ComplaintsforJamesAllen.com

• Initial Complaint

  05/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Back in 2/24 we purchased a ring from JA. It arrived too large so it was rushed back for adjustments. When it arrived back 4/22, there was clear damage when we inspected the ring. We sent it back for more repairs. By now the ring has spend 95% of the time since purchase in James Allen possession. The ring was also never worn. After trying to mediate with customer service they explained that the 30 day refund window had expired. All we were hoping to get was a new setting as this one has clear quality issue( also claimed by other reviews on the company website). Customer service has not been helpful as they told me to be more careful with the ring or to store it in its box and just wear an ****** ring. Reminder that this ring was never worn once. It arrived damaged. The amount paid does not justify the quality. The company also told me that replacing the ring would hurt them as they would lose money. That is not my fault, James Allen sold me a faulty product on their account. This clearly goes against the warranty claims they are making on the website. The warranty claims items are damage free on arrival. This is clearly not true. The company also told me it was too late for a refund because the ring was ready for shipment next day 5/13. Fast forward today 5/17, they told me it will now be ready for shipment possibly by 5/30. They keep telling us lies and we haven’t seen the ring since. Customer service can’t give us a straight answer. We feel cheated and it feels like something was stolen from us. Like mentioned, the price we paid does not justify the quality or even the service we are receiving. I also left a review on the website and it is not appearing on the item review. I don’t want others to go through this. They also want me to keep sending the ring back whenever it gets damaged. How is that okay?

  

  Business response

  05/22/2024

  Thank you for reaching out in regards to your engagement ring and we apologize for your recent experience. We see that your ring is currently being serviced by the jeweler to replace the missing side stone, and we apologize this happened so soon after your resize. While this order does not qualify for a return, we are taking care of the service order at no charge as a goodwill gesture. As soon as your ring has passed our final quality assurance inspections we have requested for the package to be shipped Priority Overnight so you can receive it as soon as possible. We look forward to making your ring just as beautiful as when you first saw it! 

• Initial Complaint

  05/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This is an insurance issue regarding what is covered using James Allen’s Diamond Upgrade program and having the item lost at customs when shipping to an FPO address. Order number: ************ USPS Tracking number: ********************** Transaction started approximately Dec 20th, 2023 Items arrived at customs on February 13th, 2024 in ******* ************* ******* Item deemed lost on May 7th 2024 Business committed to provide shipped items that are fully insured Issue being that the $340 dollar setting resizing fee performed by a Jeweler on James Allen’s behalf is non-refundable and not covered in the insurance claim. This service was never delivered to me as the recipient and should be provided value in either insurance claim or future credit to James Allen. The business offered $150 discount prior to vocalizing the issues with the insurance claim. I would like the original wedding band and engagement ring remade at no expense to me. I understand that there was a change sales tax laws associated with online vendors, however, James Allen offers “fully insured” shipping, yet I am responsible for the cost of having my original items remade and returned to me. My ring values were $1810 * 7.25% CA sales tax = $131 I would like the refitting services that were performed on the lost ring to be reimbursed as these services were never delivered to me. This is $340. In total, I am asking for $471 reimbursed or applied to my current order with James Allen. Please see the attached correspondences. I was offered a $150 discount prior to vocalizing these concerns regarding their fully insured shipping policies as displayed on their website FAQ and Shipping pages.

  

  Business response

  05/16/2024

  We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and apologize for your experience with the missing package during your upgrade. In the unlikely event that a package is lost or damaged during transit, we must follow proper procedure which includes an investigation and insurance claim. We cannot proceed with a replacement order until the investigations have been completed, and your claim was approved. Sales tax is determined by where an order ships to and we are unable to waive or discount sales tax by law. We see that you have been working with our service manager and that ultimately you have decided to move forward with your replacement ring. Your new order has been paid in full and we look forward to you seeing the rings soon!

  

  Business response

  05/20/2024

  We apologize for any confusion with your replacement ring order due to the lost package. The replacement setting and wedding band were able to be price matched to your original purchases from 2017. Your account credits from your 2017 purchases were applied to the replacement order to reflect the production and shipment date of your new rings along with your new diamond. The $340 nonrefundable remake fee in the upgrade order still applies, as that was the required fee to remake the original setting for your upgraded diamond. The lost package claim does not negate the nonrefundable remake fee during the upgrade process, and we are remaking the engagement ring once more along with the wedding band in the replacement order. 

