Store Policies Regarding Payment
Payment by Credit Card
Payment by Bank Deposit
Payment of Goods on Lay-By
Payment By Gift Certificate
Payment by Other Means
International Payments
Fraudulent Transactions
Annulment of sales
Store Policies Regarding Shipping and Delivery of Goods
Registered Mail
Signature on Delivery
Goods on Back Order
Store Policies Regarding Returns, Refunds and Exchanges
Returning Defective Items
Exchanging Goods
Refunding a Purchase
Refunding Gift Certificates
Miscellaneous Store Policies
Gold Member Rewards Club
Store Policies Regarding Payment
Payment of account by Credit Card:
We accept Credit Card payments from both domestic and international customers. All credit card transactions are processed in real time by PayPal Australia. We do not accept credit card payments by email, fax or telephone service. Where we have difficulty confirming either the identity of the card holder or the validity of the use of the card for first time customers, we reserve the right to refund any payment made by credit card and request payment by direct bank deposit to complete the transaction.
Payment of account by Direct Bank Deposit:
We accept payment by direct bank deposit and this is our preferred method of payment. Direct Bank Deposit Payments can be made by either attending any St George Bank branch, or via the internet. If paying by direct deposit, please remember to include your name or the order number in the comments section and be aware that first time payments via the internet will take up to 2 business days to appear on our records; All subsequent transactions should be close of business that day.
Our Account Details Are:
| Bank: |
St George Bank |
| Branch: |
Broken Hill, NSW. |
| Account Name: |
Gems in the Rough |
| BSB Number: |
112 - 879 |
| Account Number: |
473342342 |
Payment of goods held on Lay-By account:
We will accommodate Lay-By requests on all items listed with a minimum account value of AUD$100.00 (multiple items may be used to make up the lay-by account). To initiate a Lay-By account, please select all the items you wish to purchase under lay-by and select "Pay by Mail" during the checkout process. At the completion of checkout, forward us an email to sales@gemsintherough.com.au stating your name and order number and your wish to Lay-By the account. Once we have confirmed your account, we will email you an agreement to sign.
- All Lay-By Account terms are 90 days with longer periods available on request.
- A deposit of 10% is required at the commencement of the lay-by and upon acceptance by Gems in the Rough.
- Where an account is cancelled within the first 30 days, no penalty applies.
- Where an account is cancelled between 31 and 60 days, 5% of the account value will be withheld.
- Where an account is cancelled between 61 and 90 days, 10% of the account value will be withheld.
- Where 100 days expires and the account has not been finalised, 10% of the account value will be withheld and the remainder will be automatically refunded to the customer.
- Where a lay-by is cancelled and the goods were specially ordered at your request, 10% of the value will be withheld regardless of the age of the account.
- On receipt of the final payment, the goods will be released and forwarded to the customer.
Payments utilising Gift Certificates:
Gems in the Rough Gift Certificates are currently available to both Australian and international residents. They may be purchased to any value in Australian Dollars that is stipulated by yourself. To purchase a Gift Certificate, follow this link.
Certificates can be sent to you either electronically or by registered post - No Postage Charges are payable on Gift Certificates. Certificates may be redeemed by the beneficiary prior to receiving your certificate as they are redeemed electronically and all details are provided shortly after completing your purchase.
To redeem the certificate, simply enter the required details during the checkout process.
- Gift Certificates are not redeemable for cash;
- Gift Certificates are not transferable;
- Gift Certificates cannot be refunded (this is a fraud prevention measure);
- Gift Certificates will expire after 18 months, unless prior arrangements have been made;
- If a Gift Certificate has not been redeemed within 12 months, we will notify the purchaser via email that the certificate is outstanding in case it has been lost or forgotten. We will then send a follow up email each 30 days until expiry.
- If a certificate is lost, the purchaser must contact us in order to prove purchase. We will re-issue lost certificates.
Please keep all Gift Certificate details secure as you would a bank account PIN number. Your certificate is an electronic key to monetary funds and neither Gems in the Rough or its directors will be held liable for the unlawful access to your funds where you have failed to adequately protect your details. We do however, maintain access records for all purchases and these will be released to the authorities for investigative purposes.
Payments by Other Means:
We accept most forms of payment. In addition to methods already discussed, we will also accept payment posted to us in the form of an Australia Post Money Order, Bank Cheque, Foreign Bank Draft, Telegraphic Transfer and we will also accept payment by Personal Cheque where prior approval has been arranged. Goods in each of these cases will not however, be shipped until the funds have been satisfactorily cleared.
If you would like to discuss other payment options, please contact us.
International Payments:
Payments are accepted from our international customers by the following means:
- Purchases less then $250.00 may be paid for by credit card via PayPal;
- Purchases over $250.00 may be paid via PayPal only after prior arrangement;
- Purchases over $250.00 must be paid by Electronic Funds Transfer unless prior arrangements have been made.
- International Bank Cheque or International Bank Money Order will be accepted for all international transactions, however goods will not be shipped until funds have cleared;
We will compensate International Customers by reimbursing 50% of the EFT fee for transactions over $500.00 in value.
Fraudulent Transactions:
All fraudulent use or suspected fraudulent use of credit cards will be reported to both the issuing financial institution and also to the appropriate Law Enforcement Agencies.
We reserve the right to make any enquiries we feel necessary to ensure that any credit card or other form of payment is being legally utilised by the person entitled to do so.
Where a customer commences an illegitimate charge back procedure against us either with the intent to deceive or by error, we reserve the right to recover all costs and associated fees accumulated during the investigation of the disputed credit charges. By purchasing from Gems in the Rough, you acknowledge that if a charge back is commenced on your behalf with either the intent to deceive or in error, that you will agree to reimburse Gems in the Rough all costs and charges incurred as a result. Further where deception is suspected, all incidents will be directed to the appropriate authorities for consideration of civil or legal sanctions.
