JVC president to testify before Congress

Jewelers Vigilance Committee president, CEO and general counsel - Cecilia L. Gardner, has been invited to testify before the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, on “Guarantee of a Legitimate Deal Act of 2009” (referred to as “the legislation”) introduced into the House to require certain return policies from businesses that purchase precious metals from consumers and solicit such transactions through an Internet website.

The legislation would make it illegal for a gold company to melt or destroy jewellery or precious metals before the consumer signed off on it. The gold buying company also would have to return the jewellery promptly, and adequately insure the gold jewellery when returning it to the consumer following a rejected offer.

Gardner, serving as a jewellery industry expert, will provide JVC’s experience with on-line gold buying businesses and consumer complaints in the jewellery industry in reference to the legislation. She said, “JVC supports the passage of this legislation. The association and our membership are aligned completely with every effort to maintain a fair marketplace and prevent consumer exploitation. To this end, JVC opened its Gold Buying Division in 2009 to provide guidance for gold buyers purchasing gold from the public and continues to monitor the industry for deceptive gold buying practices. In addition, we added information for selling gold to JVC’s consumer section on JVC’s website – www.jvclegal.org. JVC continues to monitor the industry for deceptive gold buying practices.”