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London 2012 Olympic official auction site - "hidden" VAT charge

Hi,

I would very much appreciate peoples thoughts on this. Apologies in advance for the length of the post.

I was successful in bidding for an Olympic torch on the London 2012 Olympic auction site. I logged into my account the next morning to learn that £x VAT had been applied on top of the winning amount and the delivery charge. Suffice to say the VAT amount is not an inconsequential number.

On each bidding page, there is a “Term of the auction" link, which requires a click to be expanded; within the text, it does indeed state that VAT is to be applied.

It was not however clear to me and I'm sure many other UK bidders that VAT would be applied when bidding for items. I have since queried with the site and they replied by email:

[FONT=&quot]"As you mentioned, you can see that we have indicated that taxes are applied at the top of our terms and conditions, ones that you agreed to while signing up for the auction. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I realize that VAT is often included when you have purchased items in the past, but our auction is an international site and VAT is only applied to people with an EU address, therefore is is impossible for us to pre-load VAT into each bid amount. As a result, we have indicated that taxes will be included at the top of our terms and conditions were are located on every page". [/FONT]

It may be that having signed up to the T&C's I have no recourse and I guess my bad for not reading thoroughly. Would it be standard to ask them to provide proof of my signing up to the VAT terms? The reason I ask is that having checked the website today, I now see that a note has been added next to the bid button, subsequent to my complaint, advising of the potential VAT charge.

I cannot recall one instance in all my years of buying items online, where the VAT charge is hidden in this way; if it is, then buyers are typically taken to the “checkout” where all charges are clearly laid out before you confirm payment.

I only received email confirmation the following morning at 2am that I had been successful when the auction closed at 8pm the previous night; I guessed I was successful as there is a bid history link and I was top of the pile. And as stated above, I was only aware of the VAT charge when I logged into my auction account the following morning and read the total amount that had been immediately charged to my credit card.

The payment was very promptly taken on the day I won the auction, 13th August, yet 3 weeks on, my item is still showing as “pending shipment”. I tried calling them and was told that an individual's mailbox was full; upon further investigation, it would appear that the company (Innovative Sports Group) behind this auction site is Canadian, which would explain the VAT omission, but I had assumed that I would be dealing with a UK based entity since this was the London Olympics - indeed the website states that it is an official site of the London Olympics and is very similar in layout and style to the official ticketing website.

To compound the situation, they are continuing to auction new Olympic torches since I was successful bidding 3 weeks ago, meaning that I probably overpaid at the time, thinking there would only be a limited amount available.

Again apologies for the detail, I guess my main question concerns VAT, but I thought I would describe my entire experience as people might think I have grounds for a complaint when considering all that has occurred.

Many Thanks,

Comments

  • bris
    bris Posts: 10,548 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    But it's not hidden, it's in the T&C's, if it were hidden you wouldn't find it. You found it easy enough after the sale, the time to read the T&C's is before the sale, you will have to swallow this one or ask for your bid to be cancelled. Doubtful as auctions are legally binding, but you could ask.
  • paddyrg
    paddyrg Posts: 13,543 Forumite
    I suppose the bulk of their stuff is B2B only (eg 100 decathalon bikes, 1 mobile TV studio), so all prices wilkl be ex-VAT for those, as anyone turning over enough to buy a TV studio is VAT registered, or overseas.

    On the plus side, you've got a torch! Woohoo! One with gas still, I imagine!!
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