Auctioneer inventing bids

grendel666h

Hi,

We tried to sell our house at auction yesterday. I watched it live and the highest 'bid' was below our reserve, so it didn't sell.

I contacted the auction house to say I'd accept the highest offer.

But, I was told there were no real bids and the auctioneer made them up!

Is this legal?

As the highest 'bid' was below our reserve, I don't suppose it matters that much, but just curious.

Thanks.

agrinnall

I don't know about the legality but it definitely happens, I think it was mentioned on a recent TV programme about Christies, and that was for items of art at a cost way above any house that anyone using this forum would be selling (except perhaps Mr Lewis ).

Doozergirl

They bid off the wall to try and encourage the first bid and then to bring it to reserve. The start price is just made up by the auctioneer. If there was only one genuine bidder in the room then there would be no auction as there'd be nothing to bounce off. Bidders sometimes have to be encouraged. My husband would not bid until other bidders have exhausted.

No point in asking if it's legal as you'd instructed them not to sell below reserve. They knew they wouldn't sell at the low price and didn't sell it, they haven't done anything wrong.

eddddy

As I understand it, "off the wall bidding" or "chandelier bidding" is legal until the reserve price is reached.

If the auctioneer really did have a highest bid close to the reserve, they would take the bidders details and contact you. (And/or the bidder would approach the auctioneers to ask what the reserve was.)

JP08

I know this is a quote from Wiki so put as much trust in it as you like (the same rule does appear on other sites too, so is likely correct).

"In the United Kingdom this practice is legal on property auctions up to but not including the reserve price, and is also known as off-the-wall bidding"

Rain_Shadow

Not only legal but eminently sensible too. It is designed to encourage at least one genuine bidder to bid up to the minimum they need to pay to acquire the property.

ben999

It once happened to me at a car auction. The bids were very low so the auctioneer bounced a couple of bids off the wall. It did not bother me as I got the car for a very reasonable price.

It is a risky business for the auctioneer to bid off the wall when the reserve has been reached as they may be left holding the last bid.

As for the legality. It must be extremely difficult to prove. A person can make a bid with a barely perceptible nod of the head. The auctioneer could have stooges in the audience. Who knows?

eddddy

Rain_Shadow wrote: »

Not only legal but eminently sensible too. It is designed to encourage at least one genuine bidder to bid up to the minimum they need to pay to acquire the property.

Although some people don't agree. They might argue that it misrepresents the level of interest in a property.


I suppose you could argue that it's the same as...

A seller tells an EA that he wants £250k for his property. So the EA tells some prospective buyers that the property has already had offers of £248k and £249k.

That would be classed as misrepresentation, and therefore unlawful.


Perhaps it's deemed acceptable at auctions, because auctions are intended for business buyers, rather than consumers.