Purchased a car online ibidder auction

Needadvice2025

Hi guys, 

registered on ibidder to bid on a car unfortunately the terms and conditions werent shared with me via email or post after registering. I placed a max bid on a car of 8,000 and received an email saying the reserve was not met. 

Next day I received a email saying congratulations you’ve won which I found odd they also attached an invoice with it and it was 8,000 plus admin fee and the admin fee had a vat. I delayed the payment and called the number on the invoice and request a full breakdown of costs as on ibidder I can see a lot of people are saying there’s hidden fees. They then said yes and sent over an email saying it’s 8000+3840 admin charge and delivery. 

I paid the total then they sent me the same invoice with additional charges at this point I rang them again saying you didn’t state in your last email. They apologised and said accounts had messed up and said if I pay the admin charges I can collect the car the day. I’m now down near over £12,000 and have raised a case with my bank Barclays. I haven’t received a car or service. 

What shall I do ? Any advice would be very help. very stressed atm 

se2020

Is the car supposed to be delivered or are you supposed to be collecting it?

molerat

What was unclear ?  I can see that all the auctions have an "additional fees" click which clearly shows 32% buyer premium exc VAT + VAT on hammer price so quite a huge uplift on the hammer price.  There is also a click link on each lot with the seller T&Cs.  I think this is a case of leaping in before you have read and understood what buying at auction actually means.

Robin9

Surely buying a car at auction is the same as anything else.  The TV Antiques show often quotes "buyers premium" of say 19%.   Presumably you want it delivered and then there will be delivery charges.

You have still probably got a bargain.

soolin

Needadvice2025 said:

Hi guys, 

registered on ibidder to bid on a car unfortunately the terms and conditions werent shared with me via email or post after registering. I placed a max bid on a car of 8,000 and received an email saying the reserve was not met. 

Next day I received a email saying congratulations you’ve won which I found odd they also attached an invoice with it and it was 8,000 plus admin fee and the admin fee had a vat. I delayed the payment and called the number on the invoice and request a full breakdown of costs as on ibidder I can see a lot of people are saying there’s hidden fees. They then said yes and sent over an email saying it’s 8000+3840 admin charge and delivery. 

I paid the total then they sent me the same invoice with additional charges at this point I rang them again saying you didn’t state in your last email. They apologised and said accounts had messed up and said if I pay the admin charges I can collect the car the day. I’m now down near over £12,000 and have raised a case with my bank Barclays. I haven’t received a car or service. 

What shall I do ? Any advice would be very help. very stressed atm 

Ibidder are quite clear about their charges, which I admit are high even for an auction house. They act on behalf of several sites, so each sale and item shows the uplift in fees clearly on the opening page . I jst found this high one on casual viewing

Additional Fees:

Commissions*:	39.00% ex. VAT/sales tax
VAT/sales tax on hammer:	20%

Unfortunately  as the fees are very clear and transparent I can’t see what your bank can do in this instance. The fees aren’t hidden if they are made clear on the very page you use to view the listings. 

se2020

The fees are high but (most) people know what they are.
Some people won't bid on the auctions with the higher fees out of principle so, generally,  the total price the buyer pays is actually pretty reasonable. 

One reason (unfortunately for the op) people use ibidder is they are pretty good at shifting stuff quickly and getting the seller their money.
One way they do this is sticking high value items (that have sold but not been paid for) into the next auction with no reserve and charging the first winner the difference if it sells for a lower amount the 2nd time.

If the op has already paid the full amount that shouldn't happen but they should read the terms (of the actual auction they bid on)  to see if there is a holding time or date the car needs to be collected by. Or if there are daily storage charges.

They don't normally accept credit card payment so I imagine the op has paid via bank transfer so the bank may not be much help.
If anything, the complaint to the bank could make things worst as the auction house may well be able to withhold the release of the car while the payment is under dispute AND charge storage fees...

soolin

se2020 said:

The fees are high but (most) people know what they are.
Some people won't bid on the auctions with the higher fees out of principle so, generally,  the total price the buyer pays is actually pretty reasonable. 

One reason (unfortunately for the op) people use ibidder is they are pretty good at shifting stuff quickly and getting the seller their money.
One way they do this is sticking high value items (that have sold but not been paid for) into the next auction with no reserve and charging the first winner the difference if it sells for a lower amount the 2nd time.

If the op has already paid the full amount that shouldn't happen but they should read the terms (of the actual auction they bid on)  to see if there is a holding time or date the car needs to be collected by. Or if there are daily storage charges.

They don't normally accept credit card payment so I imagine the op has paid via bank transfer so the bank may not be much help.
If anything, the complaint to the bank could make things worst as the auction house may well be able to withhold the release of the car while the payment is under dispute AND charge storage fees...

The point about collection timing is very important, thank you for raising it. It’s very possible that there will be a very short time frame in which to remove the vehicle. After that most auction places start charging hefty daily fees as they need the room for the next auction.

i suspect we won’t see the OP again, but I do hope they read se2020s warning. 

born_again

No matter how the OP paid. There is nothing a bank can do.

It clearly states on each item "Additional fees apply" which if clicked on shows the charges.
Sadly OP did not check 🤷‍♀️
Expensive lesson 

RFW

soolin said:

Ibidder are quite clear about their charges, which I admit are high even for an auction house. They act on behalf of several sites, so each sale and item shows the uplift in fees clearly on the opening page . I jst found this high one on casual viewing

Additional Fees:

Commissions*:	39.00% ex. VAT/sales tax
VAT/sales tax on hammer:	20%

Unfortunately  as the fees are very clear and transparent I can’t see what your bank can do in this instance. The fees aren’t hidden if they are made clear on the very page you use to view the listings. 

It depends on the auction house as to the fees. I-bidder themselves don't charge buyers a fee, although they do take from the auction houses. I had a quick check in case it was different for vehicles (that I don't deal in) and saw some with lower fees. The fees are easy to spot though, very transparent and in no way hidden.
Also I-bidder require quite a bit of info before they allow auctioneers on their site, so it's highly likely to be a reputable auction house. 
I certainly wouldn't expect the final price be the amount on the invoice. As with most auction houses these days you're looking at 25-50% to add on to the final selling price, if not more.