Terms & Conditions

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions from time to time without notice and at our sole discretion. As such, it is your responsibility to review these stated terms and conditions at regular intervals.

Any use of this website operated by Whisky.Auction at 'the site' is conditional on your acceptance of these terms and conditions of use and extends to our stated privacy policy.

We reserve the right to amend, modify, discontinue or suspend all or part of this site and may restrict your access to all or part of 'The Site' at any time without notice or liability.

DEFINITIONS

All references to 'you &/or your' means you and 'we, us, our or company' within this policy means Whisky Auction Ltd (registered in England and Wales No. 9365276) trading as Whisky.Auction, of Elixir House, Whitby Avenue, NW10 7SF.

All references to 'service providers' means subcontractors (including any affiliated partners) retained by us for the specific purpose of performing functions on our behalf or to provide services to us. Such services include but are not limited to, warehousing and delivery; marketing and advertising; credit card and data processing; age verification; software development; website hosting and management; information technology and office services; legal, accounting, audit and other professional service providers; and other services related to our business.

LEGAL DRINKING & PURCHASE AGE

This site is intended to be used and accessed only by individuals of legal drinking age in their country of residence or in the country from which they are accessing 'The Site'.

If you do not fall into either category, or having read and for any reason do not agree with or cannot abide by these terms and conditions, including our privacy policy, please exit this site immediately.

We do not intentionally collect personal information from individuals under the legal drinking age nor do we intentionally market alcoholic beverages to anyone under the legal purchase age. If you are not of legal age to purchase alcohol either in your country of residence or in the country from which you are accessing the site you must not provide us with your personal information.

Suitable ID proof of legal drinking age may be required when items are delivered or collected.

RIGHTS

All rights in all content including but not limited to copy, images, software (including code, interface and website structure) and the design, look and feel, and format of 'The Site' are owned by us. You agree that you are permitted to use material and/or content only as set out in these terms and conditions. No other use is permitted without express authorisation by us in writing and, where given, you agree not to, in part or full, copy, transmit, distribute, exploit commercially, amend, translate, share with or make available to any other person any such material or content or create derivative works of such material or content.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

We are the sole owners and authorised users of all trademarks, service marks, design marks, patents, copyrights, database rights, image rights for photographs contained on 'The Site' and all other intellectual property appearing on or contained within 'The Site' including but not limited to the page design and layout and the source code. Except where provided for under these terms and conditions, use of 'The Site' does not grant any right, title, interest or license to you of any such intellectual property and any use or reproduction of the intellectual property is prohibited.

COPYING

You are welcome to print hard copies of material from 'The Site' solely for your lawful, personal and non-commercial use. All other copying in whatever form whether electronic, hard copy or any other format or use for commercial purposes without our prior written consent is prohibited. All other rights are reserved.

No photography, imagery, text, source code or any other material shown on the Whisky.Auction website may be used in any circumstances for commercial purposes, nor may any of our material herein be altered, cropped, transformed, built upon, or in any other way changed or reproduced, whether from our own websites or copied from third party websites in breach of this condition themselves or otherwise redistributed without our prior written permission.

You may not engage in any price scraping or price harvesting in respect of products on 'The Site' without our prior written consent.

TERMS OF USE RELATING TO 'THE SITE'

You must not misuse 'The Site' by knowingly introducing viruses, Trojans, worms, logic bombs or any other material which may be malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to 'The Site', the server on which 'The Site' is stored or any server, computer or database connected to 'The Site'. You must not attack 'The Site' in any way whatsoever, including via a denial of service attack or a distributed denial of service attack.

By breaching this provision you would be committing a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report all such breaches to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use 'The Site' will cease immediately.

You may link to the home page of 'The Site' provided that you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage or take advantage of our reputation or establish a link in such a way that suggests any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.

'The site' must not be framed on any other website nor may you create a link to any part of 'The Site' other than the homepage. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission at any time without notice or reason.

