Ceylon Gem Bureau(PVT) LTD in Colombo

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comments 5

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  Anil Krishali

  :: 11 February 2018 14:25:15

  Do not buy anything from here. You will be approached by many people on streets telling you that there is a exhibition and a tuk tuk driver will take you there in a very meager price. Do not beleieve them. Its a scam be extra careful. Advised to insist on NSJA- GTL certificate with photograph of gem stone before buying any product. We were also trapped but were sensible enough to return the gem stones though with great difficulty and with the help of Police. Police was very cooperative and we were able to get our our credit card payment reversal letter to bank. The mental trauma we underwent was tremendous and missed our flight to India due to them.

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  mohammed ammaar

  :: 05 February 2018 17:43:55

  This company was blacklisted by our competetive enemies hence the reason we have to close our company permanently. We are not scammers or cheaters like we were accused , we always served customers with whatever we can.

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  Suraj Deen

  :: 01 February 2018 15:38:28

  Hai ..I am from india. recently I was on tour to Sri Lanka. and I visited to kandy Nuwaraeilya and galle. I have visited several Gem shops. but I'm not satisfy with the prices and stones. @ last by hotel receptionist Direct me to a Shop which is calling Ceylon Gem bureau. Colombo. I saw few stones and compare the prices are reasonable with genuine certificates I purchased 2 sapphires. back home I Checked with our Jeweler he said the stones are worth more than which I paid.

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  Rod Cake

  :: 27 January 2018 10:28:56

  Be extra careful when you are traveling within Colombo city. There seemed to be a group of locals operating within Colombo city who are target unsuspecting tourists into buying gems (usually fakes ones). Here are their methods: - Some friendly nicely dressed locals (in shirt and pants) with well spoken English will approach you and tell you he / she works in the nearby hotel (and even the same hotel you are staying in). - They'll tell you there's an ongoing local religious festival on the day and because of that there have a great gem sale of up to 50% - 70% and the day is the last day. - Suddenly, there'll be tuk-tuk nearby to pick you up and they'll suggest you to go to the temples and few other locations before going to visit the gem wholesale / outlet store that has the major sale. - Once you done with the visit to the few local places of interest, as you arrive at the gem store, someone will be ready to pick you up at the front door. - At the store, they'll show you that their gems (sapphire, other precious stones) are real by trying to cut them on glass at the display area. - The store salesperson will commit to 30 mins job to make the ring / pendant / earrings / etc upon purchase. - Upon payment, they tell you that it will take few hours to make the gems into the desired product and ask you to return to your hotel where the goods will be delivered to your doorsteps. - The product comes with "Certificate" indicating "Genuine" product and authorised by the government. - When delivered to your door, everything may look as though as promised, but the certificates look suspicious with insufficient information inside and the gems do not look as sparkling as those you chose from the store, and may even look dirty. Personal experience: - The descriptions above highlighted my experience when I fell into this scam. - The store initially did not want to refund but instead say I can exchange with something else but I insisted a full refund immediately. - I performed my transaction on my credit card and the store cleared the transaction immediately the night of the purchase but I only realised this scam the following day. - I went to 2 police stations (Fort - nearby my hotel in Colombo 01; and Slave Island - nearby to the store that sold me the gems in Colombo 07). - I insisted that a police officer had to go with me in order to resolve this else I will want a case to be open against the store. - The police chief inspector of Slave Island station rang up to the store to speak with the store manager harshly and told them to refund me fully and in return that I have the stones returned to them along with all documentations), and the inspector gave me his personal cell number and asked me to ring him if they give me any trouble at their store by not cooperating and refunding me in full. - The store manager didn't want to return cash to me since I transacted using my credit card, so he wrote a letter to his bank to ask for the reversal of the charges on my credit card. - I insisted that the entire process of reversal has to be completed within the day and I took the letter (along with one of the store's staff) to the bank and personally hand in the letter and my transaction slip to the bank officer) to ensure the loop is closed. I also took a business card from the bank officer to ensure the details of the person who will perform the reversal was captured (in case it was a fraud). - The reversal took place after 48 hours and I lose a couple of dollars in exchange rate. Moral of the story: - Do not trust anyone who seemed to be helpful and friendly on the streets wherever you go around the world. - If you really want to buy nice gem. Go to any authorised store which is sanctioned by the local government (usually those places that the official tour group will bring you). If unsure, ask the hotel reception, they will tell you the legit ones.

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  paul fenton

  :: 01 November 2017 03:05:52

  These guys are scammers and will show you some gems then exchange them for rubbish after you have paid. They work with tuk tuk scammers who take you there offering special once a year deals. Stay right away and tell everyone you know to avoid this shop like the plague. Suddenly they have no english when you ask for a refund and will look you right in the eye while ripping you off. Absolutely shameful and a blight on sri lanka. The government should shut them down if they care about tourism. No good liars and cheats.