It was a stretched budget for her and she reluctantly agreed to pay the Rs 20,000 advance, with the remaining Rs 5,000 to be paid at the time of delivery on August 10.
At the time, the price of gold was quoted at Rs 23,150 per 10g in Mumbai. Unable to get together the balance Rs 5,000 by the due date, she delayed her visit to claim the chain.
"This was an opportunity the jeweller was looking for. I went to take delivery on August 12, two days after the deadline and they asked me to revert after five to six days," she complains.
"Now, on August 20, he refused to deliver at the price it was booked. They are asking for another Rs 5,000 for the same ornament."
With the price of gold setting a new record every alternate day, jewellery makers and retailers have started asking customers to pay for the ornament on the basis of the price of gold on the day of delivery, instead of the earlier agreement on the day of booking.
Generally, jewellers book new orders from customers and hedge their gold risk in the physical market for the quantity equivalent to the order for delivering the ornaments in an average of 10 days.
Since the price of gold has been advancing between the two dates, jewellers do not want to lose money in the rising market.
"If the customer fails to take delivery or the jeweller to deliver on the stipulated date, the contract expires.
"Then, it becomes the jeweller's prerogative whether to deliver the gold ornament at its booking price or with a revised high price," said Nilesh Parekh, chairman of Shree Ganesh Jewellery House Ltd, a Kolkata-based gold and diamond
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