A county inspector has checked out the Treasure Hunters Roadshow to see if THR has been using certified scales during its latest visit to Plattsburgh.
I had emailed the Clinton County Department of Weights and Measures to discover whether or not the scales used by THR to weigh gold were certified. I didn't get a reply to my email so I phoned the department earlier today.
The official told me they had stopped by the THR operation and that the purchase scale had been certified in another county (Warren). I learned that there are two types of scales: one to make a rough estimate of weight and an official one used to record the final weight before purchase. The purchase scale has to be a design approved by the state and after it's inspected a blue seal is affixed to it.
I contacted the county Weight and Measures Department because I had read online how THR got into some trouble with its scales in other locations.
For example, in an article headlined "Collectibles buyers offer quick sale of gold, other items," published online May 11, 2010 by the Corvallis Gazette-Times newspaper in Oregon, you will read:
"Then in March, inspectors in Tehama County, Calif. fined the roadshow $1,700 for using scales that weren’t approved for buying jewelry and weren’t placed in a location so sellers could verify the weight registered on the scale. Inspectors had previously approved scales for THR, but when they returned during the sale, the scales had been replaced with noncertified ones.
"A few days later, Mendocino County, Calif. inspectors found roadshow dealers again placing scales out of view of sellers. County sheriff’s deputies shut down the sale for failing to obtain the proper permits..."
"[Jason Barber, administrator for the Oregon Department of Agriculture Measurement Standards Division] said inspectors in Klamath Falls just a few weeks ago found a Treasure Hunters dealer using four digital scales that were not legal for trade. The company arranged for a certified scale to be shipped via overnight mail and continued operations. Currently, the company is listed as having one legal scale for transactions completed in Oregon."
Isn't it fascinating what you can learn through Google?
Nice write up and follow through. We hear similar stories to this quite often, in fact, it's happening now in the "we buy your gold jewelry" market.
ReplyDeleteSome folks truly don't know they need a special certified scale. Others don't want to pay the extra costs.