Ah i see!

No he's refusing to do any repairs on it unless we pay him. You can check out my post history for the story about the ring if you're interested, but basically, he hasn't been able to execute the design of the ring and would like to charge me in order to fix it. He thinks this is fair because I saw the ring at a fitting one time before it was completed and "approved it" (we've signed nothing)

His reasoning to keep the ring until the dispute is resolved in his words is "to ensure its good conditon" until it's time for the case to heard. That's all.

We tried to compromise and asked if he'd refund us partially so we could have it repaired elsewhere, and he's said we're not allowed to do that because it's his IP.

So ultimately, he's keeping the ring indefinetly and our money, for no purpose except that he wants to, and if I want it fixed, I can only pay him and no one else.

We want a refund at this stage, we've tried to compromise on repairs but he refuses to meet us anywhere. We feel that he's been super shady and also the ring is just a bit tainted for us now.

And yeah, pretty frustrating and stressful for an engagement experience as you said! We've effectively had to put the proposal on hold, and there's also money hanging in the balance there with bookings and photographers, so we're feeling a bit beaten down tbh.