Pressurised to bid at auction and now cannot pay.

TELLIT01

The auction company may agree to relist and you would then be liable for any difference between what you agreed and what it sells for at another auction. You will also have to pay a sellers premium.

The e-mails received were simply advising you that you were being outbid, you were not be pressurised to bid.  You were the only one who was pressing the 'bid' button.  Sorry, but that's the way it is.  The auction company has done nothing wrong.

They may well take you to court if you simply refuse to pay.  If people thought they could bid and then simply not pay at the end of the auction it would be extremely bad for their business reputation.

Thrugelmir

Out of curiosity how many seperate lots were you bidding on? 

soolin

John Pye are a proper online auction house, but do have a bit of a reputation for allowing people to join, add payment details and bid without making sure they understand what they are doing. They seem to attract some loyal business customers who know how they operate, but also a lot of newbies who see low prices and get a bit carried away.

There is no real pattern though of false bidding ie using a buyers log in number, only a fair few new online buyers who have rather gone over their comfort level. IF bids were placed without your knowledge , and the system should only bid what you input, it can’t take more than you tell them to bid, then it needs to be reported as auctioneers are governed, and I’m sure RFW can advise who the governing body is. 

Regardless of the price of your winning bid you were always going to have to collect within their time frame, and their collection requirements are well advertised, that bit at least should not be a shock. The bit about storage fees is also clearly stated and is normal for auction houses who rely on quick turn rounds. 

If this is just buyers remorse then I would inform them immediately that you are not going to pay, be upfront, don’t hang about. Make sure you haven’t uploaded payment details anywhere that they can charge (I use various online auction places and my card is registered with them before I am allowed to bid) . Anecdotally they won’t do make than send a few angry emails to you, and perhaps a small threat of court, but I am not aware they have ever sued anyone. Their own FAQs even suggest that they will merely remove your details and won’t allow you to bid on any more of their auctions, nor auction houses associated with them. I’m sure you can live with that to get out of this mess.

I know the OP doesn’t want lectures , but perhaps this might help,others, always read what you sign up for , never start bidding, or buying items without knowing what terms and conditions you signed up for. One of the auction houses I use for instance   has a minimum online charge on top of buyers premium, site premium and postage and packing costs. That catches a lot of people out who win something for say £4 and expect to pay less than £8 once fees, post and packing is factored in and consider themselves scammed when the final invoice is over £15. 

RFW

soolin said:
IF bids were placed without your knowledge , and the system should only bid what you input, it can’t take more than you tell them to bid, then it needs to be reported as auctioneers are governed, and I’m sure RFW can advise who the governing body is. 

There isn't an official body governing all auction houses (I won't comment on individual auctioneers). Some auction houses will affiliate to various bodies, eg for antiques or property. Some of those are more official than others. Any herbert can open an auction house (I know, I was one!).
I'd say if there was a problem with the software or something along those lines the best place to go is Trading Standards via local council.

Thrugelmir

soolin said:

John Pye are a proper online auction house, but do have a bit of a reputation for allowing people to join, add payment details and bid without making sure they understand what they are doing. They seem to attract some loyal business customers who know how they operate, but also a lot of newbies who see low prices and get a bit carried away.

Little different to being in the auction room itself. Very easy to get carried away and pay too much. 

pearl123

Perhaps, speak to them and say something like you are getting old and didn't fully understand what you were doing? 
Highlight, that you thought there might have been a software issue.