GENERAL CONDITIONS OF SALE

Uskvale Auction Centre, either on behalf of clients, Uskvale Outlet Centre, Uskvale Retail Partners or any other associated Uskvale company, carries on business with Bidders, Buyers and all those present in the auction room prior to or in connection with a sale on the following General Conditions and on such other terms, conditions and notices as may be referred to herein.

1 DEFINITIONS

In these Conditions:

“Auction” means any auction sale (whether a Live Auction, an Online Auction, any formal or informal tender or a sale by private treaty) and whether conducted independently or simultaneously conducted pursuant to these General Conditions and the Special Conditions of Sale;

"Auctioneer" means Uskvale Auction Centre or any related Uskvale company, as appropriate;

"Bid" means any offer to buy a Lot which has been confirmed and accepted by the Auctioneer, which in the event of any Bid placed through the electronic Bidding system includes Bids submitted and confirmed by the Bidder on such system

“Bidder” any person who offers to purchase any Lot whether by Bidding at Auction or offering to purchase by private treaty or tender;

“Buyer” means a Registered Bidder who has placed the highest value Bid at the conclusion of the Auction, which in the event of any doubt or uncertainty shall be determined by the Auctioneer, whose determination will be absolute

“Buyer’s Premium” means the commission (plus VAT) which shall be added to the net Bid made by the Bidder to the Auctioneer and which shall be paid by the winning Bidder to the Auctioneer as part of the Total Amount Due

“Conditions of Sale” means the General Conditions of Sale, the Special Conditions and the Privacy Policy

“General Conditions of Sale” means these terms as set out as may be amended from time to time

"Hammer Price" means the level of Bidding reached (at or above any reserve) when the auctioneer brings down the hammer

“Lot” means any individual item contained within an Auction as available for sale

“On Line Auction” means any Auction conducted using the internet as a tool for viewing and Bidding on Lots

“Privacy Policy” means the policies as set out on any website relating to the Auction, including www.uskvale-auction-centre.co.uk and any third party Bidding platform

“Registered Bidder” means any Bidder who has registered with the Auctioneer and accepted the Conditions of Sale to Bid on any individual Auction or Lot

“Reserve Price” means the minimum amount of money, if so applicable, that a Seller is prepared to accept for any individual Lot from a Bidder below which the Lot will not be sold

"Sale Proceeds" means the net amount due to the Seller, being the Hammer Price of the Lot sold less the Seller’s Commission at the stated rate, Value Added Tax chargeable and any other amounts due to us by the seller in whatever capacity and however arising

“Seller” means the party who has instructed the Auctioneer to Auction any individual Lot in whatever legal capacity they have assumed ownership but provided they have the necessary legal authority

“Special Conditions of Sale” means the terms as set out against each individual Auction and which shall apply alongside and in addition to the General Terms of Sale

"Terms of Consignment" means the stipulated terms and rates of commission on which the Auctioneer accepts instructions from sellers or their agents;

"Total Amount Due" means the hammer price in respect of the lot sold together with any Buyer’s Premium, Value Added Tax chargeable and any additional charges (including delivery charges) along with any outstanding charges payable by a defaulting buyer under these Conditions;

The singular includes the plural and vice versa as appropriate and any reference to the masculine shall include feminine and corporate identities.

2 BIDDING PROCEDURES AND THE BUYER

The Buyer acknowledges that a Sale by Auction is not a consumer sale for the purposes of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994) and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Buyer shall not seek to rely upon and conditions or warranties implied thereby or by any other legislation.

The Auctioneer draws to the attention of all parties entering the Auctioneer's premises and the site of any Auction that there is full CCTV coverage in place for the protection of peope and property and that images are constantly recorded for security and legal purposes. We shall make such images available to the Police if so requested.

Bidders are required to register their particulars, including their name, full address (including postcode), email address and a fixed land telephone line number, and by registering confirm they have read and agreed to the Conditions of Sale before Bidding. Bidders may also have to satisfy any security arrangements before registering for an Auction to view or Bid.

On registration Bidders will be added to the Company`s mailing list for the purposes of notification of future sales by email. If a Bidder wishes to stop receiving such notifications they can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the link provided at the bottom of each email.

On registration the Bidder acknowledges that only adults aged 18 years and over are entitled to enter into a legally binding contract and as a result they are the only people entitled to register for the Auction. By registering the Bidder warrants that he is aged 18 years or older and is capable of forming a legally binding contract.

The Bidder of the highest Bid accepted by the auctioneer conducting the sale shall be the Buyer at the hammer price plus all other applicable charges and shall pay the Total Amount Due (and any dispute about a Bid or the Total Amount Due shall be settled at the auctioneer's absolute discretion which may include reoffering the Lot during the course of the auction or otherwise). The auctioneer shall act reasonably in exercising this discretion.

