Won property at an auction and auctioneers expect us to pay £4,800 buyer’s premium (that was not disclosed in their Terms & Conditions)
This is a repost blog.
Original posts by u/SnooCats6742 on subreddit r/legaladviceuk on Reddit
Pretty much what the title says.
No mention of a premium anywhere in any of the legal documents associated with the property etc.
After a bit of digging, I found a random page on their website meant to give advice on how property auctions work etc and how buying through them works. The buyer’s premium is mentioned on there as £4,800 minimum.
But surely this is unenforceable since it was not stipulated at any time? My very limited interpretation of the law is that such a provision would be considered as ‘unfair’ per Regulation 5(1) of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. But then again I have no legal background whatsoever.
What can we do legally about this?
Will be speaking to a solicitor tomorrow anyway but would like to get some idea of what to expect beforehand.
Thank you!
EDIT: Forgot to say we’re in England.
2 Jan 2024: Update
I posted on here a while ago about a property my husband and I had won at auction and the auctioneers’ undiclosed buyer’s premium of £4,800. The original post can be found here.
I have heard back from our solicitor. Their opinion was, in short, that we would not be obliged to pay the buyer’s premium, though non-payment would leave us open to contract cancellation. However, their advice was that we do have in case as we have done our due dilligence and there is no contractual obligation to pay the auctioneer’s buyer’s premium fee of £4,800.
I just wanted to let everyone know what the solicitor’s legal advice was. I’m awfully glad to have been right on this.
All the best to you & happy new year!
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