I have given one star as I cannot award zero stars. I bid and paid for a 9ct gold, 1.5 carat diamond ring. I also paid for postage and insurance to cover all eventualities. The ring was supposedly sent to me in a sealed cardboard box. I picked up the box from the Post Office and immediately suspected something was wrong, because the box was so light, so I shook it and could hear nothing inside. I asked the PostMistress and the shop owner to witness me opening the package, as I was aware that otherwise, it would by my word against the auction house. I carefully opened the box, cutting through the gaffer tape that bound the package along all edges and found it was filled with blue polystyrene packaging. I removed each pellet and found that the ring was missing. I took pictures of this and contacted East Bristol Auctions immediately. The lady was very polite asked if I had checked the box. I told them that I had and the ring was missing and they said that they would investigate this, although the lady did say "I was a bit surprised when you mentioned the box being light, since a ring is not heavy at all so I don't see how you could tell whether there is a ring inside or not by holding the parcel in your hand." I suspected it was empty as I had recently purchased a ring from a (reputable) seller and there was weight in that package and I could hear movement as I gently shook the box. What she did say was that ring was packed in a bag, which was then placed in a larger bag and the carton sealed. I told them that the carton had certainly not been tampered with and sent them pictures of the box before and after it was opened. I have 2 witnesses who will testify to the box being empty. I was concerned with the actions of the auction house, as time had passed with no contact, I had notified my bank of the issue because I paid using my debit card. The auction house assured me that ring had been packed in their small packing room, although there was no bag or ring, or even a courtesy card. The bank advised me to contact the seller, which I did and I informed them that my bank had been made aware of the item being missing. I heard nothing from the auction house for 1 week, ending 12th October and the bank advised me that they would deal with it. East Bristol Auctions took the action of blocking me from bidding on their's and their partners' site, stating "We do take chargebacks really seriously so we will now be forced to block you from bidding with us going forward.", so no mention of me paying immediately for a valuable ring that I bought being missing? Thank God my bank is reputable and does not tolerate items being paid for and not delivered.