Swindon Auction – Terms of Service:

Place of Auction:  Virtual, Electronic or Online Auction  (https://auctions.swindon.co.za)

Auction House Head Office: 3rd Floor, 80 Strand Street, Cape Town, 8001

Date and time of Auction: (To be announced for each Online Auction) – prospective bidders are advised to log on 10 minutes prior to the stipulated auction time.

These Rules of Auction comply with Section 45 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and the Regulations thereto (”the CPA”) including where applicable, the conducting of an auction by means of an electronic medium or platform.

The auction shall be conducted from a virtual/electronic platform and the bidder acknowledges that he/she is satisfied that the virtual/electronic platform is generally available to anyone over the age of 18 years at any time of the day; provides high standards of security for electronic transactions; and provides for easy access to all prescribed records

In accordance with the provisions as outlined in the Consumer Protection Act, Swindon Auctions and the Auctioneer, hereby declare as follows:

• The Auctioneer at all times acts as Auctioneer for and on behalf of the Seller of the property.
• The Auction shall commence at the published time and will not be delayed in order to allow any person(s) to take part in the auction.
• The bidders record and vendors roll are available at the Head Office of the Auction House, during normal working hours. Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 16:00 pm.
• The Property is sold subject to a reserve price.
• Each bid received shall constitute a binding offer to purchase the property by the bidder for the amount bid, which the Seller or the Auctioneer may accept or reject in their absolute discretion until the expiry of the confirmation period as prescribed in the Conditions of Sale. If such offer is accepted by the Seller or his agent, the sale shall be deemed to be a sale by auction for purposes of the CPA.
• The confirmation period is for the benefit of the Seller.
• The Purchaser’s offer shall be deemed to have been accepted only when the Seller or the Auctioneer, whichever may be applicable, has signed the Conditions of Sale.
• It is hereby noted that the Auctioneer is hereby duly authorized to bid on behalf of the owner / Seller, up to the reserve price.
• The auction shall be on the rise and the property shall be sold to the highest bidder, subject to these rules.
• The Auctioneer has the right to regulate the bidding at his sole discretion.
• In the event that the auction is for any purpose other than that of a voluntary disposal of goods, the Auctioneer shall stipulate the reason for auction. (e.g. Liquidation, Insolvency or Deceased Estate).
• Any person who intends to bid at the auction must register prior to the commencement of the auction as contemplated in Regulation 26(2) and 30(2) of the CPA, by providing his full names, contact information, identification, passport number if no ID number, physical address and where applicable login code or name and password.
• In the event that a person is bidding on another's behalf the person so bidding will be required to confirm that they have the relevant letter of authority and provide details of the person or entity on whose behalf the Purchaser is bidding. Furthermore, the bidder shall verify his / her details or if applicable the details of the person on whose behalf he / she shall vote by way of identity document and proof of address in accordance with the requirements of the Financial Intelligence Center Act. Failure to register in accordance with the requirements outlined above will result in disqualification from the bidding process under the elected entity, and the bidder shall be deemed to be the Purchaser in his / her private capacity, and will be responsible in his personal capacity in accordance with the Conditions of Sale.
• When property is put up for sale by Auction in lots, each lot is unless there is evidence to the contrary, regarded to be the subject of a separate transaction.
• The Auctioneer is entitled to change the order of lots during an auction. A bid shall be taken as proof that the Bidder has made himself / herself acquainted with the lots for which he / she bids.
• The Seller and the Auctioneer are entitled in their absolute discretion to withdraw the property from sale.
• If no bid equals or exceeds the reserve price, then the property may be withdrawn from the sale. The Seller shall however be entitled to instruct the Auctioneer to accept any lower bid deemed satisfactory.
• In the event of a dispute amongst bidders, the decision of the Auctioneer shall be final and binding.
• Any error made by the Auctioneer shall be entitled to be corrected by him.
• The sale in respect of any lot is deemed to be complete when the auction closes at the stipulated time and the words ”bidding closed” or “lot closed” is displayed on the respective lots on the Swindon Auctions website.
• Lots once knocked down / closed remain at the risk of the Purchaser.
• All bids are exclusive of VAT and Purchasers commission of 10% (Ten percent).
• All sales are final and voetstoets.
• In the event of the sale requiring the consent of any statutory body or any court of law, then this auction sale is subject to the granting of such consent.
• Neither the Seller nor the Auctioneer warrant that the Purchaser will not be evicted from possession.
• All funds received from the Auction will be deposited into the Auctioneers trust account, any interest in respect of which will accrue for the benefit of the Auctioneer.
• Any improvements, additions or modifications to the property are the entire responsibility of the Purchaser.
• The Seller will not, in the event of eviction of the Purchaser from possession, be liable therefore, or for any consequential damages howsoever caused.
• The Purchaser shall not be entitled to possession of any of his purchases until the total purchase price of all his purchases has been fully paid for and the property has been transferred into the respective Purchasers name.
