Terms & Conditions
Your use of our services is governed by the following terms and conditions, (‘User Agreement’). Before you can become a member of UKonOffer, you must read and accept all of the terms and conditions of this user Agreement and each of the ‘Additional terms’ referred to in this user Agreement. We strongly recommend that you should read through all the terms carefully. The user Agreement constitutes a legally binding agreement between you and UKonOffer.
1) General / Overview
The following General Terms and Conditions shall apply to the business relationship between The company, its internet platform www.UKonOffer.co.uk (hereinafter "UKonOffer ") and our users in the version applicable on the date of use. By virtue of using UKonOffer, the user accepts the following General Terms and Conditions, as well as the manner in which UKonOffer and its ‘BidBuddy’ operate as described on the website www.UKonOffer.co.uk. Variations or alterations in the following Terms and Conditions shall only be binding upon UKonOffer if agreed to in writing.
Any special promotions run by UKonOffer shall only be valid if they are announced on UKonOffer’s website or in its corresponding email, newsletter or any promotional emails sent to our registered users and other potential users. Certain promotions may only be valid for a limited time, and details of any such timings will be announced on the website or in a newsletter or our official promotional emails. Once the advertised time limit of any such promotion has been reached, or the relevant auction or auctions have ended, the promotion is also finished.
Nothing posted on the UKonOffer website is intended as advice, any other written materials (for instance, ‘Help’ articles) are provided solely as suggestions and are not intended to be relied upon. UKonOffer is not liable or responsible for any actions taken due to a user or other person having read or been told about such advice or other written materials.
2) Eligibility to Participate – Registering with UKonOffer & Disqualification
By placing a bid on UKonOffer, the user declares that they are legally capable of entering into binding contracts and that they are at least 18 years old.
Employees and relatives of employees of UKonOffer are not eligible to participate in UKonOffer auctions.
Online registration is required to take part in UKonOffer auctions.
UKonOffer’s products and services are offered exclusively to private users and not available to commercial or partly-commercial resellers. UKonOffer reserves the right to exclude actual or suspected commercial resellers from the participation in the auctions and to close their user accounts at any time.
Each user can register only once using the postal address of their UK residence (registration using PO Boxes or equivalents is not permitted). Additionally, only one user registration per household is permitted.
During registration the user must choose a username. This username must not be selected to deliberately deceive or mis-inform other users, must not offend common decency or infringe upon the rights of third parties. If UKonOffer receives information about a username which is illegal or in breach of these terms, this username will be amended by UKonOffer without the requirement of giving prior notice. User accounts created during registration are non-transferable. The user account may be used only by the registered user and not by anyone else. Any abuse of the user account, be it to the detriment of third parties or to the detriment of UKonOffer, shall result in the disqualification of the user and the reporting of a possible crime. In general, the user shall be liable for all activities that are undertaken using the user account together with the associated password which must be kept confidential and secure.
UKonOffer reserves the right to temporarily or permanently disqualify a user, or disable their account. Users will be disqualified when in the reasonable opinion of UKonOffer, a member has violated laws or the rights of third parties. A user will be disqualified if such action protects the rights of other users, or to prevent unauthorised manipulation or use of UKonOffer. Examples of such unauthorised usage include (but are not limited to) non-payment of bids, use of unauthorised third-party bidding software or set up of multiple user accounts by the same individual. In case of a breach of these terms by a user, UKonOffer reserves the right to withhold deliveries or refunds for won items. UKonOffer also reserves the right to make a reasonable administration charge deductible for unused bids at its discretion.
UKonOffer reserves the right to verify the identity of each individual user. Should UKonOffer be unable to verify or authenticate a users identity, using all reasonable endeavours, then UKonOffer may ask users to provide photo ID, proof of address and other documentation as UKonOffer requires. Should such proof not be available, UKonOffer has the right to suspend or permanently remove any unverified user accounts and withdraw any auctions won by such users. Moreover, UKonOffer reserves the right to limit the number of auctions a user may participate in or win at its own discretion. Please refer to our separate acceptable use policy for additional information. UKonOffer has the right to disqualify a user and/or their winnings if UKonOffer deems that a particular user or users have used unfair means to win an auction. UKonOffer shall not be liable to return the cost of any bids, purchased or non-purchased, nor is UKonOffer liable to reimburse any monies that have been used to purchase products. This is to protect the right of its users and UKonOffer. By using the website UKonOffer you agree not hold UKonOffer responsible for any loss you may incur as a result of UKonOffer taking any of the actions outlined above.
3) Bid Purchasing for Online Bidding – Payment – FreeBids
Bidding rights, so-called ‘bids’, must be purchased and paid for by users prior to bidding online can commence. Bids can be purchased in packages (so-called ‘BidPacks’) at the currently applicable prices, which can be viewed in ‘My UKonOffer’ under ‘Buy Bids’. When the bids are purchased and deposited into the user’s UKonOffer account, a contract for the purchase of the bids is created.
