Rosland Capital is a precious metals firm based in Los Angeles, California. Most people find the company through their well-known television commercials. But is this company really everything they say they are? Are their practices legitimate? Are there any red flags that you should be aware of?
We've investigated and broken down all the basics that you need to know.
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About Rosland Capital
Rosland Capital has been operating out of California since 2008. The company was founded by a man who had 20 years of previous experience working in the precious metals industry. Since its inception, the firm has grown to serve both a national and international clientele.
Rosland Capital sells various types of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Some of the items are eligible to put into a precious metals IRA. According to the company website, they work hard to offer great customer service and honesty. But there are some customer reviews that indicate that not every customer feels they got an honest deal.
Rosland Capital is one of many online precious metals dealers that allows you to either invest in a precious metals IRA or to make a direct purchase for your personal portfolio.
Exclusive Coins
There are multiple exclusive coins that Rosland Capital sells. These gold and silver items involve novelty coins themed around the PGA Tour and Formula 1. They also have a partnership with the British Museum. These exclusive coins are designed for collectors who want to own certain limited edition novelty items.
These exclusive coins can't be put into a precious metals IRA. In addition, there's no guarantee that they will gain any value in the future. Collectibles are priced based on demand, so in order to make money on them, there has to be a high demand for people to own them.
In addition to serving their US clients via their Los Angeles office, they also have international offices in Hong Kong, Sweden, Germany, and the UK.
About the Founder
The founder of Rosland Capital is named Marin Aleksov. Marin founded the company in 2008 after working in the precious metals industry for several decades. As the company grew, he took on more employees. Today, the company is large enough to employ about 50 people.
Marin was the driving force behind Rosland Capital's international expansion. First the company expanded into London in the UK. Then he watched as the company opened offices in three other countries to serve an even more diverse range of clients.
Is Rosland Capital a Scam?
Rosland Capital is not a scam. The company has been accredited with the BBB since 2008, and it holds an A+ rating. There are also high marks with the Business Consumer Alliance. There is a high level of transparency regarding the founder and the management, and the company does seem to provide the services that it claims it does.
But there are some major red flags all the same. While Rosland Capital might provide precious metals services, it's not necessarily the best place to invest your money.
When you look at the BBB website, there have been 20 complaints closed within the past three years. Three of those were closed in the past year. According to a previous review of the company, they used to have an atrocious BBB customer rating. That has since improved to more than 4 of 5 stars.
So it's possible that Rosland Capital's management has undergone a serious overhaul since whatever caused the rash of complaints. But 20 complaints is a huge number, especially when there are comparatively few reviews of the company online.
Specific Complaints
Let's take a look at some of the things that the different customers said. Obviously we can't go through every single complaint that was lodged with the BBB. But we can look at some of the more recent complaints and see how the company handled them. Then we can take a look at some of the recent positive company reviews.
Of the 20 complaints, a whopping 14 were related to issues with a product or service. Another five were related to sales and advertising, while the final complaint was related to delivery issues. There have been no complaints filed regarding billing or warranties.
Hung Up on Repeatedly
The most recent complaint on the BBB website is from mid-December of 2021, which doesn't bode well for the management having solved whatever issues they were having.
The customer stated that they purchased some silver from Rosland Capital and were given a price quote over the phone. However, the invoice they received was for a significantly higher sum than the quote. The customer decided they didn't want to make the purchase. Since the item hadn't yet arrived, they were told that their money would be refunded by check.
A check was supposed to arrive in the mail by the beginning of December. But nothing came. A week into December, the customer gave the company a call. Upon giving their name, the sales representative immediately hung up. They called again and were similarly hung up on by the sales representative.
At this point, the customer asked their grandson to give the company a call. The grandson used a different number and was able to speak with a representative. He asked that the company send a tracking number for the envelope with the check in it. The representative said they'd call right back with the number, but they never did.
The customer said that their desired outcome was to have their money refunded so that they wouldn't need to take any legal action.
So how did the business respond?
Well, in short, they didn't.
Instead, the customer followed up on the 31st of December to say that they had taken legal action. They hired a lawyer. The lawyer threatened a lawsuit and filed a letter of demand. After all of this hassle, the company finally agreed that they would pay the attorney fees and the original money.
The customer concluded their follow-up by stating that the entire process was fishy. They believed that if anyone was dealing with a financial dispute with the company, they should immediately seek legal counsel.
Hidden Commission Fees and Dishonest Pricing
Another complaint was filed near the end of September in 2021. The complainant was 80 years old and stated that the transaction had happened at the end of February. They said that they weren't ever given any information about the company's pricing or told about the commission fees.
Apparently the customer had around $127,000 to invest in precious metals. But the commission fee came out to $32,000. The customer was upset that nobody had told them about the commission fee because they felt misled.
The customer also stated that they were very open with the salesperson about their disabilities. As an elderly person, they have trouble reading and hearing properly. They alleged that the salesperson used this as leverage to make them sign things they didn't understand.