TERMS OF USE RELATING TO PUBLIC FORUMS

'The site' may contain a number of active services or links to similar such services collectively termed 'Public Forums' which may allow you to post, transmit or submit information. While all submitted content is reviewed prior to posting, we take no responsibility for the accuracy of any information posted on 'The Site' nor do we accept liability for any loss or damage suffered by you by whatever means as a result of use or disclosure of such material.

Through use of 'The Site', you acknowledge and agree that all material(s) submitted does not infringe any other persons intellectual property rights and is not vulgar, obscene, defamatory, offensive, malicious, discriminatory or unlawful in anyway and that you grant us a royalty-free, worldwide exclusive and perpetual right and licence to use and reproduce such material in any way, in whole or part, for any purpose by whatever means. Whisky.Auction reserves the right to delete any contribution, or take action against any Whisky.Auction account, at any time, for any reason.

THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES

You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for any content of any third-party websites or material you may access through 'The Site'.

We do not endorse and shall not be held responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or services on or available from such websites or material. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable either directly or indirectly for any damages, loss or costs incurred in connection with your use of or reliance of any such content, advertising, products or services on or available from such websites.

Any dealings between you and any third-party advertisers or merchants found on or via 'The Site' including payment for and delivery of products, services and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings are made between you and the relevant advertiser or merchant. Consequently, we are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as the result of any such dealings.

CONTINUITY OF ACCESS / SERVICE

Our objective is to offer our customers the best possible service, but we are unable to accept responsibility for interrupted access to Whisky.Auction due to technical problems outside of our control. Due to the nature of the internet, access may be suspended, restricted or interrupted at any time, and we are therefore unable to guarantee entirely error-free access and services.

NO WARRANTIES

'The Site' is presented as is and your use thereof is solely at your own risk. We do not warrant that 'The Site' will be free from viruses, available, accessible, error-free, uninterrupted or that the contents will be accurate.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

It is your responsibility to verify all information set out on 'The Site' with independent authorities before acting or relying on it. It is your responsibility to use virus-checking software on any material downloaded from 'The Site' and to ensure the compatibility of such software with your equipment.

NO LIABILITY

Unless where expressly provision for in law we disclaim all liability for any loss, cost or damage (incurred directly, indirectly, consequentially or otherwise) suffered by you as a result of your use of 'The Site' including but not limited to computer viruses or distributed denial of service attack transmitted through 'The Site' or from third-party sites accessed through 'The Site' whether such loss, cost or damage arises from our negligence or otherwise whether or not we expressly informed of the possibility of such loss or damage.

INDEMNITY

If you are a business user, you agree to indemnify us immediately on demand, against all claims, liability, damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees, arising out of any breach of these terms and conditions by you or any other liabilities arising out of your use of 'The Site'.

TERMINATION

We reserve the right immediately to suspend or terminate your use of 'The Site' if you breach or we have reasonable grounds to believe that you are likely to breach these terms and conditions or you otherwise engage in conduct which we determine in our sole discretion to be unacceptable.

We may also remove 'The Site' as a whole or any sections or features of 'The Site' at any time. Please note that we have the ability to trace your IP address and if necessary contact your ISP in the event of a suspected breach of these terms and conditions.

IDENTITY VERIFICATION

To ensure that your credit, debit or charge card is not being used without your consent and you are over the age of 18, we will validate name, address and other personal information supplied by you during the order process against appropriate third-party databases. By accepting these terms and conditions, you consent to such checks being made.

In performing these checks, personal information provided by you may be disclosed to a registered Credit Reference Agency which may keep a record of that information. You can rest assured that this is done only to confirm your identity, that a credit check is not performed and that your credit rating will be unaffected. All information provided by you will be treated securely and strictly in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

These terms and conditions, including our Privacy Statement, constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersede all previous statements and understandings whatsoever between us. Any failure by us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these terms and conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision under these terms and conditions is found in law to be unenforceable all other provisions of these terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect. We reserve the right to cede, assign or otherwise transfer our rights and obligations in terms of these standard terms and conditions to a third party.

