Faulty item from auction

AnUrbanPenguin

Good Afternoon,

I recently purchased used 2 pcs, 2 monitors and some accessories from an auction company in Glasgow that specialises in industrial / liquidation auctions.

One of the monitors was damaged, however to look at it you wouldnt know until its powered on.
 

In the listing there was no mention whatsoever of any damage or defect.  When there is damage or defects on items they usually put this in the listing (there is a listing live right now as a prime example).  I have contacted them and the basically said "its as seen, we provide viewings, go away".  I did not attend the viewing, however at even the viewing you are not permitted to plug electrical items in to check if they work under the terms and conditions so I wouldnt have been able to check if they worked anyway!

What are my rights here as the company are basically fobbing me off completely and refusing to even give any sort of credit for use at a future auction.  As far as I am concerned the item was incorrectly described.

Thanks.

Jumblebumble

AnUrbanPenguin said:

Good Afternoon,

I recently purchased used 2 pcs, 2 monitors and some accessories from an auction company in Glasgow that specialises in industrial / liquidation auctions.

One of the monitors was damaged, however to look at it you wouldnt know until its powered on.
 

In the listing there was no mention whatsoever of any damage or defect.  When there is damage or defects on items they usually put this in the listing (there is a listing live right now as a prime example).  I have contacted them and the basically said "its as seen, we provide viewings, go away".  I did not attend the viewing, however at even the viewing you are not permitted to plug electrical items in to check if they work under the terms and conditions so I wouldnt have been able to check if they worked anyway!

What are my rights here as the company are basically fobbing me off completely and refusing to even give any sort of credit for use at a future auction.  As far as I am concerned the item was incorrectly described.

Thanks.

No rights 
Why do you think these items were put into an auction in the first place
Most people understand that in an auction by and large you buy what you see and bid to take this into account

AnUrbanPenguin

Jumblebumble said:

AnUrbanPenguin said:

Good Afternoon,

I recently purchased used 2 pcs, 2 monitors and some accessories from an auction company in Glasgow that specialises in industrial / liquidation auctions.

One of the monitors was damaged, however to look at it you wouldnt know until its powered on.
 

In the listing there was no mention whatsoever of any damage or defect.  When there is damage or defects on items they usually put this in the listing (there is a listing live right now as a prime example).  I have contacted them and the basically said "its as seen, we provide viewings, go away".  I did not attend the viewing, however at even the viewing you are not permitted to plug electrical items in to check if they work under the terms and conditions so I wouldnt have been able to check if they worked anyway!

What are my rights here as the company are basically fobbing me off completely and refusing to even give any sort of credit for use at a future auction.  As far as I am concerned the item was incorrectly described.

Thanks.

No rights 
Why do you think these items were put into an auction in the first place
Most people understand that in an auction by and large you buy what you see and bid to take this into account

So auction houses can just list things as functional and not damaged and then tell people tough luck with absolutely no recourse?  Surely the auction house is required to let people know when items they are bidding on are non functional or broken, especially when they cannot test them?

I would suggest they have set a precident of disclosing faults in their other listings for various items where faults and problems are disclosed but failed to do so on this occasion.

Ectophile

Did the auctioneer actually say that the equipment was working correctly?  You do have a claim if the items were mis-described by the auctioneer.  You have no claim if you assumed that the equipment was perfect.

Sandtree

AnUrbanPenguin said:

Jumblebumble said:

AnUrbanPenguin said:

Good Afternoon,

I recently purchased used 2 pcs, 2 monitors and some accessories from an auction company in Glasgow that specialises in industrial / liquidation auctions.

One of the monitors was damaged, however to look at it you wouldnt know until its powered on.
 

In the listing there was no mention whatsoever of any damage or defect.  When there is damage or defects on items they usually put this in the listing (there is a listing live right now as a prime example).  I have contacted them and the basically said "its as seen, we provide viewings, go away".  I did not attend the viewing, however at even the viewing you are not permitted to plug electrical items in to check if they work under the terms and conditions so I wouldnt have been able to check if they worked anyway!

What are my rights here as the company are basically fobbing me off completely and refusing to even give any sort of credit for use at a future auction.  As far as I am concerned the item was incorrectly described.

Thanks.

