With Clarity — Local services in New York

We were accused of fraud. Here's what happened...

We ordered an engagement ring from withclarity in January 2025. The credit card was charged, all funds received by them without issue.

The next day, we received an email that we were flagged for fraud.

Called them, spoke to someone and was advised it was probably due to the billing and shipping addresses being different. He told us to 'just upload a copy of either your driver's license or passport to verify you are who you say you are.'

Um. No. Here's why, in case you (the reader) wants a few thoughts - and then the review will continue:

You (withclarity) took our money without hesitation. The credit card company didn't flag you as fraud. How do we know what you will do with that ID? In this day and age, anyone can upload anyone's ID and say it's theirs...seriously. It, in truth, wouldn't prove a thing BUT would give you far more information about us than you need to complete a purchase.

Additionally, lots of people have different addresses for a variety of reasons. One is home, the other is a P.O. Box, vacation home, or whatever. The billing address matches the credit card billing address, and the delivery address can receive FedEx packages for signature because it's a verifiable home address. Where's the fraud in that?

Okay, back to the experience:

After speaking to 2 people multiple times (including a manager), multiple emails back and forth (proving our email and phone numbers belonged to us real people), uploading photos of mailing and physical address proof...they refused to accept us. Their only solution was the ID, which, incidentally, wouldn't match the billing address anyway - and that was what they were demanding.

Collectively, they did not like that we: used a VPN to shop online; paid for expedited shipping; had 2 addresses; the email account used did not have a person's name in it (apparently this is a new rule no one told us about); and...a few other things that have slipped my mind at this time. Regardless, the list was insurmountable.

Naturally, we canceled the order and asked for an immediate refund.

After several emails including screenshots of the payment posted to the credit card and no credits pending -and after several days- we had to threaten them with a credit card dispute (that would entail a police report due to the amount), before they finally refunded anything.

It took 10 days to get the first part of the refund. Sadly, and interestingly, we had to continue fighting for the remaining balance owed. This took another 2 days.

All we can say is If you pursue a purchase with them, good luck. If they ask for your government ID, you may wish to reconsider sending it.

We are much happier having canceled the order. If they were this difficult in placing and receiving an order, we had to question what they would they be like if there was a problem with the ring after receiving it? We could only speculate.

In the end, we moved on to a different company, had a smooth, fantastic experience, and received an...

February 29, 2024 Here we go again! I FOOLISHLY gave With Clarity an opportunity to redeem themselves after the nightmare below. I ordered an eternity band that I thought might work for me. I don't like rings that rub the adjacent fingers and this one looked promising. Unfortunately, it also was very uncomfortable so I requested a return label. Now they're saying I owe them a 20% restocking fee to return it because I had returned an item three months ago. This company is pathetic! Do yourself a favor and shop somewhere else. That Forbes recommendation is highly misplaced. I am SO angry right now!

December 29, 2023 Edit Note again: After receiving the $60 "appraisal" I read it closely only to find that I didn't receive the ring I ordered. It had nearly one full carat of diamonds less than what I paid for! I wasted an inordinate amount of time emailing back and forth. They refunded the difference, but it still infuriated me that I got a smaller diamond weight ring that I wanted.

December 18, 2023 Edit note regarding a new order. Clearly I was very impressed with this company based on the review below. I decided to go back to them to purchase an anniversary ring. My, how things changed in 3 months as far as customer service and an assortment of details. The new ring was not inexpensive, but it was sent in only a ring box and tossed into a shopping style bag. I was stunned. There was not any documentation beyond an inventory type paper. I was told they had changed their packaging just recently, but this is seriously the cheapest I've ever seen. I was also told I would have to pay $60 for an appraisal. The other ring came with one, so I assumed this would as well. I'm not sure what's happened with this company in so short a period of time, but I've made my last purchase as of this. So disappointed. The ring is beautiful, however.

September 2023 (a 5 star review) I'd been looking for a lab grown diamond set in a very specific style solitaire for a while now. Tried two other companies and was incredibly disappointed at the flimsy settings. It ruined what were really nice stones, so back they went. I read the Forbes recommendation of With Clarity as well as online reviews and decided to check them out. Their website made ordering a breeze. When FedEX delivered the box today, I held my breath hoping I wouldn't be sending back #3. I was stunned at how they package the ring, how it's presented, the IGI detailed certificate of the stone. The carat weight, color and clarity exceeded my expectations. Spoke to Shane, Jewelry Expert after I received the ring to ask for some detailed information, complimented the ring and the With Clarity team. Shane and each of the Customer Service folks on the chat have all been very professional and thorough when I had a question. Needless to say I'm one...

There’s a reason With Clarity isn’t one of the big online retailers. I placed an order for their Home Preview. It seemed like a great idea. I planned to propose soon and wanted to see what a rose gold setting would look like with white gold prongs for a two tone look. What I received was an all white gold replica. Frustrating but let’s see what they can do service wise. I emailed them the morning I received the kit to express my concerns and see what they could do. No response until the next morning. I was still prepared to purchase, just waiting for their response. Well, the next morning they had a sale begin. Great news right?! The setting I wanted was not only not on sale, it increased in price by about $150. So I was no out an extra $150 if I purchased since they failed to respond the previous morning. I called to see what they could do with the price. I figured they’d just honor their previous price especially since they screwed up my home preview and we’d get production rolling since I was going on vacation in 3 weeks and planned to propose. Remi (service rep) kept insisting that I send screenshots of the previous price for the setting, even though I stated what the price was previously. The only thing they offered was to send me another home preview kit in 8-10 business days which is the exact same time frame as if I ordered another home preview on my own (mind you, these are free so I wasn’t comp’d anything). After voicing my frustration further, there was no further communication until I told them I was going to purchase elsewhere.

There’s a reason why companies like JA are where they are and WC is where they are. If With Clarity, couldn’t even get a simple home preview kit right, how could I be confident that they would get an actual engagement ring right? I can’t believe I was still willing to purchase after they sent me the wrong ring. Their customer service finally helped steer me in the right direction, away from them. I rarely ever post negative reviews. I work in customer service myself and am very understanding. But when your company just wants to do the bare minimum for their customers, it’s simply not good enough. Do better. The ring I purchased from elsewhere is absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to purchase wedding bands from them as well. WC dropped the ball in a big way.

Updated: The company responded to my review and said they don't do custom home previews, implying that they in fact sent me the correct ring. I chose the ring from the catalog with no customization. I ordered a rose gold ring and got white gold. Customization with a home preview had nothing to do with it....