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Conditions of Business of Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers Ltd. (Bigwood) and Halls Fine Art (Halls Holdings Ltd.)
Bigwood and Halls 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:
(a) “auctioneer” means the firm of Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers Ltd. (Bigwood), Halls Fine
Art (Hall Holdings Ltd.) or its authorised auctioneer, as appropriate;
(b) “deliberate forgery” means an imitation made with the intention of deceiving as to
authorship, origin, date, age, period, culture or source but which is unequivocally
described in the catalogue as being the work of a particular creator and which at the
date of the sale had a value materially less than it would have had if it had been in
accordance with the description;
(c) “hammer price” means the level of bidding reached (at or above any reserve) when the
auctioneer brings down the hammer;
(d) “terms of consignment” means the stipulated terms and rates of commission on which
Bigwood accepts instructions from sellers or their agents;
(e) “total amount due” means the hammer price in respect of the lot sold together with
any premium, Value Added Tax chargeable and any additional charges payable by a
defaulting buyer under these Conditions;
(f) “sale proceeds” means the net amount due to the seller, being the hammer price of the
lot sold less 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;
(g) “You”, “Your”, etc. refer to the buyer as identified in Condition 2 below.
(h) The singular includes the plural and vice versa as appropriate.
2. BIDDING PROCEDURES AND THE BUYER
(a) Bidders are required to register their particulars before bidding and to satisfy any
security arrangements before entering the auction room to view or bid;
(b) the maker of the highest bid accepted by the auctioneer conducting the sale shall
be the buyer at the hammer price and any dispute about a bid shall be settled at the
auctioneer’s absolute discretion by reoffering the Lot during the course of the auction or
otherwise. The auctioneer shall act reasonably in exercising this discretion.
(c) Bidders shall be deemed to act as principals.
(2) Our right to bid on behalf of the seller is expressly reserved up to the amount of any
reserve and the right to refuse any bid is also reserved.
3. INCREMENTS
Bidding increments shall be at the auctioneer’s sole discretion.
4. THE PURCHASE PRICE
The buyer shall pay the hammer price together with a premium thereon of 19.5% plus VAT
on the premium at the rate imposed by law.
5. VALUE ADDED TAX
Value Added Tax on the hammer price is imposed by law on all items affixed with an asterisk
or double asterisk. 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. (Please refer to “Information for
Buyers” for a brief explanation of the VAT position).
6. PAYMENT
Payment is accepted at the saleroom when the buyer is present either by cash (up to £9000),
debit or credit card (subject to a 3% surcharge). Absentee buyers are required to pay by BACS/
On-line bank transfer to our account. Sort code 09-07-20. Account 0522 8883. Absentee card
payments ARE NOT ACCEPTED.
(1) Immediately a Lot is sold you will:
(a) give to us, if requested, proof of identity, and
(b) pay to us the total amount due in cash or in such other way as is agreed by us.
(2) 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.
7. TITLE AND COLLECTION OF PURCHASES
(1) The ownership of any Lots purchased shall not pass to you until you have made
payment in full to us of the total amount due.
(2) You shall at your own risk and expense COLLECT any lots that you have purchased and paid
for FROM the sale venue not later than 3 working days following the day of the auction
after which you shall be responsible for any COLLECTION, storage and insurance charges.
(3) No purchase MAY be COLLECTED AND WE SHALL NOT RELEASE ANY LOT TO YOU OR
YOUR AGENT until it has been paid for.
8. REMEDIES FOR NON-PAYMENT OR FAILURE TO COLLECT PURCHASES
(1) If any Lot is not paid for in full and 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 you for damages for breach of contract;
(b) to rescind the sale of that Lot and/or any other Lots sold by us to you;
(c) to resell the Lot (by auction or private treaty) in which case you 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 your expense and, in the case of storage, either at
our premises or elsewhere;
(e) to charge interest at a rate not exceeding 1.5% 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 you until you pay the total amount due;
(g) to reject or ignore bids from you or your 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 you
towards the settlement of the total amount due and to exercise a lien (that is a right to
retain possession of) any of your property in our possession for any purpose until the
debt due is satisfied.
(2) 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 layout
of the accommodation 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 BIDS must be sent to bigwood
Whilst 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.
Online Bidding
Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers Ltd. and Halls Fine Art offer an online bidding service via thesaleroom.
com for bidders who cannot attend the sale. In completing the bidder registration
on
www.the-saleroom.com and providing your credit card details and unless alternative
arrangements are agreed with Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers Ltd:
1. authorise Bigwood Fine Art Auctioneers Ltd, if they so wish, to charge the credit card
given in part or full payment, including all fees, for items successfully purchased in the
auction via the-saleroom.com, and
2. confirm that you are authorised to provide these credit card details to Bigwood Fine
Art Auctioneers Ltd through www.the-saleroom.com and agree that Bigwood Fine Art
Auctioneers Ltd are entitled to ship the goods to the card holder name and card holder
address provided in fulfilment of the sale.
Please note that any lots purchased via the-saleroom.com live auction
service will be subject to an additional 3% commission charge + VAT at
the rate imposed on the hammer price. Absentee card payments ARE NOT
ACCEPTED (see 6. Payment)
11. W ARRANTY OF TITLE AND AVAILABILITY
The seller warrants to the auctioneer and you 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.
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 and on the Terms of Consignment as notified to the consignor at the time of the
entry of the Lot.
14. DESCRIPTIONS AND CONDITION
(1) 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. This Condition
is subject to the next following Condition concerning deliberate forgeries and applies
save as provided for in paragraph 6 “information to buyers”.
(2) Private treaty sales made under these Conditions are deemed to be sales by auction for
purposes of consumer legislation.
15. FORGERIES
Notwithstanding the preceding Condition, any Lot which proves to be a deliberate forgery
(as defined) may be returned to us by you within 21 days of the auction provided it is in
the same condition as when bought, and is accompanied by particulars identifying it from
the relevant catalogue description and a written statement of defects. If we are satisfied
from the evidence presented that the Lot is a deliberate forgery we shall refund the money
paid by you for the Lot including any buyer’s premium provided that (1) if the catalogue
description reflected the accepted view of scholars and experts as at the date of sale or (2)
you personally are not able to transfer a good and marketable title to us, you shall have no
rights under this condition.
The right of return provided by this Condition is additional to any right or remedy provided
by law or by these Conditions of Sale.
GENERAL
16. We shall have the right at our discretion, to refuse admission to our premises or attendance
at our auctions by any person.
17. (1) 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.
(2) 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.
18. Any notice to any buyer, seller, bidder or viewer may be given by first class mail or Swiftmail
in which case it shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee 48 hours after
posting.
19. 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.
20. Any indulgence extended to bidders buyers or sellers by us notwithstanding the strict terms
of these Conditions or of 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.
21. English law applies to the interpretation of these Conditions.