Bidders shall be deemed to act as principals.

Once made, no Bid may be withdrawn without the Auctioneer’s consent, such consent being at the absolute discretion of the Auctioneer.

The Auctioneer reserves the right to Bid on behalf of the Seller up to the amount of any Reserve Price.

The Auctioneer reserves the right to refuse any Bid whatsoever and to cancel the Auction of any individual Lot or Auction in its entirety.

3 INCREMENTS

Bidding increments shall be at the auctioneer’s sole discretion.

4 THE PURCHASE PRICE

The Buyer shall pay the Total Amount Due, which for the avoidance of doubt shall be the hammer price, together with VAT on the hammer price where applicable (which shall be assumed applicable unless otherwise stated) AND the premium (as stated on each individual Auction as set out in the Special Conditions of Sale) plus VAT on the premium at the rate applicable at the time of invoicing AND any additional statutory or other such charges that may apply and be set out within the Special Conditions of Sale and/or the Lot Description (i.e. Droit de suite royalty charges). For the avoidance of doubt, where the Auctioneer is required to arrange delivery, the addition cost will form part of the Total Amount Due.

Buyers or Bidders located outside of the UK will be responsible for any customs, duties, export, import of other such costs, taxes, charges, etc, resulting from shipment to an oversees address.

5 VALUE ADDED TAX

Value Added Tax on the hammer price is imposed by law on all items unless otherwise so identified and stated. Value Added Tax is charged at the appropriate rate prevailing by law at the date of sale and is payable by buyers of relevant Lots.

6. PAYMENT

Immediately a Lot is sold the Buyer will:

a) give to us, if requested, proof of identity; and

b) pay to the Auctioneer the Total Amount Due within 48 hours of the close of the Auction.

Any payments by you to us may be applied by us towards any sums owing from you to us on any account whatever without regard to any directions of you or your agent, whether express or implied.

The Company reserves the right to refuse payment in cash. Payments in cash of more than £500 will not, in any circumstance, be accepted unless agreed prior to Bidding with the Auctioneer.

7 TITLE AND COLLECTION OF PURCHASES

Risk of damage to or loss of the Lot shall pass to the Buyer immediately upon the conclusion of the Auction. For the avoidance of doubt, the Buyer shall be responsible for all insurances upon conclusion of the Auction.

The ownership of any Lots purchased shall not pass to the Buyer until payment of the Total Amount Due has been made to the Auctioneer in full.

The Buyer shall at their own risk and expense take away any Lots that they have purchased and paid for not later than 3 working days following the day of the Auction (or upon the clearance of any cheque used for payment) after which the Buyer shall be responsible for any removal, storage and insurance charges that they Auctioneer may impose.

No purchase can be claimed or removed until the Total Amount Due has been paid for, which for the avoidance of doubt, is to be interpreted as the Auctioneer being in receipt of cleared funds within their nominated bank account.

Uskvale Auction Centre is able to arrange packaging or shipping of items. Bidders must however contact the Auctioneer prior to making a Bid to confirm details and costs and this cost shall form part of the Total Amount Due should the Bidder become the Buyer.

When removing any Lot from the Location the Buyer shall, or shall procure that its removal contractors shall:

a. carry out a full assessment of Lot, the Location and the land or buildings to which the Lot is fixed to assess the risks associated with detaching/removing the Lot and shall fully satisfy themselves that they can detach/remove the Lot in compliance with the Buyers obligations under this General Condition prior to handling and/or commencing removal of a Lot;

b. obtain all relevant planning permissions (where required) in relation to the removal of building structures and plant housings;

c. Buyers of Lots will be required to make good holes or voids exposed by the removal of Lots. Cladding taken off buildings for removal of plant & equipment will have to be replaced, unless otherwise specified by the Company;

d. when detaching any Lot fixed to land or buildings, do so safely and lawfully and must not use flame cutters, explosives or any other dangerous equipment or process without first obtaining written consent of the Company;

e. remove the Lot in compliance with all relevant legislation, regulations, codes of practice, guidance, orders, rules and other requirements of any relevant government or governmental agency or authority whether Parliamentary, statutory, parochial or local including (without limitation) in compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Environmental Protection Act 1990, The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), and the Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and any subsequent amendments thereof and all other health and safety and environmental legislation in existence at the time of the Sale. To the extent that such regulations are advisory rather than mandatory, the standard of compliance to be achieved by the Buyer shall be to the best industry practice;

