Vintage jewellery website lost my package: SALLY SORTS IT

In September I had a box of jewellery collected by the reselling website Vintage Cash Cow for valuation.

I didn’t hear anything for a month, so telephoned customer services. 

The person told me that the box had been received, but they couldn’t find it and said they would get back to me. They didn’t.

I’ve phoned every week since and I get the same response. When I emailed, the company said it still couldn’t find my package and offered me £85 for its contents. 

I would rather have my box back as the jewellery was worth much more than that. Please help.

H. T., Sunbury on Thames.

Sally Hamilton replies: You were kicking yourself that you hadn’t taken photos of the contents before sending the box to Vintage Cash Cow, a firm which specialises in buying people’s unwanted stuff, such as old jewellery and watches, and selling it on.

You sent it a dozen or so items, some of which were costume jewellery and probably worth very little. 

However, among them were what sounded like some real gems, including a solid silver charm bracelet with four charms, an 18-carat gold bracelet and a white gold necklace with a sapphire and small diamonds, with a pair of matching earrings.

With gold and silver prices soaring recently – gold is up by nearly 50 per cent in just the past year to £3,134 a troy ounce, and silver 65 per cent to £39 a troy ounce – I reckoned you could have received far more than you were offered by Vintage Cash Cow, simply by selling the precious metal pieces for scrap.

You were attracted to Vintage Cash Cow for the apparent ease of its process. The firm offers to collect packages from a customer’s home for free. 

If the subsequent valuation provided isn’t to a customer’s liking, the package can be returned for free.

With the postage, valuation and reselling costs involved, it is hardly surprising the valuations offered won’t be as high as sellers might achieve by selling items themselves through online marketplaces such as Vinted or eBay.

But I thought the £85 offer from the company insulting, especially as it was its own carelessness that left you out of pocket. 

Not only had it lost your items, but it also failed to communicate with you promptly about the matter – and then offered a derisory sum.

I was perplexed to read on its website that all customers’ packages are automatically insured up to £300 – and this can be raised to as much as £10,000 following further discussion with the company and provision of more descriptions and photos. 

Why, then, didn’t it offer you the maximum £300 when your package was lost?

Your experience prompted you to write a complaint about Vintage Cash Cow on the review website Trustpilot. 

You said the firm commented underneath that it would deal with your issue right away. But you heard nothing. 

When I intervened, suggesting that it should at least pay £300 plus a goodwill gesture of, say, £200, I heard nothing back at first.

But it clearly sparked action by someone high up. They contacted you and were apologetic, and seemingly agreed to my suggestion about the total compensation. 

But they asked you not to tell anyone – and you have since removed the review from Trustpilot.

I was not amused (or should that be a-moo-sed?) to hear Vintage Cash Cow had asked you to stay schtum on its poor service.

Openness encourages companies to learn how to act fairly when something goes wrong, without the likes of me having to intervene. The firm’s only comment to me was that it had resolved matters to your satisfaction.

Readers, I recommend that, when sending off items for valuation, you take an inventory and photographs so that you have evidence if things go missing.

Virgin Money locked my mother’s Isa 

My mother went into a care home in 2018, and a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPOA) was sent to all her banks, including Virgin Money, so I could help manage her finances.

When she opened an easy-access cash Isa with Virgin Money in 2023, she discovered that with an LPOA arrangement the account would need to be managed by post.

Worried that this was inflexible, she requested the power of attorney be removed, which Virgin acknowledged.

Fast forward to October, and Mum tried to withdraw money from the Isa to pay her care bills but found the account blocked and we are struggling to get it unfrozen. Please help.

S. D., Beaconsfield, Bucks.

Sally Hamilton replies: Lasting Power of Attorney is the go-to legal arrangement for anyone who wishes to have a trusted person help manage their finances, especially if their mental or physical capacity deteriorates. 

But not all organisations operate its arrangements in the same way.

While many enable easy online account management, Virgin doesn’t. The prospect of having to send letters to withdraw money seemed too laborious, which is why your mother requested the power of attorney be removed. 

You only realised her plan had come to nought last month when she needed access to £4,600 of her £46,000 Isa balance. 

Confusion ensued as Virgin said the account was covered by LPOA after all – meaning you were forced to request the withdrawal in writing. 

When you chased this up, Virgin told you the account had been frozen since 2023 and it could not release the money.

Virgin said it had been waiting for your mother to try to withdraw money before it would unblock the account at her request. It asked to speak to your mother, but her dementia makes it difficult for her to use the phone.

So you asked for my help. My prodding appeared to focus the bank’s attention and, the same day, her Isa was unfrozen. 

Virgin apologised and said an online block is placed on accounts as standard to reduce risk when an LPOA is put in place. It admitted there had been a mistake and the block should have been removed, along with the LPOA, in 2023.

Though accounts with power of attorney can’t be managed online with Virgin, it says it is possible to make requests in branch, via email or through the online portal on its website. 

In short, you should have been told you could email, or upload to its website, the letter requesting the withdrawal rather than having to post it.

A spokesman says: ‘We are aware that there are limitations to the current process and are looking to make improvements.’

Virgin has paid your mother £300 in compensation and sent her flowers as an apology.

• Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk ¿ include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.