Terms and Conditions of Business for Buyers
CONDITIONS MAINLY CONCERNING THE BUYER
Motor Cars
10% to the Buyer (minimum £250) +VAT
Motorcycles / Scooters / Bicycles
12.5% to the Buyer, (minimum £50) +VAT
Registration Numbers
15% to the Buyer, (minimum £50 ) +VAT
Automobilia
26% to the Buyer (minimum £10 ) +VAT
Total Amount Due means the Hammer Price in respect of the Lot sold plus the Buyer’s commission and additional charges and expenses due from a defaulting Buyer under these Conditions plus VAT chargeable on any of them expressed in £ sterling.
12.1 Any motor vehicle is sold as a collector’s item and not as a means of transport. Buyers are specifically warned that any vehicle sold as such may well have had parts replaced and paint renewed or be made up of parts from other vehicles the condition of which may be difficult to establish. The Auctioneer has to rely on information as to the date, condition and authenticity provided by the Seller and does not provide its own description, and does not and cannot undertake its own inspection of vehicles or other Lot and it is the responsibility of the Buyer to ensure that the Lot conforms to the description in the catalogue. The Auctioneer cannot check or verify the authenticity of the chassis or VIN number under which a vehicle is offered, but relies on the Seller’s description. Buyers should take particular care to verify in advance the authenticity of a vehicle that is claimed to have important racing, rallying or ‘ex-works’ history as it was common in period for a competition vehicle of a single identity to have more than one chassis, body or other mechanical components. This may have happened several times, both in a vehicle’s ‘works’ career and thereafter in private owner hands. Sometimes ‘works’ vehicles were fitted with different registration plates, so that a vehicle could meet a particular event’s start date deadline. These historical factors may lead to there being in existence multiple and competing claimants to the same vehicle identity.
12.2 The Buyer shall be the person making the highest bid at or over Reserve (if any) that is accepted by the Auctioneer, and the Contract shall be concluded at the fall of the hammer. The Auctioneer shall have the absolute discretion to settle any dispute related to bidding at the Sale. All sales are deemed not to be sales in the course of a business, unless notified to the contrary.
12.3 Every bidder shall be deemed to act as a principal unless the Auctioneer has, prior to the auction date, acknowledged (either by acceptance of the Bidder’s Registration Form which discloses the true principal, or otherwise in writing) that the bidder is acting as agent on behalf of a disclosed principal.
12.4 The Auctioneer may in its absolute discretion refuse to accept any bid, advance the bidding as it may decide, withdraw or divide any Lot, combine any two or more Lots, and in the case of dispute may put up any Lot for auction again.
12.5 A prospective bidder should register his intention to bid for a Lot by completing fully and signing a Bidder’s Registration Form prior to executing his bid. If this has not been completed before the fall of the hammer, the Buyer shall forthwith complete the Bidder’s Registration Form. The Bidder shall also provide photographic identification. Failure to do so shall not invalidate the sale, unless the Auctioneer, in its absolute discretion, so decides.
12.6 Any bid which fails to reach the Reserve may be submitted by the Auctioneer to the Seller and if the Seller accepts that bid, the Lot will be deemed to have been sold to the Buyer at the sum bid at the fall of the hammer and the normal Terms and Conditions will apply to that sale.
13.1 Where a Lot is illustrated by a photograph, in the case of a vehicle with a registration number visible, that number will not be transferred with the vehicle to the Buyer unless the registration particulars appear in the written part of the description and the transfer has been authorised by the Seller. If the vehicle is sold to the Buyer before the formalities of the allocation of a different registration number to that vehicle are completed with the DVLA, the Buyer accepts that he will take all steps necessary to co-operate with either the Seller or the Auctioneer to have the number re-transferred to the Seller or as may be, and will take no steps to register the vehicle with the number in his name.
13.2 Whilst the interests of prospective Buyers are best served by personal attendance at the Sale, the Auctioneers will if so instructed execute bids on their behalf. Neither the Auctioneer nor its Employees or Agents will be responsible for any error or default in doing so or in failing altogether to do so. Where the Auctioneer executes bids on behalf of an absent bidder, each Lot will be bought as cheaply as is allowed by other bids and any relevant Reserve.
14. The Buyer shall pay to the Auctioneer in respect of each Lot the Buyer’s Commission calculated on the Hammer Price at the stated rates as set out above.
15. Where a Lot is described in the Catalogue or announced at the time of Sale as being subject to VAT on import, VAT will be payable in addition to the Hammer Price (which VAT may or may not be refundable by HM Customs & Excise on proof of export).
16.1 Upon the sale of a Lot, the Buyer shall:
16.2 Unless he has already done so, complete a Bidder’s Registration Form as in Condition 12.5 above;
16.3 Pay to the Auctioneer the total amount due, at latest by midday on the day after the Sale, notwithstanding that where the Buyer wishes to export the Lot, an export licence may be required which must be obtained by the Buyer at his own cost;
16.4 Accept that any payments received by the Auctioneer from a Buyer may be applied by the Auctioneer towards any sums owing from that Buyer to the Auctioneer on any account whatsoever, without regard to any directions of the Buyer or his agent, whether express or implied.