  Customer response

  05/26/2024

  James Allen had to be pushed through external measures (in this case BBB) in order to dive in the details necessary to resolve this complaint. Unfortunately, their response does not resolve it. The $340 value for remaking the setting on the original engagement ring is still missing, as it is not a necessary expenditure for making a ring from scratch. I do not have the resources to pursue them legally, and this is an edge case that the business has chosen not to cover for by paying the additional insurance cost. In total, due to moving duty stations for the military, James Allen has cost me $340 plus the tax on all items (~$1000) for losing this item. I did not have any better options though, as my spouse was attached to the engagement ring and wedding band. I will continue to post negative reviews regarding their upgrade program and not recommend their services *IF* the person of interest intends to use the upgrade program as a consideration in their purchase.

   

  I ultimately will not use James Allen services again.

• Initial Complaint

  05/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Spent about $5k on a ring and 4 months later the diamond came loose. My wife sent it in for them to repair and they said the diamond was damaged and said she must have dropped it down the garbage disposal or ran over it with a car. Not sure how any of that was possible since the setting itself wasn't damaged (neither was my wife's hand which the ring never left). James Allen insisted it was our fault and said they couldn't do anything other than help us choose a replacement diamond, as if we'd buy another diamond from a company unwilling to stand behind it's product. Even worse, they suggested replacing the diamond with a $50 cubic Zirconia. Seriously, it was bad enough they didn't stand behind their inferior product, but the relentless gaslighting on top of everything else was worse. They eventually just sent us the ring back.

  

  Business response

  05/16/2024

  The ring was shipped to the customer in December 2023 and received back in our office for inspection on April 24th 2024. As shown in the images, the ring, side stones and center stone experienced heavy wear and damage. The damage was not repairable and the customer declined remake services on the setting as well as our offer to assist them with best pricing towards a new center stone. The ring was returned to the customer with no work done at their request. 

  

  Business response

  05/16/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Your ring was shipped initially in December 2023 and was returned to our office on April 24th for service evaluation. Upon inspection it was noticed that the ring, side stones and center stone experienced heavy wear and were damaged. The damage and wear on the ring were not the result of manufacturing defect. We offered to review the replacement center stone and service fees for best pricing in the event your ring was not insured. Ultimately at your request, the ring was returned to you with no work done. 

  Customer response

  05/16/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because as expected, James Allen once again did not stand behind their product. The ring did NOT show excessive damage as they claim. The diamond had a chip under a prong in the setting which should not happen under normal wear after only 4 months! My guess is the slight chip was there when we bought it, but they probably hid it behind a prong. Of course I'm just guessing, the way they guessed it must have been run over by a car or dropped down the garbage disposal. Ridiculous! The ring never left my wife's hand.
  
  Based on their description we were expecting to get a mangled mess of a ring back when they returned it, but it looked fine other than the now exposed chip under the prong. Again, diamonds should not chip after four months of normal wear. We took it to a local jeweler who said the ring was beautiful (made no mention of any other damage other than the diamond chip) and came up with a solution to create a prong that would hold the diamond firmly and hide the chipped part of the diamond for less than $150. So even worse than them gaslighting us about how they believed the damage occurred and offering to 'let us' purchase a new diamond or $50 cubic zirconium, is the fact that they were unwilling/incapable of repairing the setting with the chipped diamond. 
  
  In the end this is all my fault. I should have done my homework and read the numerous 1 star reviews of James Allen on the ******** and here on the BBB website before I purchased. That was my bad. If you're a potential customer reading this, please don't make the same mistake.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *******

• Initial Complaint

  05/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought an engagement ring for $4600 plus $650 taxes from JAMESALLEN.COM. It arrived on January 4, 2024. On March 23, 2024, a stone fell out of the setting. I was outraged as I only had the ring less than 3 months and a stone had already fallen out. I am on disability and I don’t do much. I took extra good care of my ring so it made no sense as to why a stone fell out. I asked if I could exchange it for a different setting and stone, that was refused because it’s beyond 30 days of their refund policy. I sent the ring for repair, it got stuck in customs for a week. Now the ring was sent back to me, I had to make a trip to self clear so I don’t pay duties again. This was a whole nightmare. I opened the box to my horrror ANOTHER stone is missing from the setting. The ring came back from repairs with another stone missing. This is not good quality and I cannot have an engagement ring I am afraid to wear. James Allen doesn’t even cover the cost of missing stones. This is clearly a faulty product that is supposed to last a lifetime but hasn’t even lasted 3 months. My fiance worked so hard for that money. I want a refund so that we can buy something of quality.