No rights 
Why do you think these items were put into an auction in the first place
Most people understand that in an auction by and large you buy what you see and bid to take this into account

So auction houses can just list things as functional and not damaged and then tell people tough luck with absolutely no recourse?  Surely the auction house is required to let people know when items they are bidding on are non functional or broken, especially when they cannot test them?

I would suggest they have set a precident of disclosing faults in their other listings for various items where faults and problems are disclosed but failed to do so on this occasion.

If you are talking about a true auction house then they predominately list something as described by the seller and their T&Cs advise that they've not validated the description. To make any claim against the auction house you'd need to show they were negligent in not realising that the description was inaccurate. 

If you attended the auction in person then there is a specific carve out from the Consumer Rights Act that makes it not apply to secondhand goods sold at auction in person Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk). You may still have rights under the Sales of Goods Act however that is between you and the seller not the auction house... if you are saying its liquidated equipment then the seller is most likely already insolvent and so no longer around to pursue.

theoretica

Did the auction permit bidding in person or was it only online?

soolin

The answer really depends on a lot of things which have been covered already. I am a regular at auctions, both online and in person and am always cautious about what they don’t guarantee , rather than what they do. It is usual for the stock to be sold as seen, with buyers either expected to inspect item if possible or to ask for a condition report,  for instance look at this auction :
https://www.wilsonsauctions.com/auctions/liquidations-disposals/AuctionEvent?saleCode=S433&location=Glasgow

Viewing is available on the day of the auction from 9.30am. All lots are sold as seen and will not be tested or verified prior to sale unless otherwise stated so please ensure you are happy with the item before bidding.

and later from the FAQs

 All Lots are "Sold As Seen" unless stated by the auctioneer.

From another page :

https://www.wilsonsauctions.com/timed-auction/listings?salecode=DO134

Basically though unless something is guaranteed, ie ‘powered on, seen to be working no apparent issues’ it is best to assume there is a problem. 

user1977

AnUrbanPenguin said:

Jumblebumble said:

AnUrbanPenguin said:

Good Afternoon,

I recently purchased used 2 pcs, 2 monitors and some accessories from an auction company in Glasgow that specialises in industrial / liquidation auctions.

One of the monitors was damaged, however to look at it you wouldnt know until its powered on.
 

In the listing there was no mention whatsoever of any damage or defect.  When there is damage or defects on items they usually put this in the listing (there is a listing live right now as a prime example).  I have contacted them and the basically said "its as seen, we provide viewings, go away".  I did not attend the viewing, however at even the viewing you are not permitted to plug electrical items in to check if they work under the terms and conditions so I wouldnt have been able to check if they worked anyway!

What are my rights here as the company are basically fobbing me off completely and refusing to even give any sort of credit for use at a future auction.  As far as I am concerned the item was incorrectly described.

Thanks.

No rights 
Why do you think these items were put into an auction in the first place
Most people understand that in an auction by and large you buy what you see and bid to take this into account

So auction houses can just list things as functional and not damaged and then tell people tough luck with absolutely no recourse?  Surely the auction house is required to let people know when items they are bidding on are non functional or broken, especially when they cannot test them?

Did they say the items were functional or not broken, or that they had tested them at all? I would expect the whole point of this sort of auction is that they're just clearing out what was in the warehouse, they probably genuinely have no idea whether the stuff works, and the buyers take their chances.

TELLIT01

If you have evidence that the items were described either in a catalogue or by the auctioneer as being in working order you may have some comeback on the basis of misrepresentation.  The reality is that the vast majority of items at auctions are sold as seen, without guarantee.

AnUrbanPenguin

Based on the comments above, all of these things would be very hard to prove.  Catalogue was described as "Quality IT Equipment" - quality would imply in good condition.

However the auction how do not permit the testing of items prior to purchase even at their viewing days.

Unfortunately I think this is an instance of putting it down to a learning experience and having to eat a $*** sandwich. 

I have pointed out to them that in other catalogues they have explictly said when something is broken and even provided pictures of the damage (in this case a broken screen, oh the irony) but they have stopped replying to my emails.  Pretty shocking customer service.

Manxman_in_exile

I wouldn't buy anything at auction if I couldn't attend to view in person, and even if I could attend, I certainly would not buy electrical equipment if I couldn't check it worked.  If their T&Cs quite clearly state that you can't do that, it speaks volumes as to the risk you are taking.