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Parker Fine Art Auctions Ltd: Conditions of Sale for Public Auctions
Parker Fine Art Auctions Ltd carries out business with Bidders, Buyers and Sellers on the following conditions and on such terms, conditions and notices as may be referred to herein. All Bidders, Buyers and others participating in a public auction accept that these terms apply to the exclusion of any terms and conditions contained in any of those person’s own documents even if the same purport to provide that they or some other terms prevail. Any particular public auction and/or any particular lot in an auction may be subject to different or additional terms which will be published in our auction catalogue online.
The Buyer’s attention is particularly drawn to clause 24 (consumers) and clause 23 (non-consumers), which set out the extent of the Auctioneer’s and the Seller’s liability to the Buyer.
Please read these Conditions together with our “Information for Buyers” document, which provides additional information and terms applicable to our auctions.
In these Conditions:
A contract for the sale and purchase of a Lot shall come into existence between the Seller and the Buyer on these Conditions upon acceptance by the Auctioneer of a bid by the Buyer.
3.1 Bidders are required to register their particulars before bidding by completing a sale registration form and to satisfy any security arrangements before entering the auction room to view or bid.
3.2 Parker Fine Art Auctions Ltd are required by UK Law to adhere to legislation aimed at the prevention of money laundering. The Company has a continuing obligation to conduct due diligence on all customers with whom we transact, including beneficial owners of corporate bodies, and this will include verification of identity and proof of address. Buyers who are unable to, or refuse to, supply required identification documents and proof of address will be unable to bid at our auctions. Copies of customer due diligence checks will be retained for as long as is necessary to satisfy legal requirements, and will be retained in an appropriate storage facility, which for the avoidance of doubt may include storage solely in electronic form.
3.3 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 re-offering the Lot during the course of the auction or otherwise. The auctioneer shall act reasonably in exercising this discretion. The Auctioneer shall rule the bidding and no bid may be retracted.
3.4 The Buyer is the person who is successful in purchasing a Lot or Lots in accordance with these Conditions. Purchases made on behalf of a third party are the responsibility of the Buyer in the room. The Auctioneer reserves the right to bid on behalf of the Seller for any Lot and to withdraw, consolidate or divide any Lot or Lots.
3.5 Bidders shall be deemed to act as principals (i.e. not on behalf of or as the agent of any other person).
3.6 Our right to bid on behalf of the Seller is expressly reserved up to the amount of any reserve below the bottom estimate and the right to refuse any bid is also reserved.
Bidding increments shall be at the Auctioneer’s sole discretion.
The purchase price payable for a Lot is the hammer price plus a buyer’s premium thereon of 25% plus VAT on the premium at the rate imposed by law and is payable in accordance with clause 7.
Value Added Tax on the hammer price is imposed by law on all items affixed with a dagger or double dagger symbol. 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).
7.1 Immediately a Lot is sold you will:
7.2 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 expressed or implied.
7.3 In order to comply with money laundering regulations we reserve the right to require proof of source of funds and/or confirmation of the nature and source of wealth for all receipts of monies from clients directly or from third parties for payments on behalf of clients. The completion of the sale of a Lot will be postponed or cancelled at our discretion if further time is needed for investigation, or if you are in breach of your warranties as a buyer, or if we consider the sale to be unlawful or in any way cause liabilities or be detrimental to either us or the Seller.
8.1 The ownership of any Lots purchased shall not pass to you until you have made payment in full in cleared funds to us of the total amount due.
8.2 You shall at your own risk and expense take away any lots that you have purchased and paid for no later than 14 days following the day of the auction or upon the clearance of any cheque used for payment after which you shall be responsible for any removal, storage and insurance charges.
8.3 No purchase can be claimed or removed until it has been paid in full.
9.1 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:
9.2 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
10.1 All bidders, buyers and other members of the public on our premises are there at their own risk and must note the lay-out of the accommodation and security arrangements. Accordingly neither the auctioneer nor our employees or agents shall incur liability for death or personal injury or for the safety of the property of persons visiting prior to or at a sale (except in each case as may be required by law by reason of our negligence)
11.1 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 and authenticity, 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.
11.2 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.
12.1 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 for sale and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claims.
12.2 We are acting as the agent of the Seller only and give no warranty as to the Seller’s title to the Lot.
12.3 Save as expressly set out above, all other warranties, conditions or other terms which might have effect between the Seller and you, or us and you, or be implied or incorporated by statute, common law or otherwise are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The Seller and the Buyer acknowledge that Lots are sold subject to the stipulations of these Conditions (including the Information For Buyers) in their entirety and on the Terms of Consignment as notified to the Seller at the time of the entry of the Lot.
14.1 Whilst we seek to describe Lots accurately, it may be impractical for us to carry out exhaustive due diligence on each Lot. Bidders 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. Bidders 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.
14.2 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, attributions and warranties, whether relating to description, condition or quality of lots, express, implied or statutory, are hereby excluded.
14.3 We are not liable for damage to gilded picture frames, plaster picture frames or picture frame glass. If the Lot is, or becomes dangerous, we may dispose of it without notice to you in advance in any manner we see fit and will be under no liability for doing so. We shall not be liable for any damage to any Lot arising during the viewing, during the sale, or after the sale.
14.4 We act as agents only. Each Prospective Buyer by making a bid for a Lot acknowledges that they have satisfied themselves fully as to the attribution and condition of the Lot. Pictures have not been removed from their frames unless specifically mentioned in the Condition Report (as in the event the item is unsold it must be returned to the Seller in the condition it was received by us). This Condition is subject to deliberate forgeries (clause 17).
14.5 Private treaty sales made under these Conditions are deemed to be sales by auction for purposes of consumer legislation.