  

  Business response

  05/02/2024

  We appreciate you taking the time to reach out and apologize for your experience. Missing pave in a new ring are rare, and within the first year of a ring's shipment we tend to cover the replacement of pave given there are no signs of damage or excessive wear on the ring. We see that your service order was expedited and completed in a fraction of our normal processing time (three business days compared to two weeks) and in our efforts to rush your ring back to you, our team missed that one of the small diamonds was missing towards the bottom of the shank. We are certainly able to service your ring at no charge, and we are taking into consideration your request for a special exchange. Since we are well outside of our 30 day return window it is likely that restocking fees will apply in the event a special exchange can be approved. We see you have been connected with management and we look forward to assisting you further with your ring design. 

  Customer response

  05/06/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I was sold a faulty product. I don’t agree to pay TWO separate restocking fees that add up to over $1000 in order to exchange the ring. I received the ring in January 2024, and within 4 months, 2 diamonds fell out. Thats not something that should happen, and should warrant an exchange or refund. It seems like the priority of the company is not to loose money, instead of making a quality product and making sure their customer is satisfied. I want to be able to love my ring and be comfortable wearing it instead of stressing and worrying that a stone may fall out. I shouldn’t have to loose money because I was sold something that didn’t hold up 6 months. It’s great that the team tried to get my ring out quickly but it made no sense to do so if they sent the ring with another diamond missing. That defeats the purpose.. I cannot agree with this solution, it’s not fair to the customer to loose money because they were sold something that did not hold up. 
  

  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

  

  Business response

  05/10/2024

  We have offered to assist the customer with complimentary services on her engagement ring to replace the missing pave, including return shipping. The customer has decided they would like to change their setting style as well as their center diamond selection, however they are not willing to follow our lifetime diamond upgrade program. Since we are several months outside the return window on this order, a return with a restocking fee was honored as a special exception on the setting and center diamond. The restocking fee was then lowered from 30% to 25% as the customer has chosen a diamond that falls far below the 2x lifetime upgrade diamond requirement. 

  Customer response

  05/10/2024

  I was looking for a refund or full credit exchange. This business has honored that request for a ring that was over one year old. My ring was not even 3 months old before a stone fell out. It’s not SEVERAL months passed the return policy, it was 3 months. The ring is 5 months old in total. The company is only concerned on covering losses and taking money from the customer. I was sold a faulty product , why doesn’t that warrant a refund or full exchange? Policies are for products that are not defective. 

• Initial Complaint

  05/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I returned two orders to James Allen, and was told by customer service the refund would be issued 10 days after it was received (and inspected). It's been 10 days and now I called customer service and they said it will be two weeks. I just want a refund as the items were returned in excellent condition (returned immediately) and the quality of the items were not as expected in terms of quality (thin chain on necklace that the clasp was too heavy for so twisted to the front all the time). The return RMA numbers are ************ S ***** and ************ S ***** I would like to be refunded immediately. I ordered from them for their promise of hassle free returns but it seems this is not the case, and a false promise.

  

  Business response

  05/01/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us in regards to your orders. We see that both return shipments were received and only this morning, May 1st, were the gemologist inspections completed to approve your items for return. Our Admin team will be processing your refunds within 24 hours and you will receive email notifications once both refunds are completed. If you have any further questions or concerns our customer service team is happy to assist you. 

  

  Business response

  05/02/2024

  Both of the customer's orders were refunded on May 1st 2024. The customer has email confirmations that the refunds have been completed and the process was done within our advertised two week window. 

• Initial Complaint

  04/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received an engagement ring purchased from James Allen on January 1, 2024. I sent it back for resizing from a size 6 to 5.5. I also ordered a matching wedding band from James Allen that was advertised as "designed to fit together with a matching engagement ring, side by side, with the same shapes, sizes, and setting styles of the engagement ring. Striking and symmetrical!" I received my resized engagement ring and tried it on with my wedding band. I immediately noticed that James Allen thinned the gold down such that the ring lost its shape and knifes-edge cut, and a portion of the band was flat rather than rounded. Two local jewelers examined the ring and credited the defects to poor workmanship and quoted me $400 to fix the defects. The defects are visible and the rings do not match nor sit flush together. I sent both rings back to James Allen for inspection (invoice no. **********), and they determined the engagement ring had to be remade. I waited for one month until it was complete and received it back on April 26, 2024. To my surprise, the ring was exactly as before. No remedy was made. (See attached photographs taken 4/26/24) James Allen refuses to provide any refund to cover the cost of remedying the defects locally. I am very upset that I haven't been able to wear my ring for most of my engagement and James Allen failed to fulfill its promise to fix the defects. I do not want to send it back to James Allen for another inspection because James Allen failed to fix the defects the last time, nor do I want to be without my ring for another month. I'm asking only for a refund to the original cost of the ring to cover the costs incurred in remedying the defects and for my horrible and disappointing experience with James Allen. As the situation remains, I am very upset with the workmanship of James Allen and very disappointed in its inability to fix the issue and provide good customer satisfaction. I could currently never recommend this company to anyone.

