This is a brief guide designed to help prevent the staging of unlawful one-day sales in premises belonging to community groups.

If you are the owner, manager, trustee or warden of a public building such as a community hall, school, hotel or church hall, you may from time to time get requests from traders who wish to book the hall for one-off sales. Many of these events will be legitimate. Some will not. This guidance note is intended to help YOU decide which bookings to take and which should ring alarm bells. You should also be aware that certain parts of the UK require premises to be registered with a local authority before any sale by competitive bidding can take place.

The trader prepares leaflets or flyers as soon as the booking is confirmed. These give details of unbelievable offers - colour TVs £10, computers £25, tea towels 5p, blank videotapes 10p. Stock is described as 'bankrupt' or another similar description. The flyers are posted at the last minute to addresses in the area around the venue. Venues may be chosen because they are in built up estates with good catchment areas.

On the evening of the sale (they are often evenings, but several separate sales through the day are not unknown), a queue develops. A salesman appears and says that unfortunately none of the colour TVs are left but there are plenty of other bargains to be had. Customers ('punters') file in and are each charged 50p or £1 "to cover admin costs and ensure only serious buyers attend". The doors are shut (occasionally even locked) and the sale begins.

Free gifts are given away - typically tea towels or pens. As this is illegal, a token effort to collect pennies is made. Then 'lots' are introduced one by one. Nobody is allowed to buy until the salesperson says so. Cheap items are sold to people 'planted' in the crowd. Bidding on items is restricted to people who have bought earlier in the evening. People pay £10, £20, and £50 for empty boxes. Nobody wants to lose out. Credit cards are accepted. A couple of hours later, punters file away, some having spent hundreds on things they didn't really want.

DON'T ALLOW YOUR PREMISES TO BE USED FOR MOCK AUCTIONS!

• Have a System

   

  See that everyone who might take bookings sees this guidance and is briefed on what to look out for and what questions to ask. Make sure a written record is kept of all requests to book your premises.

   

• Ring them back

   

  If the request is by phone, ask for a number and call back. This will establish whether or not they exist as a company at that number. Keep the number handy.

   

• Ask Questions

   

  Use the checklist listed below as a reminder of what to ask. If after checking the trader out you feel suspicious, politely refuse the booking. You don't have to give a reason. The last thing you want is a flood of complaints to YOU after the sale, and the resulting damage to YOUR reputation.

   

• Share the information

   

  If you turn a trader down, they will probably try somewhere else. Warn other organisations in the area that might get a call.

   

   

• Call your local Trading Standards Office

   

  Pass on all the details that you have. Staff at that Office will not be able to tell you whether a particular trader is legitimate or not, as some change their ways and others have learned how to steer just clear of trouble. They can, however, help you spot the danger signs, and they may wish to attend if a sale goes ahead somewhere else.

   

• Let them know you're wise

   

  Tell traders you know about consumer law and reserve the right to attend yourself and notify Trading Standards so that they can see that the trader doesn't break any rules.

   

  Checklist:

   

  1. Will everything you sell be price-marked in advance so that customers can see how much they are paying?
  2. Will you put up a clear notice with your name and address, and include the same information in promotional material?
  3. Will you honour all consumer rights, including giving refunds for faulty goods?
  4. Will you comply with the Mock Auctions Act 1961 by not giving free gifts, restricting bids or reducing prices in competitive bidding?
  5. Will you allow people to buy what they want, when they want?
  6. Will you only advertise in the press and in flyers those goods you will actually have available for sale?
  7. Will you allow anyone who wishes to leave the sale to do so whenever he/she wishes?
  8. Will you co-operate with Trading Standards enforcement officers should they attend the sale and intervene?
  9. Will you deal promptly and properly with any consumer complaints made after the sale, whether notified direct or via Trading Standards Officers?
  10. Will you guarantee that goods are accurately described in terms of their source, appearance, performance and price?

   

   

  Remember that this is about fair trading. By refusing to allow rogue traders access to your premises, you'll be helping protect local businesses from unfair competition.

This is a Mock Auction - a criminal offence. Traders may make thousands of pounds in one evening by preying on the vulnerability of consumers to hysteria selling.

Typical Nightmare Scenario