LAW AND JURISDICTION

These terms and conditions, including the Privacy Statement and any matter relating to 'The Site' shall be governed by English law in particular the Licensing Act 2003 in relation to minimum legal age.

Any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to these terms and conditions against or relating to us or any indemnified party under these terms and conditions will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts and you irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.

ACCOUNTS

Users are responsible for the confidentiality of their account passwords, prevented unauthorised access, and will be liable for any bids place using it.

Registering does not constitute acceptance to bid in an auction. Account holders will only be able to bid after payment of the registration fee, as set out on our fees page.

SELLERS

Items should be described and pictured accurately upon submitting them to us. We have the right to refuse any items for any reason, including, but not limited to: items which are in a substandard condition, items which are below our value threshold, or items which are brand new to the market. All costs of returning an item which has not been accepted by us will be borne by the seller.

Should there be any doubt on the authenticity of an item, the onus is on the seller to prove this. In the event that this cannot be done, the item will be returned at the full cost of the seller.

The seller should ensure that relevant insurance cover is provided for all items until they reach us.

All items held by Whisky.Auction including those held for sale or valuation will be insured by us against fire, theft and accidental damage.

We will not be liable for

Items damaged or broken while in transit to us
Items that are insufficiently or unsuitably packaged or prepared, unless the packers are acting under our instructions
Any physical loss or damage to any item caused by climatic conditions beyond our control as long as we take reasonable care in handling the item to reduce the risk of physical loss or damage
Items that have been rejected because they could not be authenticated or because they are already damaged or no longer fit for human consumption

If we are found to be liable for any physical loss or damage to any item we will pay up to a maximum of £5,000 based on a reasonable estimate of the auction value of the item which will be determined by Whisky.Auction

Sellers must undertake to Whisky.Auction, as agents, that

they are the owners of all items submitted or, if they are not the owners of the items (whether or not they have notified us), they are authorised by the owners to sell their items and guarantee items are free from all third party claims
they have complied with all requirements relating to any export or import of items, all duties and taxes on the items have been paid (unless otherwise agreed in writing with us) and all third parties have complied with such requirements in the past
they have notified us in writing of any alterations to the items and provided us accurately with all information including any concerns expressed by third parties relating to the condition, provenance, authenticity, age, suitability, quality and origin of the items
they have notified us of present or past owners or any association with people or events of note (including any concerns expressed by third parties) in relation to the items
there are no restrictions affecting the items or our rights to photograph or reproduce in any media any photographs, illustrations or information relating to the items

Whisky.Auction accepts no liability in respect of these terms.

Sellers may withdraw their bottles from the auction up until the point at which it commences. Fees will be applicable as set out on our fees page and the seller shall be liable for all the costs of returning the item.

Submitting bottles to Whisky.Auction is an acceptance of our fees structure, as set out on our fees page

Sellers are not permitted to bid on their own items, or permit/encourage their friends and family to do so. Shill bidding will result in the item being withdrawn from the auction immediately, the item returned to the seller at their own cost, a fee being charged and the removal of their account.

In cases of recent limited release bottlings, we have the right to restrict acceptance of bottles from a single seller to one bottle per auction.

Sellers will receive payment once we have received cleared funds from the buyer. This may take up to 28 days after the end of the auction. In the event of non-payment from the buyer, we will offer to relist the item in a future auction without paying a relisting fee.

Payments for items sold via Whisky.Auction to sellers with accounts outside of the UK may incur bank charges, which will be deducted from the amount payable.

Sellers are responsible for ensuring that their bank account accepts pounds sterling.

Whisky.Auction will only make payment into a bank account held in the Seller’s name and registered in the same country as the billing address.