In all cases arising under this General Condition the costs of compliance shall be borne by the Buyer and the Buyer hereby indemnifies the Auctioneer and the Seller against all losses, costs, expenses, damages, liabilities, demands, claims, actions and proceedings which the Company and/or the Seller may incur arising directly or indirectly out of any breach by the Buyer to the provisions of this General Condition and the Buyer shall make good any damage caused to (without limitation) other Lots, the Location or to any property belonging to third parties, in removing any Lot under this General Condition

f. The Auctioneer or the Seller shall be entitled to halt the clearance of any Lot if in its absolute discretion the removal of a Lot is being carried out in an unsatisfactory manner. Where the clearance is halted by the Auctioneer or the Seller, the Buyer must liaise with the Auctioneer's or Seller's site representative as to how the Lot should be removed from the Location provided that the Buyer shall at all times ensure that it complies with its obligations under General Condition e above and the Auctioneer and Seller shall have no liability in this regard.

g. The Buyer shall be responsible for all necessary insurance cover required and provide evidence as and when requested by the Auctioneer of the Buyer`s insurance policies in respect of the following insurances and at a minimum level of:

- Public Liability Cover - limit Two Million Pounds (£ 3,000,000); and

- Employers Liability Cover - limit Ten Million Pounds (£10,000,000);

The Auctioneer reserves the right to vary the level of insurance cover stated above at any time, as and when required.

h. The Buyer shall provide to the Auctioneer a Risk Assessment & Method Statement complying with The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007, COSHH or with any subsequent amendments thereof or such other legislation as shall from time to time be in force.

i. Electric, gas, water, steam and waste disconnections are the responsibility of the Buyer and MUST be carried out by an approved contractor following consultation with the site representative.

j. It is expressly brought to the Buyer’s attention that certain Lots could contain blue or white asbestos, dangerous chemicals etc. which if not handled correctly during their removal could result in breach of Health & Safety at Work legislation and/or Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations or other statutory requirements.

k. Any fluids, gases and/ or waste remaining in plant and machinery are the responsibility of the Buyer and MUST be removed from the Location strictly in accordance with any applicable statutory requirements.

l. The Buyer must use safe and lawful means of removing the Lot, must comply with all current statutory requirements and regulations including those relating to the disposal and removal if waste, and if required, satisfy the Auctioneer in relation to their removal procedures; in particular, the removal of waste materials must be undertaken by an approved and licensed contractor to an approved waste management site.

m It is the purchaser’s or their removal contractors responsibility (i.e. Police, Ministry of Transport, Local Authority) to transport off site long/ wide loads, within sufficient time prior to the commencement of clearance period as stated in the Special Notes & Conditions.

The Buyer shall indemnify the Auctioneer and the Seller against any loss, damages, expenses, claims or liabilities arising directly or indirectly from the possession or use of the Lot after title to the Lot has passed to the Buyer but before it is removed from the Location.

8 REMEDIES FOR NON-PAYMENT OR FAILURE TO COLLECT PURCHASES

If any Lot is not paid for in full or taken away in accordance with these Conditions or if there is any other breach of these Conditions, we, as agent for the seller and on our own behalf, shall at our absolute discretion and without prejudice to any other rights we may have, be entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights and remedies:

a)      to proceed against the Buyer for damages for breach of contract;

b)      to rescind the sale of that Lot and/or any other Lots sold by us to the Buyer;

c)      to resell the Lot (by auction or private treaty) in which case the Buyer shall be responsible for any resulting deficiency in the total amount due (after crediting any part payment and adding any resale costs). Any surplus so arising shall belong to the Seller;

d)      to remove, store and insure the Lot at the Buyer's expense and, in the case of storage, either at our premises or elsewhere;

e)      to charge interest at a rate of 2% per month on the Total Amount Due to the extent it remains unpaid for more than 3 working days after the sale;

f)       to retain that or any other Lot sold to the Buyer until the Buyer has paid the Total Amount Due;

g)      to reject or ignore Bids from the Buyer or the Buyer's agent at future auctions or to impose conditions before any such Bids shall be accepted;

h)      to apply any proceeds of sale of other Lots due or in future becoming due to the Buyer towards the settlement of the Total Amount Due and to exercise a lien (that is a right to retain possession of) any of the Buyer's property in our possession for any purpose until the debt due is satisfied;

i)        to share the Buyer's details with other auctioneers

We shall, as agent for the Seller and on our own behalf pursue these rights and remedies only so far as is reasonable to make appropriate recovery in respect of breach of these conditions.

9 THIRD PARTY LIABILITY

All members of the public on our premises are there at their own risk and must note the lay-out of the accommodation, escape routes and security arrangements.  Accordingly neither the auctioneer nor our employees or agents shall incur liability for death or personal injury (except as required by law by reason of our negligence) or similarly for the safety of the property of persons visiting prior to or at a sale.

10 COMMISSION AND INTERNET BIDS

Whilst Bidders and prospective buyers are strongly advised to attend the auction and are always responsible for any decision to Bid for a particular Lot and shall be assumed to have carefully inspected and satisfied themselves as to its condition we will if so instructed clearly and in writing execute Bids on their behalf.

