Cash4Gold accused by congressman of ripping off consumers

A congressman accused the biggest TV advertiser of cash for jewelry, Cash4Gold, of "systematically ripping off" its customers and rapped its executive for refusing to explain the company's practices to a congressional committee.

"The way they function is truly exploitative of consumers," said Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.

He said the hard-pressed consumers who send in their jewelry expecting to get reasonable deals, get "paltry offers," then, if they don't delay acting for long, are told the jewelry has been "melted down." Those who ask for the jewelry back are sometimes told the jewelry was lost in the mail, he said.