BIDDERS

Bidding on an item is an irrevocable and legally binding contract. In the event of non-payment or breach of this contract, bidders may be prevented from participating in future auctions.

Bidding on items at Whisky.Auction is an acceptance of our fees structure, as set out on our fees page.

BUYERS

The winning bidder (buyer) becomes the legal owner of the item once their payment is accepted.

Customer Contract Regulations 2014 apply. Should an item not match the description or picture on 'The Site', then the buyer has a 14-day cancellation period. Please contact as soon as possible after receiving the item and we will instruct you further.

Payment must be accepted before the item will be shipped. After the end of the auction, buyers will have four working days to make payment.

Buyers collecting their items from Elixir House have 10 working days in which to do so. Payment must have been received in full before the item is released to the buyer.

Under the Sales of Goods Act 1979, we are responsible for the risk of loss or damage in transit until the goods are delivered to UK buyers and postal insurance is included at no extra charge. For deliveries outside the UK, insurance will be charged at the prevailing rate, as set out on our fees page.

We reserve the right to ask first-time buyers for proof of ID – this is both to prevent fraud and underage purchases.

All successful bidders have a 14-day cooling-off period. During this period, if they wish to return any won items, they must notify Whisky.Auction no longer than 14 days after receiving their items. After notifying us, they have a further 14 days to return the items to us. However:

all winning items must be paid for before they are dispatched to buyers
all postage/shipping costs will be the responsibility of the buyer if they choose to return their winning items
anyone who wins an auction lot but refuses to pay will be banned from Whisky.Auction immediately with no redress

PAYMENT

Whisky.Auction is conducted in UK Pounds GBP (£). The credit/debit card or money transfer or other of each winning lot will be charged in GBP (£) for the winning bid and shipping cost. The actual amount to be paid in your home currency will be determined by the exchange rate used by your credit card company when you are charged.

Delivery

Packages are dispatched by high standard couriers after full payment has been received.

The package must be signed for by a person of the legal drinking age in the country in which the package is received. Proof of ID may be asked for on delivery.

Shipping costs are calculated on a weight basis and typically weigh 1.5kg per full-sized bottle. However, some bottles weigh more than others due to the packaging material. Delivery charges will be based on a package's total weight.

Deliveries can only be made to certain countries. Please see our Delivery page for more information on the countries we ship to, as well as our shipping charges for UK and non-UK deliveries.

VAT, CUSTOMS AND IMPORT DUTIES

Definitions used in this clause:

Premiums - buyers’ and sellers’ commission

Service Charges - listing fees, reserves fees, shipping costs

Private Customers - private UK individual or non-VAT registered business

International Customers - international buyer or seller or international business

VAT Registered Customers - VAT registered business

When you create an account with Whisky.Auction the correct VAT treatment will be determined based on your country and status (Private Customers, International Customers, VAT Registered Customers).

The [Auctioneers’ Margin Scheme] gives VAT relief for Private Customers on the Hammer Price (the accepted final bid).

VAT is payable on all Service Charges and Premiums for all customers.

Different categories of products have different VAT rules which will be displayed on our site and on your invoice.

If we are shipping to an address outside the UK, your order will be subject to local taxes and duties upon arrival in the recipient's country, which are levied once the package reaches customs clearance. You are responsible for paying these directly.

FORCE MAJEURE

Neither party shall be liable to the other for any failure to perform any obligation under any Agreement which is due to an event beyond the control of such party including but not limited to any Act of God, terrorism, war, Political insurgence, insurrection, riot, civil unrest, act of civil or military authority, uprising, earthquake, flood or any other natural or man-made eventuality outside of our control, which causes the termination of an agreement or contract entered into, nor which could have been reasonably foreseen. Any Party affected by such event shall forthwith inform the other Party of the same and shall use all reasonable endeavours to comply with the terms and conditions of any Agreement contained herein.

Proving Your Identity