SEGS NOT HONORING GUARANTEE

Hi Everyone, Want to see if this has happened to anyone else and what they did. SEGS has a Guarantee on their website(listed below verbatim). If they grade a coin and it comes back in for regarding and grades lower SEGS will "pay the owner the difference between the fair market value of the coin at the newly established grade and the fair market value of the coin at the original grade". I sent in a coin at MS66 which would be worth approximately $19K. They regarded it at an MS64 which would be worth $3K. They sent me a letter stating since the coins was originally graded prior to 2007 they will not honor the Guarantee. The letter was from Larry Briggs. There is nothing in the guarantee on the website that states a 2007 cutoff.

Has this happened to anyone else? If yes how did you resolve it? I have filed claims with the Tennessee Attorney General, TN Department of Consumer Affiairs, and the NCA (Numismatic Consumer Alliance) Is there anyone else I should be contacting as well? I am assuming it takes a special license to be a grading company is their a licensing bureau I could file with also?.....Thanks



SEGS GUARANTEE
“Resubmitting for Verification of Grade”
If after SEGS has graded a coin, the owner of such coin believes that the coin has been over graded with respect to such standards and procedures, the owner may submit such coin to SEGS in its original SEGS coin capsule for re-grading. The fee for such re-grading shall be $20, and may be refundable.

Provided that the SEGS coin capsule has not been damaged or tampered with, and provided that there are no typographical errors in the grade and/or other identifying information for the coin on the SEGS label, the original grade shall be masked and a re-grade shall be determined.

If the re-grade is lower than that originally assigned by SEGS, SEGS shall pay the owner the difference between the fair market value of the coin at the newly established grade and the fair market value of the coin at the original grade. Fair market value shall be determined by SEGS based on recent actual transactions in the market place for coins of that type, variety, error, and/or grade.
If SEGS determines the original information associated with the re-submitted SEGS encapsulated coin accurately represents the SEGS encapsulated coin, the coin will be returned to the customer and the $ 20.00 fee will be assessed. In this instance the client is responsible for all fees, shipping and insurance charges.

“Resubmitting for Verification of Grade Fee”… $20.00 per coin.
"All SEGS Coins Are Guaranteed"

 

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Nothing to contribute but a desire to follow this thread

 

@Ollyoccia

I'm curious about the 2007 cut-off date. Did you send Mr. Briggs a follow-up response asking for further clarification of the cut-off date?

Chris

 

He said the company went from a Corporation to an LLC in 2007. To me Larry just doesn't want to honor the guarantee and pay out 13K so he came up with an excuse. There is no cutoff date on his site and part of the reason I pulled the trigger on the purchase was if SEGS graded it MS66 twice I would hope for a good crossover. If SEGS graded it lower base on the Guarantee they would reimburse me.

 

I'm not defending SEGS or any TPGS here. This is not funny and represents a large "book loss" for the OP.

That said, IMO the grade assigned to a coin by a TPGS should NEVER be guaranteed. There are plenty of misgraded coins in slabs. That should be obvious with millions of coins slabbed. We only hear boasting when one of these errors gets upgraded. Yours is the other case and it is a real shame. This illustrates one reason there is an "artificial wall" where a solid coin for the grade does not get the grade it deserves because due to its date and mint there is a huge price jump. That is also the reason that very many coins sent in for reconsideration REMAIN MISGRADED in their original holder.

I guess the fact that you got a downgrade and a letter at the least says something about that company. They could have claimed it was a "mechanical error" and the actual grade opinion was typed in wrong and no one caught it.

Several of the TPGS's have changed their grading guarantee over the years. Several TPGS's have changed their physical location and graders. Grading itself has changed although mostly looser (not the case here).

Hope you have deep pockets and get some satisfaction. You possibly could have done better working w/the grading company - free grading for life...LOL.

 

Well, I'm not a lawyer, but wouldn't it be advisable to check on the legal parameters of the LLC status before proceeding?

Chris

 

Thanks for the input Insider. This is an open and closed case the SEGS guarantee is written very simply they will reimburse if they regrade it lower. Not cap on reimbursement, no year limit, etc.

 

I did and when you cross over you accept the Assets and Liabilities of the original company. In addition the Guarantee makes no mention of a 2007 cut off so how would a consumer possibly know?

 

The last line of their Guarantee is "All SEGS Coins Are Guaranteed"

 

Did you spend 19k on it?

 

Yes, but since there was no (legal) liability established in 2007 for this coin, it seems that it would be a non-issue.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm on your side, but I'm just trying to cover all of the bases.

Chris

 

So to clarify, you bought a SEGS MS66 coin worth 19k from Larry Briggs 10 years ago, then just sent it back to SEGS for regrade and it came back SEGS MS64 worth 3k?

 

Every coin SEGS grades has potential legal liability. It doesn't have to be a liability on the books but it is still a liability. Good example, lets say in 2009 car model A as a defective starter switch that causes the car to go on fire. In 2010 there will be no liability on the books for the car. Now in 2011 the defect is discover a liability will now be put on the books.

 

I bought the an MS66 coin in an SEGS slab about 3 months ago at an auction. I sent it to SEGS to re-grade it about a month and a half ago. It came back today as an MS64 and Larry Briggs wrote me a letter basically stating he's not honoring the Guarantee.

 

Did you crack it out of the MS66 SEGS holder before sending it back to him for regrade?

 

I don't think that is a fair comparison since traffic safety is far more dangerous than coin collecting.

Chris

 

Did you win it at auction for $19k? Or are you just trying to hit the jackpot at his expense?

 

No I left it in the case

 

I didn't pay 19K but paid wayyyyyy to much for an MS64

 

Then stop trying to extort all that extra money out of him! Why not tell us what you paid? I bet you didn't tell Larry what you paid either, huh?