You can register for C.I.G. courses and purchase gemmological books and instruments using our secure on-line shopping cart system. Our on-line store is protected by COMODO SECURED; all prices listed are in CAN$.
Please note: Student must register individually even if tuition is paid by someone else; read carefully our refund policy (PDF).
We accept VISA/MasterCard credit card payments for many items; preferred payment method is direct bank transfer or INTERAC e-Transfer; please be aware of additional fees charged by your bank for foreign transactions (prices are listed in CAN$). For INTERAC e-Transfer make payment to sales@cigem.ca after requesting a pro forma invoice at checkout.
At the present time we are unable to ship to India, Russia and several other countries. For PayPal payments request an invoice after you received the order confirmation; we have to apply a 4.0% surcharge to recover fees charged to us by PayPal.
All new buyers must register; foreign buyers can request a pro forma invoice at the checkout of the shopping cart. We will send instructions of how to transfer funds (in Can$, US$ or Euros) directly into our bank. All wire transfers must follow FINTRAC Guidelines (will be provided in the pro forma invoice) or they will be rejected. We do not accept orders or payments from P.O. Box addresses or intermediaries; agents purchasing for public institutions must identify the final user of the product.
Gemlab Research & Technology is the manufacturer and exclusive distributor of our spectrometers worldwide; we do not use other distributors or re-sellers. We do not ship through third parties; inquire about Certificate of Origin services (extra charges). All prices are FOB Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
For delivery in Canada we add GST/HST 5% to the total of purchase and shipping charges; in B.C. 12% GST/PST. No tax is added for foreign destinations.
Canadian Institute of Gemmology, Gemlab Books & Instruments , Gemlab Research & Technology – GST#831396643RT001 PST-1012-2635
The Canadian Institute of Gemmology has been approved by the Minister of Employment Workforce Development and Labour as an educational institution; Canadian students are entitled to a tuition tax credit under subsection 118.5(1(a)(ii) of the Income Tax Act (please use your receipt for your claim).
Buyers purchasing on-line or requesting a pro forma invoice accept our Terms and Conditions of Sale (PDF).
Shipping charges will be added as indicated in the item description.
We usually use DHL, FedEX and Canada Post expedited services for shipping; upon request we can send items by other carriers.
For security reasons we do not keep your credit card information on file; for re-orders your data must be re-entered. Declined credit card purchases will result in automatic cancellation of your order; we can send you a proforma invoice for bank transfer as we cannot process another credit card for the same order. Your personal information is kept confidential and will not be passed on to others. We reserve the right to send our newsletters to previous customers; you have the option to unsubscribe from receiving any newsletters.
Delinquent Customers
The following customers have chosen not to pay ordered items due to NSF cheques, providing incorrect or fraudulent credit card information, etc.; we have contacted these customers several times and asked them to correct the situation or provide an explanation.
We will remove the names immediately if the name has been used in a fraudulent manner; please contact us.
June 29, 2018
GL Gem Spectrometer serial # 2018247 has been ordered on April 19, 2018 and delivered to Peter XXXXX XXXXX (riofootball2020@gmail.com), 995 Boul Jules-Poitras App XXXXX, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4N 3M2, Tel 438-538-XXXXXX
According to our merchant bank the purchase was made with unauthorized credit card and has not been paid as of July 11, 2018
If this spectrometer is offered for sale please contact us immediately.
July 17, 2018
Letter from Sylvain Lepine, Manager, Desjardins Card Services (www.desjardins.com/cards):
Subject: Response to your claim for reimbursement
Dear Sir or Madam:
We have received your request for reimbursement in the amount of $2600.00 debited on June 29 2018 for the following reason:
– The cardholder does not recognize the transaction
We regret to inform you that we cannot approve your request because the documentation provided did not help the customer recognize the nature of the charge.
We trust you understand the reasons for our refusal, which are based on the facts of the case and the payment services agreement.
If you require further information, please contact us at 514-397-4450 or toll-free at 1-888-285-0015 for additional information.
……….
July 17, 2018
Our response to Sylvain Lepine, Manager, Desjardins Card Services (www.desjardins.com/cards):
I am writing in response to your letter dated June 29, 2018 and the phone call I had with one of your agents today at 11:00 a.m.
I am asking you to address the following concerns:
- Why was the amount of $ 2,600.00 debited from our account almost 3 months after the transaction occurred without any notice and explanation?
- From the submitted documents mailed to you on July 17, 2018 it can be seen that the ordered item was delivered to the named person and provided shipping address with delivery receipt signed by the same purchaser. Please indicate whether the purchaser used a stolen or fraudulently obtained card: provide us with name of cardholder and billing address.
- The order was filled in good faith after obtaining the proper authorization from Desjardins Card Services.
- Since this is an urgent matter we request immediate reversal and issue of credit of $ 2,600 to our account by July 24, 2018 5 p.m.
- If we do not hear from you we will terminate our account with you and commence action before the Small Claims Court against you for the considerable delay and negligence and the purchaser who fraudulently obtained merchandise from us.
- As per company policy we report delinquent customers on our website https://www.cigem.ca/store (at bottom) and will provide details about any legal proceedings; this will include the dispute we may have with a merchant bank. This is to prevent the resale of our spectrometers which have been stolen or fraudulently obtained.
- We also will inform our insurance company and report the theft to the police.
J.W. Kuehn
P.S. No response received by July 24, 2018 5 p.m.
July 27, 2018
We closed C.I.G.’s merchant account with Desjardins. We cannot work with banks who condone credit card fraud and do not support their merchants. Desjardins has collected thousands of dollars from our credit card sales.
We also reported the fraud to the RCMP and their CAFC Fraud Reporting System.
August 14, 2018
Small Claims Action has been filed with Civil Resolution Tribunal (PDF)
March 20, 2019
The Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) has made a final decision in Dispute Number SC-2018-005808. A copy of the decision is attached (PDF)
As expected over 95% of credit card disputes are won by the merchant bank and/or their clients. We as merchants have no protection for fraud, misrepresentation, etc despite excessive credit card transaction fees; as a consequence we do no longer accept credit cards for higher priced items. We have cancelled our agreement with Desjardins Card Services and have already recovered the amount lost through this fraud in savings for fees and merchant deductions since June 2018; this includes the $ 300 service charge Desjardins imposes when the service agreement ends.