(Here’s a few more stories!)
Silver Stock Report
by Jason Hommel, May 23th, 2008
So, it appears to me that the government of Western Australia will do nothing about the Perth Mint Crisis, at least, not yet based on what I’ve sent them.
And it appears that none of the major press have any desire to cover the Perth Mint Crisis, at least, not yet based on what I’ve sent them.
It is probably too difficult for most customers to even think about suing the Perth Mint over a mere delivery delay of 1-2 months.
And I, personally, have not invested in the Perth Mint certificat program, and therefore, I have no reason to sue them for delivery delays or default.
So, what else can we do? I can avoid investing in their progams myself, and watch. Here then are a few more customer reports about the Perth Mint. If you have a story about the Perth Mint that you would like to share, send it to me by replying to this email, or email j at silverstockreport.com.
I would also like to tell the Perth Mint that I’d love to say some positive things about the Perth Mint, and freely advertise their service if they can manage to give prompt delivery of silver to their customers.
As proof, I’ve been freely advertising the availability of silver at www.fidelitrade.com for weeks now, and I’ve heard no complaints from any of my readers about www.fidelitrade.com, and yet, I also advocate that you do not let www.fidelitrade.com hold any metal for you, and that you take delivery.
I’d also like to note that Ted Butler warned very clearly about the dangers of the Kitco and Perth Mint certificate programs in January, 2007. See:
http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler/1170190859.php
Thank you, Ted Butler!
=============
Dear Jason,
I too am a dissatisfied Perth Mint customer. I purchased several thousand ounces in January 2008 and converted them to silver bullion a couple of months later. The process was however protracted and took about four weeks from the time I requested it. The bullion was obviously being shipped from the eastern states and I could feel the sense of relief in the voice of the agent of the Perth Mint when he was finally able to deliver my metal.
When I questioned him about whether he really had silver bullion he said they stored it in Perth and London and when I asked him why he didn’t charge storage fees he said it was because they themselves could use the silver.. and then he broke off the conversation with the ‘well if you can’t trust the West Australian government’ speech.
I suggest that your pursuit of the Perth Mint at the moment is spot on. Their strength is that they are owned by the West Australian government but this is also their weakness as they can be forced to reveal their true financial situation.
If they are indeed selling promissory notes of future silver and not real bullion then they are acting fraudulently under the Fair Trading Act of Australia.
If you really do have a subscriber base of 80,000 then I suggest that if 20,000 of them donated $25 to a legal fund to challenge the Perth Mint under Australian Law then this would give a starting budget of $500,000. Further I suggest the moment the case is advertised for court action then the worldwide interest will begin and the silver price should begin to move rapidly upwards. A $25 investment then should be a bargain!
=============
You should see the corporate ownership structure around the Perth Mint.
http://www.perthmint.com.au/about_us_the_perth_mint_group_structure.aspx
If it was anymore complicated it would be…
So listen Jason you don’t live in Australia I do. People don’t have foresight so your comments to government bodies will fall on deaf ears, the gullible public here would believe that State Government guarantee was good as gold. Let me tell you, a previous Premiere of State Govt of WA was brought up on corruption charges and convicted, as far as I know. At one time the current Prime Minister of Australia lunched with this Premier as they were both in the Labor Party at that time. After the conviction the current Prime Minister sort of washed his hands of him…
There was a corporate group know as the Bond Corporation that had it roots in WA and the largest shareholder there was done for raiding corporate coffers.. amongst other allegations. A few decades ago WA was still know as the Wild West.
I find it ironic that pure metals are trying to be sold out of WA with a WA State Guarantee. I would say that without the current mining boom, the state’s financials underpinning such a guarantee could well be questioned. You know talk is cheap and I would wonder if the State Government would do good on this guarantee..
=============
Dear Mr.Hommel, 1000 thanks for your action regarding Perth Mint! Before Easter I ordered to change my unallocated deposit in a allocated one involving gold and 3000 ozt of silver. It took more than one month, a dozen emails and about a dozen phonecalls to finally get it done. Slowly I increased the pressure until finally reminding them of their legal obligation to supply metal as they state on their website. Publicity is the best way to get improvements. Some people hold their life savings with Perth Mint and I certainly had many sleepless nights until these 1000 oz. bars (serialnumbered) were put into my allocated account. Many thanks again for your actions which will surely lead to an internal enquiry at the mint. Australia is a very fair and caring nation and people there do not like it when their country is put into the wrong light. Perhaps a change of management at the mint will lead to the necessary improvements. Please keep up the good work and kind regards,
=============
According to my bullion dealer in Brisbane he is aware of the problem with Perth Mint since 2006.
He reduced his business absolutely drastically with them.
If I insist to get Perth Silver I have to wait at a long long time.
How long is long was my question?
He said, “XXXXX, too long for you.” Luckily I bought 1350 kg in 2006 from 2 sources in Australia. By the way, West Australia is governed by a very very questionable labor government. (I try to be polite). Kind Regards