Our Simple Terms & Conditions
Online / Verbal Quotations
All valuations are subject to the precious metal item(s) being weighed and tested by us.
Testing
It is important to note that we buy gold, silver, platinum and palladium for scrap. During testing, we may file the surface of your item(s), cut and separate non-precious metal parts such as brooch pins and remove stones from their settings. We use XRF (X-ray Flouresence) testing to determine the precious metal content of items. It is highly accurate and far more precise than the traditional 'acid testing' that most high street gold buyers will use.
Shipping
Gold-Traders (UK) Ltd cannot be held liable for any loss or damage to items whilst in transit to us or from us. Please therefore ensure that you select the most appropriate shipping method for your items and that it is adequately insured.
When sending your items, we strongly recommend using Royal Mail Special Delivery. Your package will be insured for a minimum of £500 with the option of increasing this to a maximum of £2,500. We do not recommend using Royal Mail 1st Class 'Signed For' delivery as your package will only be insured to a maximum value of £50.
Please ensure you package all items appropriately. We recommend using a robust, padded 'Jiffy' style envelope, placed inside a Royal Mail silver polythene Special Delivery envelope.
For our mutual safety (and to facilitate any potential claim against the postal company), items requiring a signature on delivery will be inspected for damage or tampering to the envelope. If damage or tampering is evident, we will refuse to accept the package and ask for it to be returned to the sender. If we are able to identify you as the sender (from the unique shipping label), we will contact you to advise of our actions.
If you choose not to accept our valuation, we will return all your items via Royal Mail Special Delivery with insurance set at the appropriate rate for your items. This will be at our cost - there is no charge for this service for UK customers.
It is standard company policy to return non-gold items to the customer when requested. To cover our postage fees, there is a nominal £3.00 for this service. If we are returning non-gold items, they will be sent on a standard first or second class postal service as the item(s) will be deemed as having no value. If you require tracking and / or insurance for the items, this must be requested and a quote will be provided to cover the additional cost.
Payments by PayPal
When PayPal is selected as the preferred payment method, we must verify that we hold a valid e-mail address. Our confirmation e-mail will contain a verification link which must be activated in order for the PayPal payment to be made.
If the gold item(s) are received by Gold-Traders (UK) Ltd, but e-mail validation is not completed within 5 days of our quotation, payment will be automatically made by cheque and sent to the address supplied.
Gold-Traders (UK) Ltd will not be held liable for any transaction fees that you may incur when receiving money to your PayPal account.
Valuations
To allow us to value your items, stones will be removed from their settings and other non-precious metal items will also be removed. You should understand that if you subsequently request the return of your items, we will be unable to re-set your stones or re-attach non-gold parts. The following list, although not complete, illustrates what is undertaken to value your items.
- Steel tension wires will be stripped from bangles.
- Stones wil be removed from their settings. These can occasionally shatter on removal.
- Non-gold pins will be cut off.
- Movements will be removed from watches.
When you complete our claim form, you will have the opportunity to specify the weight and purity of the items you are sending to us. If those fields are completed, your claim form will contain an estimated valuation. Once your items have been received by us and providing the final valuation does not differ by more or less than 10% of our initial quotation, payment will be automatically made using the customer's preferred payment method.
If however the final valuation differs by more or less than 10% of the initial quote, authorisation will be sought before payment is made.
When completing the claim form, you have the option to requesting a formal quote. If this option is selected, we will confirm your valuation on receipt of your items and payment will be delayed until you give us your explicit permission to proceed.
Gold-Traders (UK) Ltd reserves the right to return all items to the customer.
We endevour to process most claims on the day of receipt, however there are occasions when delays may occur. Such instances can include jewellery with a large quantity of stones needing removal, lemels, sweeps or scrap requiring a 'melt & assay' and large quantities of dental scrap.
All payments made are inclusive of VAT. If you require a VAT invoice, please contact us.
Cooling Off
A customer has 24 hours from notification of payment in which to change their mind. Written notification must be received within this time period (e-mails are acceptable) and our payment subsequently returned within 3 days. Gold-Traders (UK) Ltd will then return the gold, fully insured, at no cost to the customer.
Credit Checks / Additional ID
We reserve the right to perform a credit check and seek additional identification for certain transactions. This is mandatory for transactions over £8,000 in value.
Charity Donations
If you would prefer to donate the value of your scrap gold to charity, we will pay an additional 5% on top of the scrap value.
We have tried to make the process as simple and transparent as possible.
- Nominate your chosen charity on the quotation form.
- Send us your items.
- We will calculate the value and add the additional 5% premium to the price.
- We will issue you with a cheque, made payable to your nominated charity.
Please Note: The charity you select must be a registered charity, recognised by the Charity Commission.
Due to our very tight margins, we are unable to offer a charity premium on coins.