Newbury 'cash for gold' business ceases trading

CashYourGoldNow was under investigation for more than a year by the Office of Fair Trading

A NEWBURY business that offers to buy gold from consumers through the post has ceased trading following investigation from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

In January 2010, the OFT announced it had requested information from five companies over concerns that people were being locked into accepting the offer that had been made for their gold, which included the Bone Lane-based CashYourGoldNow, run by the Vertex Watch Company Limited.

In particular, the OFT was concerned with the business practice of sending consumers a payment, which if not rejected and returned within restrictive time periods, meant their ‘silence' was taken as consent to the payment and their gold was melted down.

As a result of the investigation, three of the five companies concerned have signed undertakings and agreed to make a number of changes to their business practices.

However, CashYourGoldNow, who originally provided undertakings, have since ceased trading, alongside another company, Money4Gold.

Senior director of the OFT's consumer group, Heather Clayton, said: “These days we see more and more business models which involve consumers distance selling goods to firms. These options are good for consumers, providing business practices are fair.

“Where we see problems, however, we are keen to intervene early so that these markets develop with an appropriate level of consumer protection.”

She warned that any companies operating similar business models must make sure they treat consumers properly and provide clear information on how the service operates so that people make informed decisions about whether they wish to part with their possessions.