Dollars4Gold's television ad says "Dollars4Gold will give you more cash for your gold than anyone else that is our guarantee."

That TV ad lead Jacob Alder to mail a diamond ring appraised at over $4,000 to Dollars4Gold.

He wasn't expecting full value maybe 10 per cent of the appraised value

"I was hoping to get in the $400 to $500 range," Alder said.

What he got was $98.44.

Under $100 for a ring appraised at more than $4,000?

Jacob was livid and called Dollars4Gold immediately to demand his ring be returned.

"And she said ‘One moment please,' and she spoke to some supervisor and said ‘I'm sorry your item has been processed,'" Alder said he was told.

Dollars4Gold's guarantee says that to get your jewelry back you need to return the cheque so that it arrives back at their offices within 10 days of the date on the cheque.

CTV contacted Canada Post to see what its standard delivery time was from Souffville, Ontario, where the cheque was from to Burnaby, B.C. The answer: eight days, plus weekends, plus the day it was mailed for a total of 11 days. That's just to get to Burnaby. Which means under normal circumstances, Jacob had no chance of ever being able get the cheque back to Ontario in time to get his jewelry back.

"That's very likely where the Competition Bureau is going to get most interested," said competition expert Lyndsay Meredith. He says the general impression of the ad is you'll be paid top dollar and have a rock solid guarantee.

"This becomes extremely difficult for the consumer to meet his side of the obligation and if they can't, that's where it becomes an issue of misleading advertising," said Meredith.

CTV called Dollars4Gold toll free customer service number but the agent couldn't answer our questions about the guarantee.

I'm not allowed to talk about anything at all they won't let me," she said.

She promised to forward my information on.

CTV also left messages with the head office in Florida and the Canadian head office in Quebec.

"Actually you could talk to our director I'm going to take down your information so she can contact you," CTV reporter Chris Olsen was told.

CTV did not receive any return calls. Emailed request for answers were not returned either.

Jacob Alder complained and Dollars4Gold sent him an additional $190 which he still believes is less than he could have received from a local pawnshop or bullion dealer.

"Mailing in a product without knowing what they are going to give you is foolish and I was a fool to trust them," Alder said.

He is complaining to Canada's Competition Bureau.