Auction Purchase Help Please

jack58

Having read chargeback and Section 75, please can I turn to the forum for help.

In the terms, I cannot find "This does not affect your statutory rights"
And....  The role of JP_Auctions :  "Acts as an AGENT for the seller" !!

Microwave purchased. Paid 9/7/2025. (By VISA)  Delivered 14/7/2025  - Smashed/Dropped
I contacted the Auction House, sent (many) photo's as requested, (picture of the lot was Perfect - but they Even cover that in the T&c's!!) 
I got this reply:

Jul 23, 09:07

Good Morning

Thank you for contacting John Pye Auctions.

I am afraid as this sale offered viewing the invoice purchased is not eligible to be returned, replaced, or refunded on this occasion.

All information regarding this can be located in the terms and conditions in which you agree to when creating your account and for each individual bid placed.

Please do note that when placing a bid within our viewing sales, you do agree to have viewed the lot in person to ensure you are satisfied prior to placing your bid.

I can appreciate that not all customer’s may be able to attend viewing, however, this agreement is part of your sale contract which binds you to the seller of the items in questions.

Therefore, I am afraid John Pye Auctions cannot intervene or offer resolutions in the event that your purchase may be incomplete, faulty, damaged, second hand or not of satisfactory quality.

We are also not able to provide contact details or information of the sellers, due to this being a breach of data protection laws.

Again, we do apologise deeply for any disappointment caused by this confirmation.

However, I am afraid John Pye Auctions cannot be held liable in these circumstances.

Due to this, I kindly recommend that you ensure you have analysed the terms and conditions in detail prior to placing any further bids.
https://www.johnpye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Auction-Terms-09-06-22-final.pdf

This should then ensure that you are aware of your responsibilities as a buyer and that you are knowledgeable regarding your rights within the viewing sales.


Kind Regards
R***
Birmingham Customer Services


** This is the terms & conditions link
https://www.johnpye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/John_Pye_Auctions_TC.pdf


I have to go out for a while now, but please can anyone help with What can I do ??

born_again

Who arranged delivery?

Grumpy_chap

Well, something doesn't seem right here.

What kind of auction was it?
Ordinarily, one would not expect that a microwave would be sold in that state but this could have been a "damaged goods auction" or some such that makes such a sale plausible.
I can also see how the microwave with the damage in the photo could be taken from another angle and look to be in good condition.  (I would not necessarily expect to see a photo of the underside of a microwave.)

If the microwave was sold as "good", it may also have been dispatched in "good" state and the damage may have been in transit.  In this scenario, the claim would need to be lodged against the carrier.  Who can lodge that claim would need to be determined.

Anyway, back to the "not right" part.
JP are claiming to only be the Agent, so you have no contract with them.
That means you must have a contract with some third party.
That means that S75 is not available as the creditor - supplier - debtor link is broken.
Chargeback may be available but I'd expect JP to simply reverse the chargeback.

So, you have entered a contract with some third party.
JP are the Agent for the third party.
JP will not divulge the contact details for the third party.
There must be some process for redress (the matter could be far larger than the value of a microwave).
Either JP need to confirm who the other party to the contract is, or they need to have some process to channel communications, so the third party is "jhg74jb9 c/o JP" which allows you to raise issues and, ultimately, pursue legal redress.
If there is no such channel, anyone could list and sell anything via JP and then ship just junk and no-one would ever have any redress.
That can't be right.

jack58 said:

Having read chargeback and Section 75, please can I turn to the forum for help.

In the terms, I cannot find "This does not affect your statutory rights"
And....  The role of JP_Auctions :  "Acts as an AGENT for the seller" !!

Microwave purchased. Paid 9/7/2025. (By VISA)  Delivered 14/7/2025  - Smashed/Dropped
I contacted the Auction House, sent (many) photo's as requested, (picture of the lot was Perfect - but they Even cover that in the T&c's!!) 
I got this reply:

Jul 23, 09:07

Good Morning

Thank you for contacting John Pye Auctions.

I am afraid as this sale offered viewing the invoice purchased is not eligible to be returned, replaced, or refunded on this occasion.

All information regarding this can be located in the terms and conditions in which you agree to when creating your account and for each individual bid placed.

Please do note that when placing a bid within our viewing sales, you do agree to have viewed the lot in person to ensure you are satisfied prior to placing your bid.

I can appreciate that not all customer’s may be able to attend viewing, however, this agreement is part of your sale contract which binds you to the seller of the items in questions.