17.1 Until the total amount due has been received by the Auctioneer:
(a) title in a Lot shall not pass to the Buyer but the risk shall;
(b) no Lot may be taken away by or on behalf of the Buyer.
17.2 The Buyer shall be responsible for any removal, storage and insurance charges and any other Expenses on any Lot not paid for and taken away from the by 1pm on the day following the day of the sale.
17.3 If the Lot remains under the vendor’s control for any reason, either at their property or a third-party one, then the Buyer must remove it within ten days of the sale. Failure to do so will result in the Lot being uplifted to secure storage at the Buyer’s expense.
18.1 If a Buyer fails either to pay for or to take away any paid for Lot, the Auctioneer may without further notice to the Buyer, at its discretion and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies it may have, exercise one or more of the following rights or remedies, as may be relevant, in relation to any and all remedies for non-payment that the Auctioneer may choose to exercise. The Buyer will pay to the Auctioneer all legal and other costs borne by it on a full indemnity basis.
18.2 To charge interest at a rate not exceeding 3% per month over the Bank of England base rate on so much of the total amount due as remains unpaid after the date and time referred to in condition 16.3 for the first two months. After that period of time to charge interest at a rate not exceeding 1.75% per month over Bank of England’s base rate on so much of the total amount due as remains unpaid after the date and time referred to in condition 16.3.
18.3 To issue proceedings against the Buyer for payment of the total amount due and/or for damages for breach of contract. If the Seller decides to sell the Lot elsewhere, the Auctioneer may proceed against the Buyer for the Commission which it would have earned both from the Seller and the Buyer together with VAT on both had the Buyer paid for the Lot in accordance with these Conditions.
18.4 To rescind the sale of that or any other Lots sold to the same Buyer at this or any other Sale, in respect of which title has not passed.
18.5 To resell the Lot or cause it to be resold by public or private sale, such that any deficiency in the total amount due resulting from such resale (after giving credit for any payment) together with the full costs incurred in connection with the Lots shall be paid to the Auctioneer by the Buyer; any surplus in excess of the Sale Proceeds of that resale shall belong to the Seller.
18.6 To store the Lot at the sole expense of the Buyer and to release the Lot only after payment in full of the total amount due, together with the accrued cost of the removal, storage and insurance and all other expenses incurred in connection with the Lot.
18.7 To retain that or any other Lot sold to the Buyer at the same or any other auction and to release the same only after payment of the total amount due.
18.8 To apply by way of set-off any Sale Proceeds of any Lot then due or at any time thereafter becoming due to the Buyer towards settlement of the total amount due and expenses and the Auctioneer shall be entitled to a lien on any property of the Buyer which is in the Auctioneer’s possession for any purpose.
18.9 To reject or ignore any bids made by or on behalf of the defaulting Buyer at any future sales or insist upon a cash deposit before accepting any bids in future.
19.1 All Lots are offered as seen with all faults and defects without any guarantee or warranty attaching thereto as to condition, roadworthiness or otherwise and with all faults and defects whether apparent upon examination or not.
19.2 In any event, neither the Seller nor the Auctioneer shall be liable for any indirect or consequential loss whatsoever, and the maximum liability of the Auctioneer together with its Employees and Agents, in the event of any claim against them arising from the sale of any Lot shall be limited to the Hammer Price plus Buyer’s Premium in respect of that Lot.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
20. The Auctioneer in all respects acts and will be treated as agent for the Seller (except where the Auctioneer is expressly stated to be selling as principal), and is not responsible for any default by the Seller or the Buyer to the other party.
21. The Auctioneer will not accept any liability for damage sustained to a Lot that is attributable to members of the public or non-Auctioneer operatives during the Sale or any removable items left within lots during the same period. Any claims for damage and / or lost items must be submitted to the Auctioneer in writing no later than 3 working days after the date of the Sale and include a valid quote for repair or replacement and digital photographs where applicable.
22. The Auctioneer shall be under no liability for any injury, damage or loss sustained by any person while on the Auctioneers premises (including any premises where a sale may be conducted or where a Lot, or a part of a Lot, may be on view from time to time) except for death or personal injury caused by the negligence of the Auctioneers or its employees and agents in the course of their duties to the Auctioneers.
23. The Auctioneer shall have the right, at its sole discretion, without assigning any reason, to refuse any person admission to its Premises or attendance at any of its Sales, or to view any Lot.
24. The Auctioneer shall keep and use any data relating to the Buyer and the Seller in accordance with the provisions of all relevant data protection legislation. The Buyer and the Seller consent to such data being kept and used for appropriate purposes, including informing the Buyer and the Seller of any offers or other matters of interest from time to time.
25. The copyright in all written matter and illustrations relating to Lots shall remain at all times the absolute property of the Auctioneer, and any person wishing to use such materials, or any part of them, shall require the prior written consent of the Auctioneer.
26. If any Condition or part of a condition in these Terms shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable, the validity or enforceability of the remaining Conditions will not thereby be affected.
27. These Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law. All transactions to which these Conditions apply and all matters connected therewith shall also be governed by English Law. Each of the Auctioneer, the Seller, the Buyer and any bidder hereby submits to non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
