New rules for auction sales

New Fair Trading Act (FTA) rules apply to sales by auctioneers when a fee or commission is charged in addition to the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) applying to goods sold at auctions and by tender. The auction regulations require that a notice of the terms is made available for consumers to view before and during the auction. They also state the sales starts when the auctioneer invites the first bid and ends when the auctioneer makes it clear the bidding is closed. A bid can be withdrawn at any time before the end of the auction and vendor bidding is permitted in certain situations. Property is treated as being sold at auction if it is unsold at the end of the auction, but the auctioneer accepts within one working day an offer from a consumer who attended the sale. A vendor bid is a bid made by the seller or any person on their behalf, including agents and auctioneers. The FTA’s rules allow an auctioneer to accept a vendor bid during an auction when the notice of auction terms specifies vendor bids are permitted for that lot.