Neither the Auctioneer nor our employees or agents shall be responsible for any failure to do so save where such failure is unreasonable. Where two or more commission Bids at the same level are recorded we reserve the right in our absolute discretion to prefer the first Bid so made.

In relation to an Online Auction the Auctioneer cannot guarantee that the internet services will operate continuously or without interruptions and this could affect the conduct of the Online Auction and the Bidder's ability to Bid online. The Auctioneer shall not be liable in any respect in the event of any dispute due to errors, omissions or disruptions to internet services or power failures or any other unforeseen circumstances which may occur during the Online Auction.

The Auctioneer may at any time, without notice, postpone or cancel an Online Auction or extend an Online Auction beyond the published closing time.

The timed Online Auction Sale is auto Bid extension enabled meaning that where a Bid is placed within ten minutes of the original scheduled close of the timed Online Auction the scheduled close of the timed Online Auction will automatically be extended by an additional ten minutes. This continues with a new scheduled close time each time a Bid is placed until no-one places a Bid before the last scheduled close of the timed Online Auction. Every time a Bid is placed within ten minutes or less left in the Online Auction an additional ten minutes Bidding time is added until there are no more Bids. Such time shall then be deemed to be the close of the timed Online Auction.

11 WARRANTY OF TITLE AND AVAILABILITY

The Seller warrants to the Auctioneer and the Buyer that the Seller is the true owner of the property consigned or is properly authorised by the true owner to consign it for sale and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claims.

In the event that the Auctioneer unknowingly sells a Lot that was not eligible for Sale (i.e. there is a third party interest that comes to light) then the Auctioneer shall be entitled to immediately rescind that Sale without any further liability to the Bidder, Buyer, Auctioneer or the Seller.

12. AGENCY

The Auctioneer normally acts as agent only and disclaims any responsibility for default by Sellers or Buyers.

13 TERMS OF SALE

The Seller acknowledges that Lots are sold subject to the stipulations of these Conditions in their entirety along with the Special Conditions of Sale and on the Terms of Consignment as notified to the seller at the time of the entry of the Lot.

14 DESCRIPTIONS AND CONDITION

Whilst we seek to describe Lots accurately, it may be impractical for us to carry out exhaustive due diligence on each Lot. Prospective buyers are given ample opportunities to view and inspect before any sale and they (and any independent experts on their behalf) must satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of any description applied to a Lot. Prospective buyers also Bid on the understanding that, inevitably, representations or statements by us as to authorship, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price involve matters of opinion. We undertake that any such opinion shall be honestly and reasonably held and accept liability for opinions given negligently or fraudulently. Subject to the foregoing neither we the Auctioneer nor our employees or agents nor the seller accept liability for the correctness of such opinions and all conditions and warranties, whether relating to description, condition or quality of Lots, express, implied or statutory, are hereby excluded.

Private treaty sales made under the Conditions of Sale are deemed to be sales by Auction for purposes of consumer legislation.

GENERAL

15 We shall have the right at our discretion, to refuse admission to our premises or attendance at our auctions by any person whether on site or on-line.

16 Any right to compensation for losses liabilities and expenses incurred in respect of and as a result of any breach of these Conditions and any exclusions provided by them shall be available to the Seller and/or the Auctioneer as appropriate.

Such rights and exclusions shall extend to and be deemed to be for the benefit of employees and agents of the seller and/or the auctioneer who may themselves enforce them.

17 Any notice to any Buyer, Seller, Bidder or viewer may be given by first class mail in which case it shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee 48 hours after posting or by email.

18 Special terms may be used in catalogue descriptions of particular classes of items in which case the descriptions must be interpreted in accordance with any glossary appearing at the commencement of the catalogue.

19 Any indulgence extended to Bidders, Buyers or Sellers by us notwithstanding the strict terms of the Conditions of Sale or the Terms of Consignment shall affect the position at the relevant time only and in respect of that particular concession only; in all other respects these Conditions shall be construed as having full force and effect.

20. English & Welsh law applies to the interpretation of these Conditions.

21. Copies of the Auctions (Bidding Agreements) Act 1927 and 1969 are held at the Auctioneer’s principal place of business and on the site of the Auction.

22. In the event that any one individual condition or provision within the Conditions of Sale are overturned by a Court of Law or any other third party decision process, the remaining conditions and provisions will be deemed to apply and remain valid irrespective of such third party determination.

23. IN THE EVENT THAT ANY PARTY IS FOUND REMOVING LOTS, ITEMS OR OTHER POSSESSIONS FROM THE AUCTIONEER'S PREMISES OR THE SITE OF THE AUCTION WITHOUT PERMISSION, THE AUCTIONEER WILL CONTACT THE POLICE AND WILL MAKE AVAILABLE ALL CCTV IMAGES AND RECORDINGS AND WILL SEEK PROSECUTION.