Therefore, I am afraid John Pye Auctions cannot intervene or offer resolutions in the event that your purchase may be incomplete, faulty, damaged, second hand or not of satisfactory quality.

We are also not able to provide contact details or information of the sellers, due to this being a breach of data protection laws.

Again, we do apologise deeply for any disappointment caused by this confirmation.

However, I am afraid John Pye Auctions cannot be held liable in these circumstances.

Due to this, I kindly recommend that you ensure you have analysed the terms and conditions in detail prior to placing any further bids.
https://www.johnpye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Auction-Terms-09-06-22-final.pdf

This should then ensure that you are aware of your responsibilities as a buyer and that you are knowledgeable regarding your rights within the viewing sales.


Kind Regards
R***
Birmingham Customer Services


** This is the terms & conditions link
https://www.johnpye.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/John_Pye_Auctions_TC.pdf


I have to go out for a while now, but please can anyone help with What can I do ??

jack58

You have it in one GC.  They appear to have Every angle covered. Just How do they get away with it? 
Even the auction photo of the microwave, as attached. The unit I received was Not like that at all. The casing was off on all sides, and a grill hole thing,, hang on, pic attached, had No screws in ? If it were about a tenner, I would probably think - daft old b*****, but I paid £97 + vat, + 25% buyers premium, then is it more vat on the buyers premium - I can't work it out.  £145.50? Is not cheap for scrap metal.
 

7.2 Any images of the Lot (whether on the Website, in the Important Notes, in brochures, in catalogues or otherwise) are for illustrative purposes only and the Lot may vary from those images. We may use a stock image, not an image of the actual Lot; there will usually be images showing the Lot itself as well as a stock image. The Lot may comprise of second-hand items, raw returns, repossessed goods and seized goods. The Lot is sold as seen with no grading or guarantee given, and is sold subject to any faults, defects and imperfections which may subsist at the time of the sale.

7.3 Any descriptions of the Lot are for identification purposes only, except where the Buyer is a Consumer and the description relates to the Main Characteristics of the Lot. Where errors or defects are not identified in the Important Notes, a John Pye Technical Report or on the Website, there is no implied warranty as to the condition of the Lot, its functionality or that it is free from any faults, imperfections, defects or restorations. JOHN PYE AUCTIONS and the Seller shall not be held responsible for any damage or defect to the Lot that has not been expressly notified to the Buyer. 

jack58

born_again said:

Who arranged delivery?

They use DPD. Some auctions are collect, some are collect/deliver, and some are deliver only. 
This lot was in Birmingham and I was unable to collect, besides they 'discount' multiple lots.  Beware, though, that my items were thrown in one big box with a piece of brown paper on top. The microwave was in a box on its own - Not the manufacturers, one of their flimsy ones.

DPD said the blame lies with John Pye as the 'retailer'  !  So what next, Pye says they are Agents

grumpy_codger

So, was it damaged by the carrier or before the auction? The letter seems to imply that this was the original condition of the item that you were supposed to check personally before bidding.

jack58

Hi GC   It won't have been damaged prior, as they have palletted job lots for damaged/repairable=? items.  I would honestly say, it may well have happened when it was packed for delivery (and dropped! - its heavy)  But like DPD said, they collect, it gets taken to a depot, unloaded on a conveyor  belt, loaded into another vehicle, taken to another depot, unloaded, loaded. They also said, my claim is with the retailer?

Grumpy_chap

jack58 said:

Is that the auction catalogue photo of the microwave you purchased?
It is quite possible that is the same microwave, and the damage you have shared details of (dent in the base / cover with no screws) was existing when that photo was taken.

What else did the description state?

Does the dent in the base and the missing screws affect the operation of the microwave?

grumpy_codger

jack58 said:

Hi GC   It won't have been damaged prior, as they have palletted job lots for damaged/repairable=? items.  I would honestly say, it may well have happened when it was packed for delivery (and dropped! - its heavy)  But like DPD said, they collect, it gets taken to a depot, unloaded on a conveyor  belt, loaded into another vehicle, taken to another depot, unloaded, loaded. They also said, my claim is with the retailer?

Well, if you believe that it was damaged in transit, I think you can sue the auctioner (who packed and dispatched the item) and then it's between them and the carrier to find out who is liable. IMO, the fact that they were an agent is irrelevant in this case. 
MSE: Small claims court
If it was already dameged when you bought it, then it's getting more complicated.