Terms & Conditions

1. Our Website
1.1 Your use of this website and any service contained within constitutes acceptance by you of these Terms & Conditions.

1.2 Any reference to “you” refers to you as a user of this website.

1.3 Any reference to “us” refers to Charles Phillips and Sons (of Edinburgh) Ltd, Drummore House, North Berwick Road, Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. EH21 8JT

1.4 Any reference to this “website” refers to the website address www.charlesphillips.com and such other locations where it may be hosted or featured where the entire website or elements of the website are hosted or featured by our partners.



2. Eligibility
2.1 You must be a minimum age of 18 to register with and use this website. Furthermore you must be able to enter into legally binding contracts. By registering and using this website you warrant that you are 18 or older, have the capacity to enter into contracts and understand your obligations under these Terms & Conditions.

2.2 You will not be eligible to use this website if you have previously been banned from using it and a ban is currently still in place, or where you have been suspended and a suspension is still in place.



3. Registration, Security & Access
3.1 As part of the registration process you will need to create an account, including a username & password. It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you provide is accurate, not misleading and relates to you. You cannot create an account or username & password using the names and information of another person or using words that are the trademarks or the property of another party (including ours), or vulgar, obscene or in any other way inappropriate. We reserve the right with or without notice to suspend or terminate any account in breach.

3.2 It is a breach of these Terms & Conditions to create more than one account, unless one account is for business use and the other account is for your personal use as a consumer. In this instance business and consumer use should be kept strictly separate. Furthermore one account cannot be used to interact with the other.

3.3 If for any reason you suspect that your username & password has been disclosed to or obtained by another party you should contact us immediately. Please note that we never contact users requesting them to confirm their username & password or other details.

3.4 We reserve the right to block or limit access to any account at any time. We also reserve the right to prevent access to the website at any time from any specific IP address or IP address range or country. We further reserve the right to block any device or devices.

3.5 Furthermore we reserve the right to block any virtual private network (VPN) or proxy service.

3.6 Any blocking of access may be temporary or permanent, at our sole discretion.



4. Specific Auction Rules as the Auctioneers
As the Auctioneers we agree not to do any of the following:

4.1 Advertise items in inappropriate categories on the website.

4.2 Advertise any item deemed inappropriate by us.

4.3 Breach any local laws with regard to items advertised or sold.

4.4 Use or harvest data provided by users in a way that they would object to.

4.5 Use data provided by users for purposes other than contacting them via the website, email, telephone or post.



5. Specific Auction Rules as a Bidder/Buyer
5.1 Full payment to be made within 5 days of your win notification
We, or you, can telephone to receive or make payment by credit/debit card. We do not accept Amex.

5.2 Payment can also be made by arrangement by Bank Transfer, CHAPS, BACS, Cash or Cheque.
Cash can only be received by secured, insured register post
and must be within the British Government Allowances.
Cheque payments can be made by pre arrangement.

5.3 All goods are subject to 30% inc Vat/Sales tax on the total amount.
This will be added all final winning bids.

5.4 Any lot you bid on is done with the understanding you are in acceptance of these terms and conditions.

5.5 Any bid made constitutes a legal offer to buy the Lot and bids cannot be retracted.

5.6 The successful bidder of any lot/lots shall have legal ownership of the goods upon full payment being received by us.

5.7 We may refuse or reject your bid at any time.

5.8 We reserve the right to withdraw a lot at anytime without giving reason.



6. Packing, Delivery and Storage
6.1 All packing is free of charge.

6.2 Delivery quotation is available on request.

6.3 Collection can be made from our Head office by arrangement.

6.4 Head office storage is free up to 3 months from payment date.



7. Suspension Termination or Downgrading
7.1 We may suspend or terminate your user account and all content and materials associated with it at any time where these Terms & Conditions have been breached. Such suspension or termination can be with or without notice. As a user you can choose to suspend or terminate your account at any time and are free to remove any content you have created on termination.

7.2 It is our sole decision whether to suspend or terminate any user account. In the case of suspension it is also our sole decision was to when (or if) a suspended account will be reactivated.


8. Access & Availability
8.1 We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the website is available and functioning fully at all times. However, in the event the website is unavailable or functioning incorrectly either wholly or partly we shall offer (where possible) the opportunity of repeat performance of the service we should have offered to you in the first place – this may include re-running auctions or re-opening bidding where appropriate and practical.


9. Arbitration
9.1 Where any users are in dispute for a period of more than 30 days regarding any item or service offered through the website, including, but not
limited to valuation, authenticity, provenance, condition or customisation and cannot resolve the dispute either user may refer the dispute to arbitration as detailed below.

9.2 As part of these Terms & Conditions users agree that a selected Expert/Arbitrator shall act as Arbitrator in the event of an unresolved dispute being referred to them.

9.3 The user referring the dispute to the Expert/Arbitrator shall inform the other party in writing at the same time as referring the dispute.

9.4 Both parties will continue to operate and honour the Terms & Conditions of the website while the arbitration process is ongoing.

9.5 The decision of the Expert/Arbitrator is final and binding on the parties unless the decision is overruled in further arbitration or in a court of law.

9.6 The Expert/Arbitrator will also decide on the arbitration costs to be borne by the parties.



10. Business Defined
For the purposes of the Terms & Conditions as business user is defined as - "a person acting for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader's name or on the trader's behalf".



11. Consumer Defined
For the purposes of the Terms & Conditions a consumer user is defined as - "an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession".



12. The Consumer Rights Act 2015
These Terms & Conditions are specifically written in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Should these Terms & Conditions conflict with the Act, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 shall prevail and apply.



13. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013
These Terms & Conditions are specifically written in accordance with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Should these Terms & Conditions conflict with the Regulations, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 shall prevail and apply.



14. Your Statutory Rights
Where acting as a consumer your statutory rights are unaffected.



15. Privacy
We take your privacy seriously. We are registered under and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For further details please see our Privacy Policy.


16. Severability
The paragraphs, sub-paragraphs and clauses of this Agreement shall be read and construed independently of each other. Should any part of this Agreement or paragraphs, sub-paragraphs or clauses be found invalid it shall not affect the remaining paragraphs, sub-paragraphs and clauses.


17. Waiver
Failure by us to enforce any accrued rights under these Terms & Conditions is not to be taken as or deemed to be a waiver of those rights unless we acknowledge the waiver in writing.


18. Entire Terms & Conditions
These Terms & Conditions set out the entire agreement and understanding between you and us. We reserve the right to change these Terms & Conditions at any time, on giving reasonable prior notice to you.



19. Jurisdiction
These Terms & Conditions shall be interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with UK law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the UK Courts.

Contact Details
Charles Phillips and Sons (of Edinburgh) Ltd
Drummore House, North Berwick Road, Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. EH21 8JT
Email: online@charlesphillips.com
Telephone: 0131 665 6448    

Company registration number: SC106486 - Registered in Scotland March 1987
VAT registration number: 502 182 100 - Issued March 1987