15.1 The risk in the Lot shall pass to the Buyer upon the hammer falling and completion of the Sale by the Auctioneer.
15.2 We are not responsible for the correct description, genuineness or authenticity of any Lot as per these Conditions. The Buyer is deemed to have inspected each Lot and satisfied themselves as to the condition.
Title to the Lot purchased will not pass to the Buyer until the Buyer has paid us in full and cleared funds the total amount due pursuant to these Conditions and we have applied such payment to the Lot.
17.1 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 unless:
and in the event of clause 17.1 (a) or 17.1 (b) applying you shall have no rights under this condition.
17.2 The right of return provided by this clause 17 is additional to any right or remedy provided by law or by these Conditions.
We will hold and process any personal data in relation to you in accordance with our current privacy policy, a copy of which is available on our website parkerfineartauctions.com
19.1 We shall have the right, at our discretion, to refuse admission to our premises or attendance at our auctions by any person.
19.2 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.
19.3 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.
19.4 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 in the catalogue.
Any notice to any buyer, seller, bidder or viewer may be given by first class mail or email in which case it shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee 48 hours after posting or in the event of email upon actual receipt of such email.
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.
Nothing in these Conditions shall limit any liability which cannot legally be limited, including liability for:
(THIS CLAUSE 23 APPLIES ONLY TO NON-CONSUMERS)
23.1 Subject to clause 22, and unless you are an individual purchasing or selling the Lot for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside your trade, business, craft or profession (Consumer), our total liability to either the Buyer of the Seller (as appropriate) shall not exceed the value of the Lot sold by the Seller to the Buyer. The following types of loss are wholly excluded by us:
23.2 Subject to clause 22, all conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute, common law or the law of equity, including without limitation the terms implied by sections 13 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, expressly excluded.
(THIS CLAUSE 24 APPLIES ONLY TO CONSUMERS)
24.1 Consumers are reminded that we act only as an agent of the Seller and are not the supplier of the Lots.
24.2 If the Auctioneer or the Seller fails to comply with these Conditions, it or they shall be responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of its or their breach of these Conditions or its or their negligence, but neither the Auctioneer nor the Seller shall be responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if they were an obvious consequence of the breach or if they were contemplated by the Agent and/or the Seller and the Buyer at the time this contract was entered into.
25.1 If you purchase a Lot at a virtual auction (an auction which is held online only so that there is no possibility for you to attend the auction in person) and you are contracting as a Consumer and the Seller of a Lot is a trader, you will have a statutory right to cancel your purchase of that Lot if you change your mind for any reason. The provisions below set out your legal right to cancel in those circumstances.
25.2 You may cancel your purchase at any time from the date of our order confirmation up to the end of the fourteenth day after the day of collection of the lot by you or the person specified by you for collection.
25.3 To cancel your purchase, you must inform us of your intention to cancel it. You can do this by completing the model cancellation form which can be found on our website. If you use this method we will email you to confirm that we have received your cancellation. Alternatively, you send us your cancellation notice by any other method and then your cancellation is effective from the date you send us the email or post the letter to us.
25.4 If you exercise your right to cancel your purchase, you will receive a refund of the total amount due paid for the Lot in accordance with clause 7. When exercising the cancellation right, you must return the lots to us immediately at your own cost (as set out below).
25.5 You are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to inspect the Lots (which will include removing them from their packaging and inspecting them). At all times, you must take reasonable care of the Lots and must not let them out of your possession. They must remain in original, untouched condition. If you are in breach of your obligations to take reasonable care of the Lots in this clause 25.4, we will have a claim against you and may deduct from the refund costs incurred by us as a result of the breach.
25.6 This provision does not affect your statutory rights.
25.7 The cancellation right described in this clause 25 is in addition to any other right that you might have to reject a Lot, for instance because it is a deliberate forgery as set out in clause 17 above.
26.1 Where you have validly returned a Lot to us under your right of cancellation described in clause 25, we will refund the full amount paid by you for the Lot.
26.2 Please note that we are permitted by law to reduce your refund to reflect any reduction in the value of the Lot, if this has been caused by your handling of the Lot in a way contrary to the conditions specified in these terms or which would not be permitted during a pre-sale exhibition held prior to an auction. If we refund you the price paid before we are able to inspect the Lot and later discover you have handled the Lot in an unacceptable way, you must pay us an appropriate amount.
26.3 You will be responsible for returning the Lot to us at your own cost.
26.4 We will process any refund due to you within the deadlines below:
26.5 We will refund you using the same means of payment that you used for the transaction.
26.6 Legal ownership of a Lot will immediately revert to the Seller if we refund any such payment to you.
Any dispute not herein provided for shall be settled at the sole discretion of the Auctioneer.
We shall not be in breach of these Conditions nor liable for the delay in performing, or failure to perform, our obligations under these Conditions (or otherwise) if such a delay or failure results from events, circumstances or causes beyond our reasonable control.
These Conditions constitute the entire agreement between the parties and supersede and extinguish all previous agreements, promises, assurances warranties representations and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter. Except as set out in these Conditions, no variation of these Conditions shall be effective unless it is in writing and signed by the parties (or their authorised representative).
Prior written consent must be sought by the buyer or any other party for the use of any images, illustrations and written materials produced by or for Parker Fine Art Auctions Ltd relating to a lot or sale, including the contents of a catalogue. Copyright for any of the aforementioned will remain the property of Parker Fine Art Auctions Ltd, subject to the provisions of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. Parker Fine Art Auctions Ltd and the seller make no representations or warranties that the buyer of a lot will acquire any copyright to other reproduction rights to it.
These Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
