Dara-Lynn Gatin of Abbotsford was outraged over her experience with Peoples Jewellers and wants to share her story about what happened to a family heirloom that she had taken to a store in Abbotsford to be repaired.

"I trusted them enough to leave a $35,000 ring with them," Gatin said.

Now she wishes she had never taken it there. The ring needed resizing and some work on the prongs but she says it was an ordeal to get the job done and when she finally got her ring back she says it broke while she was wearing it.

"And I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" she said.

On June 18, Peoples gave her an estimate of $967 and a completion date of three weeks for the job. However, after more than two months, the ring still hadn’t been returned and Gatin says she had to constantly call to find out what was going on. At one point she says Peoples couldn’t find it.

"It came to a point where I actually called the store and I said 'I don't care where my ring is, you need to get my ring back, and if it's in pieces, bring it back, because I'm done with you,'" Gatin said.

She says it was only after she reached out to CTV Vancouver on social media that that she started getting action.

In an email to CTV News, Peoples wrote, “We have sincerely apologized for the delay. Our team has been in regular contact with the customer and we're pleased that she will receive her ring today (August 29)."

When Gatin picked up her ring, Peoples waived the repair cost. However, four days later she says the band cracked while she was wearing the ring, and when she took it off, it broke into pieces.

Again, she says Peoples offered to fix it at no cost.

"'Don't worry we'll pay for it and we'll get it fixed,' and I said, 'Over my dead body. I am not bringing it back to you,'" Gatin said.

CTV asked Peoples for comment about the repair, the delays and what issues the company might be experiencing in its repair shop. The company declined to address those questions. After the ring broke we reached again for comment and received no response.

“I'm shocked to be quite honest with you. You're really taking me aback. It's not common in our industry," said Ashley Myerson, speaking on behalf of the Canadian Jewellers Association.

Myerson’s family has been in the jewelry business for generations, working in both manufacturing and repair, and she says the kind of work that was done to Gatin’s ring should have taken no more than a week to 10 days - barring unusual circumstances. CTV also surveyed three well known Vancouver jewellers who confirmed that.

As for the repair, an independent jeweller who examined Gatin’s broken ring told CTV News it was a crude job.

Myerson says mistakes can happen but when things go wrong a jeweller needs to address the issues.

"There's always room for human error in any business but I do believe communication is key. You will keep your client happy as long as you communicate. I can't really imagine how something like this got that far. If you’re a professional jeweller you’re doing it right the first time.”

Gatin says Peoples Jewellers has offered to pay to have the ring repaired wherever she chooses to take it.