  

  Business response

  04/30/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and we apologize for your experience. We see you have partnered with management regarding your service order. You have a beautiful bridal set and we are looking forward to assisting you further with the remake service. If you have any further questions or concerns, please continue working directly with our management team. 

  Customer response

  04/30/2024

  I have agreed to send the ring to James Allen for another remake. I would like to wait until the remake is complete and satisfactory before closing this case and marking it resolved because this has been such an ongoing issue with no resolution. 

• Initial Complaint

  04/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Recent purchase of a $4,000 diamond which is not as advertised from James Allen. Additionally, the diamond was received approx a week after the date scheduled which gave her no diamond on her birthday. My wife and I have not been able to receive a fair resolution from James Allen regarding an exchange for the defect diamond received, we would pay to employ the services of a GIA Certified Jeweler to evaluate the exchange diamond and if found to be per the GIA report, the Jeweler would professionally swap the diamonds and return the defect diamond to James Allen. James Allen management is not interested in working with us, nor with the GIA Certified Jeweler at this time, other than to embarrass my wife and I further by making us wait additional extended time while a suitable replacement might be found, meantime James Allen would leave my wife's ring again with no diamond. James Allen had no issue to hold our $4000 while we trusted them to send us a diamond. The GIA Certified Jeweler establishment we propose to help facilitate an exchange has been in business 124 years and is extremely credible. Please see reports attached.

  

  Business response

  04/25/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to reach out in regards to your order. We see that you have been in communication with management regarding your loose diamond purchase from James Allen. We stand behind the accuracy of our listings, our gemologist inspections and the information provided by the GIA for your loose diamond selection. If for any reason a customer is not satisfied with their purchase we offer a full return within 30 days of an order shipping out. We see that our team has offered to assist you with a return or an exchange order within your 30 day return window, and a prepaid ***** return label has already been provided to you. In the event of a new purchase from James Allen, your package must ship directly to you or to a ***** location where you can sign for the package. For security reasons we are unable to send our customer's purchases to third party locations. We appreciate your understanding and our management team is happy to continue to assist you. 

  Customer response

  04/25/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  James Allen was aware that my wife and I paid to purchase the $500 head to fit the new diamond, yet no diamond from James Allen arrived.  I cannot return the setting head, we both fully expected that James Allen (JA) would act fairly on our behalf, once the diamond was further evaluated and shown to have 'Medium Fluorescence', and which the Senior GIA Gemologist attributes to the Fluorescence in a 'D' color stone- it is Nitrogen that is trapped within the Diamond causing issues when the diamond is viewed in sunlight, shine is almost non-existent.

  The Diamond we paid for was advertised as 'None' in the category of Fluorescence, and were this true, we would be happy.  As everyone has read our fair proposed solution, we trusted JA with the $4000 for as long as they took to get us a diamond, we're not asking JA to trust a customer, which is why we propose to employ a Master GIA Certified Gemologist- the findings he reveals are very evident with microscope, lights, including the special UV box which proves or disproves Fluorescence.  Fluorescence will never go away- it takes the 'Beauty' away from a D-Color diamond in some cases, and specifically in this diamond, as is Verifiable through the Gemologist.  Please see his report, and please consider that my wife has feelings, consider if this were your wife and she's expected to pull the diamond, send it to JA, wait for another diamond, have it inspected, and then schedule its installation if it bears true with the included report...  And why does JA remove the GIA  number from the Certifications shown on their site?  Other sellers like Brilliance do not.  We could have easily chosen a more transparent online option, but further tormenting my wife is unfair.

  Thank you for fair consideration in advance.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

  

  Business response

  04/26/2024

  The customer has worked directly with management on their order. It has been offered to expedite the return/exchange/new order process as much as possible in addition to a goodwill gesture discount on the customer's new diamond selection. The customer has been provided with a pre-paid ***** return label to ship back their current diamond for a return within the order's 30 day return window. Management has offered to continue to assist the customer during the return and reordering process. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I placed an order (#**********) for earrings. On the page, just below "ADD TO CART", it says, "Free Overnight Shipping". I even clicked on the link for it, and it made no reference to a minimum. See the two attached pics. I ordered it knowing it needed to ship on time based on the estimate and be overnight shipping to get on time. The earrings shipped on the day expected, but it was two-day shipping. Everything I saw, it was to be overnight shipping. Support sent me info to a link at bottom of the webpage that mentions $500 minimum, but when ordering, and even clicking the free overnight shipping link, it never mentions it. Again, see the attached pics. It's false advertising. I wouldnt have ordered if it wasn't overnight shipping.