• In the event of the Purchaser failing to pay the full purchase price of any lot within the prescribed time, or if he fails to comply with any other terms of the sale, the Purchaser shall be liable for an amount not more than 10 (ten) percent of the total purchase price or the total cost of advertising and conducting an auction and such additional costs may have been reasonably incurred as disbursements pursuant to the auction whichever is the lesser.
• The Purchaser authorizes the Auctioneer to resell such lots for and on behalf of the Purchaser by public auction or private treaty sale in the Auctioneers sole discretion. The Purchaser shall not be entitled to any further notice in this regard.
• Should the Auctioneer resell any lot, the proceeds therefrom, after the deduction of commission and any costs incurred by the Auctioneer, shall be credited to the original Seller's account. Any shortfall on the original purchase price bid by the Purchaser shall be the Seller's measure of damages flowing from the Purchaser's default and shall be payable by the Purchaser to the Seller or the Auctioneers on behalf of the Seller upon demand. Any excess shall be for the benefit of the Purchaser. The Purchaser shall be bound by these Rules and all announcements / notifications made by the Auctioneer at the commencement of and during the sale, whether or not he / she is present at the time of making such announcements. In addition, the Purchaser will be bound by the Rules of Auction and Conditions of Sale as displayed on the Swindon Auctions website. (https://auctions.swindon.co.za). The presence of a bid shall be taken as proof that the Bidder has made himself aware of the Rules of Auction and the Conditions of Sale.
• In the event of the Seller instituting legal proceedings against the Purchaser, the following provision shall apply:
  • Such proceedings may at the election of the Seller or the Auctioneer be instituted in a magistrate's court, having jurisdiction over the person of the Purchaser, in terms of Section 28 of the Magistrate's Court Act No. 32 of 1944, notwithstanding the fact that the claim of the value of the matter in dispute might exceed the jurisdiction of such magistrate's Court, and
  • The Seller shall be entitled to claim payment of the legal costs from the Purchaser on an attorney and client basis, and
  • The Purchaser shall be deemed to have selected and appointed as his domicilium citandi et executandi the address inserted by him / her on the buyer's card/s signed by him / her, the auction sale agreement or the Swindon Auctions App registration form.
  • A certificate issued under the hand of the Auctioneer setting forth the amount of the Purchaser's liability arising from and out of any sale by the Auctioneer shall constitute conclusive proof of such indebtedness by the Purchaser and shall further constitute a liquid document for the purpose of provisional sentence, summary judgment or otherwise.
• The Purchaser, should he / she sign / accept  the conditions as per the registration process and / or be the successful bidder on any lot(s) in a representative capacity, hereby binds himself as surety and co-principal debtor for all the obligations of the concern that he represents.
• The bidder acknowledges that, should his / her bid be knocked down as the highest bid in respect of any lot bid upon at the time of the lot being announced or displayed as completed, the Auctioneers commission and Deposit over and above the bid price shall be due as follows:
  • 5% (Five Percent) of the Purchase Price Deposit (Payable Immediately);
  • 10% (Ten Percent) of the Purchase Price plus VAT Buyer’s commission (Payable Immediately);
  • Furthermore, the bidder acknowledges that he will be obliged to sign the Auctioneer’s Agreement of Sale / Conditions of Sale. Which agreement the bidder acknowledges to have acquainted himself / herself / itself with prior to the placing of any bid on the auction lots.
• The Auctioneer is authorized to sign the Conditions of Sale on behalf of the bidder.
• The bidder acknowledges that it was afforded a reasonable period of time and opportunity to inspect the Property prior to the commencement of the auction as contemplated in terms of Regulation 28(5)b of the CPA, which inspection the Auctioneer was obliged to provide to the bidder either electronically or by means of physical inspection, pursuant to the applicable laws in place at such time.
• The bidder further agrees that he / she has viewed the property and that he / she has ascertained the state of the property, pursuant to having been provided with a complete tour (whether virtually / electronically and / or by way of physical inspection of the property and is satisfied that he / she has exercised his / her right to inspect the property prior to the commencement of the auction.
• The bidder acknowledges and agrees to abide by a general rule of Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure in respect to any documents that he / she gains access to in respect to any lot. Such documentation is intended solely for the view of the user. The user further acknowledges and agrees that the documents are not to be circulated by any means to any other person without the express written consent from the Seller or the Auctioneer.
• All moneys received in respect of the property auctioned, less the agreed commission, shall be paid over to the appointed conveyancers of the Seller upon written request by the appointed conveyancers.
• Should the Seller reject the Purchaser's offer, the Auctioneer will repay to the Purchaser any deposit commission paid to it in terms of the Conditions of Sale.
• The Purchaser’s offer shall be deemed to have been accepted only when the Seller or the Auctioneer, whichever may be applicable, has signed the Conditions of Sale.
• The Auctioneer may require the execution of documents to be performed by means of electronic signature and / or contemporaneous remote view together with the exchange of documents to be performed by electronic means (such as scanning and emailing).
• The Auctioneer further advises that these Rules have not been amended after their initial publication

I, Ryan Swart, representing the auctioneer Swindon Auctions herein, certify that the Rules of the auction satisfy the requirements of Regulation 21 of the CPA.