Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/28/2024

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I'm deeply dissatisfied with my recent experiences. Upon receiving a 100g gold bullion on March 23, it was evident the package had been damaged. Despite heated discussions, replacement was reluctantly provided. Furthermore, my order for 60 1 oz silver coins on March 28 specifically requested Prestige condition, yet many coins had MILK SPOTS upon arrival. Despite numerous attempts, customer service was uncooperative, denying supervisor access and hanging up on me. I request a prompt exchange of the damaged coins, as the substandard service and product quality are unacceptable.Sincerely,

  Business Response

  Date: 04/12/2024

  21 days after the transaction, this customer called our customer support line and claimed that he was not satisfied with the appearance of a gold bullion bar that he had purchased from us because it had a plastic film on it that was slightly peeling off. He further claimed that we were repackaging old products and marketing them as brand new.
  
  Our customer support agent calmly the customer that that the bullion bar was brand new and not at all used, or pre-owned. Our customer support agent also tried to explain to the customer that the plastic film is no different from the film on a new watch, phone, or laptop and has no effect on the gold bullion bars value whatsoever.
  
  Almost immediately, the customer became extremely irate and refused to listen to or consider our customer support agents explanation. The customer further threatened to *** us and post negative reviews about us on ***************** Trustpilot, and other review services and forums. In an attempt to deescalate the situation, our customer service agent agreed to exchange products for the customer.
  
  While still in an enraged state, the customer made a xenophobic comment in which he stated that the customer service agent didnt know how to apologize due to his cultural background. The customer then said that he will do everything within his means, including spending money and writing to our CEO, to get this customer support agent fired. The customer also started using abusive words by calling our customer support agent a piece of s**t and, seeing that it was impossible to reason with the customer, our agent disconnected the call. As all calls with customers are recorded for training purposes, we have recordings of our agents interacting with this customer.
  
  The next day, the customer called our customer support line again to complain about another order this time silver coins that, according to him, had a defect. Our customer service agent further looked into the situation and then explained that the marks on the coin were a natural result of the manufacturing process and are commonly found on silver coins. In response, the customer became enraged once again and screamed profanities at our customer service agent calling the agent a f******************t twice and demanded to speak to a manager. The agent then disconnected the call.
  
  Our whole customer service team was then briefed about the situation with the abusive and unreasonable customer. A few minutes later, the customer called in again and was connected to yet another customer service agent who then disconnected the call. Our customer support manager and director then replied to the customers complaint email to further explain that the film on the gold bar was normal and common as well as point out that our customer support team members should not be abused.
  
  Our manager also assured the customer that we have a very stringent process for testing products that we procure directly from refineries, and we are certainly not repackaging old gold and passing them off as new to our customers. The customer was also informed that even though there was nothing wrong with the film, we have proceeded make a one-to-one swap for the customer for his purchase out of goodwill.
  In the customers response to our customer support manager, the customer then claimed that his abusive words and behavior was misunderstood and that he did not intend to be verbally abusive. He also agreed to ensure that future communications with us remain polite and professional.
  
  In the same email, the customer also pointed out about the is*** with the silver coins that were stored for him. Our customer service manager proceeded to explain to the customer that the marks on the coin are the result of a natural process and once again, does not affect the sell-back price to BullionStar in the future. Having said that, however,our customer service manager agreed to provide a replacement for the silver coins to deescalate the situation. In a further attempt to deescalate the situation, our customer service manager also offered a direct line of contact for any future questions or is***s that the customer faces so that it can be resolved as soon as possible. An appeal was also made to the customer to update his reviews to reflect his updated experience if he is satisfied with the assistance provided by our customer support manager.
  
  In the next email reply from the customer,he expressed his appreciation for the replacement of the silver coins and acknowledged the prompt action and took up our customer service managers offer for a direct line of communication for any future questions. In the email, the customer also mentioned that he is willing to reconsider removing the negative reviews that he posted on various review services as long as our customer service agents received a formal warning for their behavior.
  
  Though we have taken the time to carefully review the incident and do our best to learn from it, we decided not to proceed with formally warning our agents as they had done what they were trained to do and were on the receiving end of horrible and unwarranted abuse from the customer.
  
  Though the customer has removed his negative reviews on most websites, he has not removed his negative Better Business Bureau review, which is why we have written this response. It is worth noting that the customer has accepted our assistance for his requests and has also recently indicated that he is interested in purchasing additional precious metals products from us, which is why we feel that his complaint is no longer accurate and does not reflect the current situation and relationship between the customer and **********************.