  

  Business response

  03/29/2024

  Thank you for reaching out to advise of the overnight shipping notation on the product that you purchased.  We do ship all items under $500 by 2-day FedEx. I see that you have received your item. If you are not fully satisfied with your item received, please contact us directly with your 30-day return policy and we are happy to provide you return shipping instructions or assist you with an exchange for a different item. I do see that a manager has reached out to you as well via email and by phone. Please contact us should you have any other questions or need further assistance. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  James Allen was offering a 50% off ring setting in lieu of Valentine’s Day with the sale ending at midnight 2/14/2024. On 2/11/2024, my boyfriend and I want to get engaged and purchased a loose diamond and setting from James Allen via their website. The order was successful. On 2/14/2024, I received notice the order was cancelled. When speaking to a customer representative I was informed the order was canceled because the listed price for the loose diamond was incorrect on their website. They suggested I find another diamond and to call and speak with a representative to place another order to ensure this didn’t happen again. By the way, it was very difficult to get them to honor the 1/2 off ring setting since the sale was ending even though it was James Allen who canceled the order. However, they did and on 2/16/2024, I called to order a different diamond and ring setting just on the phone with a customer representative just as they instructed. The order went through. Was informed on 2/20/2024 they canceled my order again bc the pricing on the Diamond was incorrect on their website. The service manager told me that I should check pricing on the Diamond and if it appears too low then the pricing is incorrect. I did look at the other diamonds similar to what I was looking for and the prices were similar. Frankly, that isn’t something a consumer should do! It is on the company to have correct pricing and/or honor it. This is the second time this has happened to us and they do not seem to care. Also, they would not disclose the second time why the order was canceled, which is suspicious to me.

  

  Business response

  02/21/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to reach out about your experience. We do our best to have accurate and updated listings on our site, however with the massive volume of options to choose from there may be occasional listing errors or outdated listings. We see that both of your orders contained items that were either listed incorrectly or unavailable for purchase. The system cancelled your orders once the listings were identified and our customer service team notified you that a new order would need to be placed. Both orders have been cancelled and refunded at this time. Our customer service team would be happy to assist you with a new order if and when you are ready, and to confirm that your selections are available before your payment is processed. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered a 25th anniversary ring from JA on 10/31/23. Received it 11/17. I called on 11/22 because I was unhappy with the ring and customer service was helpful. A label was created same day. I sent it back 11/28 (Thanksgiving was in between). I didn't receive the ring back until 1/8/24 (!), and was still unhappy with it, so I returned it the same day. JA received it 1/11/24. It is now over a month later - 2/16/24, and I still have not received a refund. I have called 4 times since then. They said it would take 2-3 weeks to inspect it, and issue a refund, but it's been over a month. Today, a rep said the team would "begin initiating a refund," and that it will take at least 48 hours for it to go through. I have been waiting for weeks on their schedule, and no longer trust it will only take 48 hours. This process has been horrible - this was supposed to be a 25th anniversary ring, and I had looked for months before picking a ring from James Allen. I am disappointed not only because I didn't like the ring, but mostly because trying to get a refund has been awful. Please refund my money, James Allen. This is ridiculous.

  Customer response

  02/20/2024

  Update 2/20 - On 2/13, James Allen said they would refund my money by 2/16. They didn't. When I called on 2/16 ,they said they were putting it through to billing and I would receive it early the following week. On the end of business day 2/20, I still had not received it. When I called, the customer service representative said he was escalating it to his managers, and said he could not issue a refund because it was past the 30 day return window, and the system would not let him. I am beyond angry. I had the ring for less than 2 weeks total, and the 2nd time I received it back (after they took more than a month to replace the stone it and send it to me), I didn't even have it 24 hours before I returned it. They have had the ring since 1/11/2024. It is now 2/20/2024. I want my money back. At this point it's fraud, that they won't honor their 30 day guarantee, and won't refund my money. They have had the ring far more than I have had it, and will not give me back my money. If I don't have a resolution and a refund, I will have to go to my state's Attorney General.

  

  Business response

  02/21/2024

  Thank you for sharing your feedback and we apologize this was your recent experience with us. Return processing times are higher than average at the moment due to our inbound request volume. We see that you have spoken to management who is working to have your refund processed as quickly as possible moving forward. Once the funds have been returned to you a refund notification email will be provided. If you have any additional questions we invite you to contact our customer service team directly. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