HS
H L Simpsontice
Sep 6, 2026
I visited Ernest Jones in Fareham in January to purchase an upgrade to my engagement ring. The ring I was interested in was in the sale — a two-carat diamond ring advertised as being worth around £20,000, which we purchased for approximately £11,000.
I was initially helped by a lovely sales assistant, Yvonne, who was extremely helpful and professional. Unfortunately, the experience with the store manager, Wayne, was very different.
When we returned to the store to see the ring once it had arrived, I asked Yvonne whether she would receive the commission, as she was the person who had originally dealt with me and made the sale. Wayne immediately said that the commission might have to be split because he had “helped deal with it”. I found this particularly disappointing, as he had not been involved when I first registered my interest in the ring. Having worked in sales myself, I have never experienced a manager attempting to take part of a commission simply because they subsequently became involved in the transaction.
Unfortunately, the problems continued after we purchased the ring. Within a couple of weeks, the diamond became loose and was visibly wobbling. We returned it to the store and it was sent away for repair. Within days of getting it back, the stone was wobbling again.
When we returned to the store, I asked Wayne what our options were. Rather than discussing a refund, he produced another ring which was around £5,000 more expensive, although he said he could offer a further discount. At no point was I offered a refund. I now understand that, given how quickly the original ring had developed a significant fault, this should have been properly discussed as an option. Instead, we ultimately purchased the more expensive ring and paid considerably more money.
Unfortunately, that ring then caused another problem. Within a couple of weeks of wearing it, my finger became extremely sore and irritated. I had made it very clear to the sales assistant when purchasing the ring that I am allergic to nickel. I therefore raised my concerns with the store.
Wayne’s response was extremely frustrating. He was very defensive about the possibility of nickel, initially saying that the rings did not contain nickel, then saying that they did, and then referring to there being only 0.03% nickel. I explained that regardless of the percentage, something in the ring was clearly causing a reaction and that I had specifically made them aware of my allergy before purchasing it.
I was told the ring would be put in the safe and sent away for ultrasonic cleaning and inspection. When I returned approximately a month later to find out what was happening, I discovered that the ring had simply been sitting in the safe and nothing had actually been done with it.
Throughout this whole experience, I found Wayne to be extremely defensive, arrogant dismissive and unpleasant to deal with. I also witnessed him speaking rudely to members of his own staff. His attitude towards Yvonne and the way he appeared to try to take over the sale and potentially claim commission was particularly disappointing.
After a great deal of back and forth with Ernest Jones, I ultimately did receive a full refund. However, this was only after considerable effort on my part. There was no compensation, goodwill gesture or meaningful apology for what had happened — despite the considerable amount of money involved, the repeated problems with the rings and the time and inconvenience caused.
The fact that another ring had conveniently been found in my size, rather than a refund being offered when the original ring repeatedly failed, also left me feeling that the priority was retaining the sale rather than resolving the customer’s problem.
I have purchased expensive jewellery before and would expect a completely different level of customer service when spending this kind of money. So when spending this sort of money go somewhere else! Yvonne was lovely and I have nothing but praise for her, but unfortunately the conduct of the store manager completely overshadowed the experience.