When the customer contacted the custodian of their retirement account, they were told that the salesperson had bought items worth $200 for $400 apiece. This price gouging was in the fine print of the paperwork that the customer had signed, paperwork that they said was never explained to them.
The customer said that they wanted a full refund.
Rosland Capital did respond to this complaint, unlike the last one. They posted their response on the first day of October. According to the Rosland Capital representative, the salesperson had recently talked about the issue with the complainant.
Rosland Capital stated that they had the customer's full consent for all of the purchases. They also stated that there was no subterfuge in the company's handling of the process. Then they went on to explain their market loss policies and the reasons that they recommend holding onto gold for several years prior to liquidation.
According to Rosland Capital, there was an entire questionnaire that the customer went through prior to making the purchase. In the questionnaire, the customer was informed about exactly what they were doing and how much they were spending.
The customer responded to say that she was unsatisfied with the response.
She noted that the company had never told her that they had a 25% commission fee for their salespeople. Nobody had ever informed her of this, and it would have influenced her decision. She only discovered the commission when the gold in her account was worth over $30,000 less than it should have been.
She said that the salesperson made an effort to continue deceiving her after she noticed the discrepancy. She also said that nobody had ever explained the storage fees to her, and that she had not expected to be billed for her account.
She further reiterated that she had told the customer representative that she couldn't read the documents. In doing so, she trusted that they would inform her of the important aspects. That conversation was recorded, as were all of the other conversations she had with the representative. She said that the company needed to listen to the conversations to understand that she had been willfully defrauded.
Rosland Capital responded to say that the complainant's rebuttal was detailed enough that she definitely didn't seem to be a frail old lady. Then they added that they would be willing to split the difference between the price that the customer purchased the metals at and the current buyback price.
The company ended the response by saying that if the complainant wanted to take that deal, she could get in contact. Otherwise, they weren't going to do anything to help her.
Massive Hidden Commissions
The third complaint from the past twelve months was filed in July of 2021. It was from a customer who had made a purchase in the middle of January. They said that they had never been informed about the high commission price on the company's proof coins.
According to the customer, they originally went to the company asking for bullion coins. But the sales representative talked them into buying proof coins instead. As soon as the customer bought the coins, they lost 30% of their purchase value. If the customer was to liquidate, it would be for barely two-thirds of what they'd paid.
The customer said that their customer service representative wasn't willing to liquidate the coins at the original purchase price. They wanted to exchange the proof coins for actual bullion coins. In addition, they added that they don't mind a small markup on bullion coins, but there was no way they would have agreed to the huge proof coin commission if they'd known about it.
Rosland Capital responded a few weeks later to say that they did not believe that the customer wasn't informed about the purchase details. According to the company, every customer is informed about things like the company's buyback policy and the ideal timeline for liquidation.
The company stated that there was a recorded phone conversation during which the customer acknowledged all of these things. They listed every question that the customer responded to in order to illustrate that the customer had in fact been informed.
The customer said that they accepted the response.
Positive Reviews
Other reviews of Rosland Capital indicate that a few months ago, they had less than 2 stars as a customer rating on the BBB website. Now they have far more reviews, most of which are positive.
There have been many reviews posted within a few days of each other over the span of a few months. While they do all appear to be from legitimate customers, it is possible that Rosland Capital asked their customers to leave reviews in order to boost the company rating.
The positive reviews are often from people who are first time investors. They say that the company representatives were helpful and knowledgeable, that the purchase process was very simple, and that Rosland Capital representatives were able to quell many of their fears about the future.
Pros & Cons of Rosland Capital
Pros
Cons
Final Thoughts
Rosland Capital has all the makings of a solid company on the surface. And they do seem to provide the products and services that they say they do. But there are too many complaints and red flags for us to be comfortable recommending their services.
Their sales representatives appear to work on commission. Not only does that inflate the prices of the items, but it also encourages the salespeople to "hard sell" items. According to several consumer complaints, it seems like that's exactly what happened.
There are also several complaints from people who say that they did not understand what they were agreeing to when they made a purchase. Rosland Capital responded each time to say that the customer had verbally agreed to everything. While that may be true, it also seems like the company doesn't make much effort to be positive that every customer knows exactly what's happening.
That's without getting into the sudden influx of positive reviews on the BBB website. Over the span of a few months, their customer rating has mysteriously risen from less than 2 stars to more than 4. And yet the company never responded to the most recent filed complaint, and the customer in question had to get a lawyer and threaten to sue before getting a promised refund.
It seems like people have just dealt with a lot of hassle and headache with regards to this company. There are plenty of precious metals dealers that don't use commissions. These options also tend to be much more transparent and to have fewer complaints from people who feel misled.
All in all, it's a good idea to avoid Rosland Capital. It seems like they've done some work to patch their reputation on the surface, but there's nothing to indicate that the company practices have actually changed.
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