Goldline Scandal

You guys seen or read about the scandal at Goldline?
An investigation is going on because the people who called in to Goldline were pressured into buying Swiss coins rather than bullion. These people feel they were cheated our of their money because they discovered that Goldline had marked up the coins.

I can't believe that. It is always someone else's fault, right? People who watch a TV ad, who think the world is going to end, go out and buy $5000 worth of gold on the spot (pun intended) and find out months later it is worth less than they paid?

Only person that is at fault is the buyer, you play with the fire and you're gonna get burned. Especially when you have no protection (knowledge).

What do you guys think?

 

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Video: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201007200002

*Disclaimer: This video is on a political blog, containing images and posts of other people about politics. I'm in no way forcing you to watch this video, and I'm asking you to not bring any of the politics over here.

 

Bait and switch is a crime in most legal jurisdictions. It's up to a jury to decide.

 

I get pressured to buy things all the time. I just say no if I don't like the deal. It's my money. As long as they're not committing fraud, I don't see a problem.

 

How hard is it to say no? I might be a minority, but I'm tired of people asking for protection from themselves.

 

It's going to be up to the jury to determine how to apply the law to the facts presented by both sides. I'm not a lawyer so I can't say how it will come out, but I understand that advertising one item then pushing the people who inquire to purchase another could very well be a crime if the people can demonstrate that the switch caused a monetary loss. I don't think it is relevant that the company has played it close to the line in the past and gotten away with it, or that they can't make money selling bullion.

 

If the representative told the people "this is just as good as the ____ you called about," and there was a monetary loss, it could very well be a crime. I think you are a minority. Time will tell.

 

"....but I'm tired of people asking for protection from themselves."

edited

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The first thing I said to myself when I saw Goldline and mediamatters was Glenn Beck - before I looked at anything. I would believe that video about as far as I could bounce my house.

 

I've seen their ads but I've never called them so I don't know what they are telling people. I don't think anybody here knows the facts of the case, so there is no way to determine if their actions are criminal. I'm just not as quick to believe that there is no possible way they could have done anything wrong, and that whatever happened is entirely the fault of the buyer. That's all.

 

Take a good look at the reality of PM's. Many people buy them as an investment, others try the get rich quick scheme. They called in to buy PM's, somebody talked them into a PM in a different form that costs more per ounce, and they said "YES", I'll buy them. When it didn't work out, they cry wolf. Neat.

Do you believe they would try to sue a stock broker if they called him to ask about buying a stock, he told them another had better potential and they bought and lost? I don't think so.

 

On that we can agree.

 

I opened up a thread on this topic down in the political area and so far not much has been posted but that is not unusual for that area of the CoinTalk forum. Your take is a bit different than mine. edited
I realize that these gold coins are being sold as investments and thus are regulated differently than just selling widgets. And I realize that the fear-mongering that accompanies the sales pitches IS illegal and unethical but again, edited

 

Not too long ago we were all asked to keep the politics out of the bullion section. It's really not that hard.

 

The broker would be brought up in front of FINRA in a heartbeat.

 

OK, I watched the video, and the only meaningful info I got out of this video is, ..., two stories: the 60+ year old man and the unemployed woman. Since I don't know much about the Swiss coins bought by that woman, I can only reflect on this -

The man's story: he bought $5000 worth of gold coins from GL, and then had them appraised by the LOCAL SHOP and were offered $2900. Now what's the problem here? It seems pretty obvious to me, but I am going to let you digest.