touch with me. I emailed them my cell phone number to contact me and attempted to call them. I decided wait to see what the market did and now 2 years later, it seems as if my initial instinct was correct. When I spoke to ********************* on July 18, 2024 requesting the value of the 7 $10 Liberty Coins he told me that there was no change from the amount per coin I paid which was $1813.29 and what he could offer now. When I inquired about the Florin, he gave me $891 per coin. Today, August 19, 2024, when I spoke to ****** at Birch Gold, now the $10 Liberty was $1,305.15 and the Florin $721. Wow! I stand to loose over $5,000 of my original investment. I purchased from Birch Gold as an investment. They advertise as a hedge against inflation. The $5000 loss is quite a hedge. Not to mention the appreciation of money I have lost as an investment. ****** told me the Florin, exclusive to Birch Gold, is down due to the number of the Florin in circulation. Very Odd. He further explained that it is just basic economics and the gold spot price doesn't matter when valuing the gold I purchased from them and that I have to look at factoring in the intrinsic value and extrinsic value, and the volitivity of the market and it should be long term and that it is just Basic Economics...I am asking that Birch Gold buy these coins back from me at cost and pay the 22% I should have made in my investment.

  Business response

  08/30/2024

  Were very pleased to report that after engaging in a detailed conversation with ******, we were able to identify and address a number of misunderstandings that had arisen. Throughout our discussion, we clarified several important points, including the true value of her precious metals portfolio, which helped alleviate her concerns significantly. ***********;is a valued customer, and we are committed to providing her with ongoing support and assistance. We look forward to continuing to serve her needs in the future with dedication and care.

• Initial Complaint

  07/31/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In July of 2021, I worked with *********************** of Birch Gold Group to purchase precious metals as an investment. He advised us on what metals would be best, but the vast majority he sold us were 1/4 oz gold Florian coins. $71,000 of our $99,000 purchase was on these coins. Now **** tells me that Birch Gold can only buy them back for low $700's even though I purchased them for $821 each and gold has gone up in value 34% in the last three years according to *************. I asked **** how this could be on July 24th, but he has failed to reply to my inquiry. Before that I was having trouble getting him to call me back, so I suspected it was to avoid giving me the bad news of his inaccurate advice. I have talked to two different gold dealers here in ****************, and they both say I was sold an overprice coin that did not respect my wishes to use gold as an investment. I contacted Birth Gold Group and asked to speak to a manager to help me sort this out. I was told ******** would get back to me, but he never did. I am asking Birch Gold group to buy back the Australian Florian coins for the $821 I purchased plus the 34% increase on gold in the 3 years which would be an additional $279 per coin.

  Business response

  08/09/2024

  We are grateful we had the opportunity to clear things up and address Michaels concerns. We pride ourselves on the various measures we take to educate our customers, enabling them to make informed decisions. Unfortunately, we fell short in educating ******* about the buyback value of his .25oz Gold Australian Florin. The team member he spoke with provided a general buyback value estimate based on outdated market information, rather than following protocol and obtaining ******** current, accurate buyback value. We have addressed this with the team member involved and he has received disciplinary action. Additionally, we have covered the shipping and insurance costs for ******* and honored the buyback value from Friday, August 2nd, to compensate for any inconvenience caused.
  
  We also reviewed our call logs with *******, which include the time, dates, and call durations of our attempts to reach *******. This includes a call made on July 25th in response to his questions on July 24th. Regrettably, ******* didnt receive our calls or voicemails. However, ******* has provided us with an alternative email address and phone number to ensure we can reach him in the future, and these efforts are appreciated. 
  
  Currently, we are assisting ******* with a buyback and will continue to maintain communication with him until everything is finalized.

  Customer response

  08/12/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  01/30/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In April 2023, we deposited with Birch Gold, the amount of $91,181.84 using ********************* as the Associate. He explained buying gold and silver bullion and discussed 50% into Gold and 50% in silver. We received a statement covering 4/1/23 to 6/30/23 which showed Market Value $91,181.68. October 2023, our statement covering 7/1/23 to 9/30/23 showed Market Value $139,444.64. In October (online) we noticed that the Market Value was $51,000. We immediately called **************** to discuss to be sure no fraud was noted. **************** told us that we should ignore the amount shown in the October statement as that was incorrect and that the true value of our account was $51,000+. When questioned why, we were never given a true answer to our concerns. He kept telling us that the value of the account was more but that what we were seeing was the spot value at the time of the statement (???????). We did further investigation into this matter. We found that the reason our value has not increased is because **************** invested our money in Gold Coins that are literally worth only the amount of gold in weight for each coin but supposedly are or will be high valued Gold Coins in the future. The spot market prices of gold (which is how they calculate value) went up almost $100 per oz by December and yet no change in Market Value. If we were to try and sell these coins today, even with an increase in the price of Gold, we would only receive the amount the spot market quotes for the price of Gold per ounce. When speaking with ****************, we questioned him multiple times about whether we would receive $91,000 if we liquidated then and he NEVER answered that question either. He kept deferring to needing to wait for three years. They are using deceptive practices of investment for people and do not and will not explain their reasons for these investments. In January, we received our latest statement which shows Value of $52,939.64, way below the amount initially invested.

  Business response

  02/12/2024

  Upon learning about Loiss concerns, we contacted her immediately and are happy to report that we have resolved her concerns and cleared up any misunderstandings.
  
  Many Precious Metals *** custodians report metal values solely based on spot price. However, because physical precious metals are always bought and sold at a value over spot price, this does not reflect true market value of the customer's metals.
  
  We provided **** with buyback numbers that confirmed her sell price would be higher than spot price, including the gold coins.  
  
  We understand the importance of educating our customers and we want to thank **** for giving us the opportunity to resolve her concerns.  

  Customer response

  02/15/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ************************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Can't get anyone to respond - need to liquidate silver but they will not get back with me, and it has been since November 9.

  Business response

  12/19/2023

  Upon receiving notification of ******* complaint, we immediately contacted her and conducted a review of our call records. Our call log reflected numerous attempts that had been made to contact ******. Unfortunately, ****** reported that she did not receive our phone calls or voicemails.
  
  After learning this, we reached out to our Chief of Technology who verified that the outgoing calls were successfully placed, though he is conducting further investigations as part of our commitment to due diligence.
  
  In an effort to prevent such reoccurrences, we have requested that ****** provide any alternative contact numbers she may have. Weve also provided a copy of the call log to the BBB and ****** in case she finds it useful to take to her service provider for further investigation.
  
  We look forward to hearing back from her and taking the necessary measures to ensure seamless communication.

  Customer response

  01/10/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

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