All charge backs reported to PayPal are fully investigated by ourselves independently of that organisation.
We undertake these policies to protect both the legal interests of ourselves and our customers.
Annulment of Sales :
We reserve the right to refuse, cancel or annul any sale that is believed to be either fraudulent, illegal in nature or if completed will not be in the best interests of the company or will bring Gems in the Rough or its directors into disrepute.
We reserve the right to annul any sale where the product purchased is no longer in production or no longer available from our distributor and where the product was none the less offered for sale by us. Where this occurs, the purchase price will be refunded to the customer in full and inclusive of any fees paid by the customer in order to complete the payment to us where evidence evidence of such loss is supplied.
Where the transaction is believed to be fraudulent or otherwise illegal in nature, details will be passed on to the relevant State, Federal or International Law Enforcement Agencies for investigation.
Store Policies Regarding Shipping & Delivery of Goods
Australian Domestic Shipping:
At checkout, you will be offered a range of shipping options to choose from. Our shipping providers are Australia Post (Registered Parcel service / Express Post Platinum service) and TNT Australia (Domestic and International freight). Please not that there are some restrictions that apply to these services, such as only gemstones can be sent via Express Post and all photographic or imaging equipment must be shipped via TNT Express. Any shipment in excess of 250kg must be quoted individually.
We ship from Port Macquarie, which is not in the Express Post serviced area and therefore has no guarantee of overnight delivery. We have found that Express Post Platinum satchels are in most cases delivered within 24 - 48 hours - but this is not guaranteed.
International Shipping:
All international shipments must from the 1st of December 2010, be shipped via TNT International. We have found TNT to offer a more consistent service in terms of cost and care of your products and fragile items. The cost of TNT is also in most cases, marginally cheaper than that offered by similar services provided by Australia Post.
Signature on Delivery (Remittance):
Remittance may be required on shipments at our discretion; The cost of remittance is our responsibility.
This policy is taken to reduce the risk and instances of fraud, which allows us to sell to our customers at lower prices.
Goods Held on Back Order:
Due to the fact that we import most of our material by sea because of the weight involved (often over a tonne at a time), and that our goods are sold via several different outlets, we may on rare occasions run out of the stock you requested. Where this occurs, you will be notified by email of the fact and offered a choice between alternate goods, refund or awaiting your goods on back order. This would occur only on rare occasions where we had a sudden unforeseen increase in demand for a particular item - This has not happened yet.
Goods may also be placed on back order where you contact us regarding an enquiry, where you could not find the particular item listed here. If the item is on order or can be ordered, you will be offered the chance to place on back order.
All back orders are completed as a priority and back order customers will take precedence over other sales objectives such as news letter offers.
Store Policies Regarding Returns, Refunds & Exchanges
Returning Defective Items:
If you receive an item that is defective, damaged, incorrect or not as described - please contact us immediately. We will refund, exchange or replace any item that was not as ordered. If you would like to return the item, please contact us and we will give you a 'Return Authorisation Number'. Simply attach the number to your docket and return the item plus original packaging to us by registered post (signature is not required).
On receipt of the item, we will inspect the item and refund, exchange or replace the item at your request. All refunds issued will be done so in the same manner in which they were sent to us (i.e. PayPal Payment = PayPal refund).
Items will not be refunded, exchanged or replaced if they have been damaged, used, altered, substituted or undergone any other process by either yourself or any agent acting on your behalf or if the items have suffered neglect, so that they are no longer the same as they were when they left our premises. Australian Consumer Laws do not automatically entitle you to a refund simply because you have changed your mind, however we like to maintain good relationships with all our customers and each such case will be dealt with on an individual basis.
Exchanging Goods:
Refer to Returning Defective Items above;
Where goods do not meet your expectations, we will exchange goods at your request and in line with the policy on Returning Defective Items.
Refunds:
Refer to Returning Defective Items above;
Where goods do not meet your expectations, we will refund goods at your request and in line with the policy on Returning Defective Items. Where goods are refunded, we will also reimburse the cost of postage. Postage costs will not be refunded however, if the refund is due to the customer simply changing their mind.
Refunds of Gift Certificates:
We regret that we do not offer refunds on Gift Certificates - we have taken this policy as a fraud and crime prevention measure to prevent criminal activities such as money laundering.
Other Miscellaneous Store Policies
Gold Member Rewards:
Gold Member Rewards are one of the promotions that we have introduced as a means to thank those customers that have supported us. A total of 2.5% of every purchase is refunded to the customer as reward points.
Reward Points are earned on:
- Every Purchase you make from our online catalogue at Gems in the Rough;
- If you are a registered customer and you purchase from us off-line, please provide us the details of your store account personally at the time of sale or in an email and we will adjust your balance. Please allow 2-3 days for processing (usually this will occur within 24 hours);
- Purchases that accrue points include Jewellery, Gemstones, Gem Rough, Minerals, Display and Packaging, Tools, etc.
- Reward Points are not earned when purchasing Gift Certificates - Points are allocated however, on their redemption.
- Reward Points are not earned on Brokered sales, since these purchases only carry a brokerage fee and are not subject to normal profit margins or discounts.
- Reward Points are not earned on Newsletter purchases due to the significant discounts already offered.
Our Policies on Reward Points are:
- One point is earned for every $40.00 spent (equates to a 2.5% return);
- Points are not transferable to another person (unless converted to a Gift Certificate);
- Points will expire after two years on their anniversary - you will be contacted prior to expiry and given the option to convert all accumulated points into a Gift Certificate;
- Points cannot be redeemed for cash.