Payment can be made by credit/debit card via our payment agents PayPal, or direct from a user’s PayPal account.
Should any payment not be honoured by a user or their payment provider, a returned payment fee will be charged. The user will be responsible for these fees. UKonOffer reserves the right to block access to the user’s account until payment in full of the invoice amount, including any fees due to returned payment etc., and to withhold any outstanding deliveries until payment is received in full. UKonOffer reserves the right to block access to any unverified user accounts that appear to be abusing the UKonOffer system by purchasing large volumes of bids until their identification has been checked and verified.
Certain bids (e.g. some ‘FreeBids’) are valid only for a limited time. Upon expiration of the time stated, the bids expire and can no longer be placed. Refunds are not available for expired bids.
Bids given over and above those paid for at the full price of £0.50 per bid are called Bonus Bids. These Bonus Bids can be used throughout the site for the purpose of bidding in any of the auction categories and for the purchase of Golden Tickets. Bonus Bids cannot be used for purchasing goods through the Stop & Buy system or for purchasing won auctions. Bonus bids will be displayed in the users bid account separately from those bids purchased at the current full retail price.
4) Bidding & use of the BidBuddy
Users can bid in two ways online. Bids can be placed by clicking on the relevant bid buttons, or can be placed automatically by a BidBuddy. Once a bid is placed, it is permanently deducted from the user’s bid account.
The BidBuddy enables bidders to bid on an auction even if they are not online at that moment in time. Only registered users can submit bids automatically using one or more BidBuddies. The BidBuddy automatically submits bids according to the parameters set in advance by the user. The user can read about how the BidBuddy operates in the ‘Help’ section. All users are strictly prohibited from using any bidding software not authorised by UKonOffer, and doing so will result in immediate disqualification from use and forfeiting all bids without recourse to a refund (see clause 2: Eligibility and the Acceptable Use Policy).
5) The Auction Process & Golden Auctions
With each bid placed the price of the item on which the user is bidding increases by the amount specified (for instance by 2p or 1p during “Penny-Auctions”). Any bid submitted by the registered user constitutes an offer from that user to UKonOffer to enter into a legally binding contract to purchase the item. A contract to purchase the item does not come into effect until that particular auction has ended and the final bidder has followed all the applicable steps in clause number 6.
Every new bid resets the ‘remaining time’ for an auction up to, but not above, the displayed countdown reset value (usually, 10, 15 or 20 seconds). An exception to this is when two BidBuddies bid against each other. For more information, please consult the ‘Help’ section. The auction ends when the remaining time reaches zero. The user who was the last to bid then wins the auction. All other bids on that particular item will expire and will not be refunded (except to one of the bidders under the terms as detailed below). The last bidder is determined based on the records in UKonOffer’s database and UKonOffer’s decision regarding who is the last bidder shall be final.
Refunding of Bids: UKonOffer will refund all the bids placed by one bidder as soon as is practicable after each auction ends. The selected bidder will be notified by email that their bid account has been refunded with all the bids they have placed on that particular auction. UKonOffer has the right to publicise the return of bids to any individual within the site and in emails or other publicity material used by UKonOffer from time to time. The user placing the winning bid of any particular auction will not be eligible to have their bids refunded at any time. UKonOffer’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Golden Auctions: These are special auctions which require an entry ticket, available for purchase at a price of 10 bids which will be deducted from your bid account. Golden Auctions are limited to 20 users for any particular auction, once 20 users have bought a ticket for that particular auction no more tickets will be sold. There are no refunds given for Golden Auction Tickets. Users must be registered and logged in to buy a Golden Auction entry ticket. The names of all bidders will be displayed together with the number of bids each bidder has placed. The Stop & Buy function is not available for this category of auction. BidBuddies cannot be used in Golden Auctions. No user will have their bids refunded in a Golden Auction. All Golden Auctions will start at 6.30pm on the day specified and continue uninterrupted until the goods are sold to the winning bidder. The initial run time for Golden Auctions will be set at 5 minutes, each bid will raise the price by 1 penny and add 10 seconds to the auction end time. All Golden Auctions will be advertised for at least seven days prior to starting. Goods or packages of goods auctioned within Golden Auction rooms will not be available in exactly the same specification throughout the rest of the UKonOffer site.
6) Acceptance of the Win & Payment
When an auction has ended, the last bidder (‘winner’) must go to ‘My UKonOffer’. Information such as total price (including shipping costs) and payment options will be displayed. The user must actively confirm and pay the total price (end price plus shipping costs) for the win by following the steps indicated on that page or elsewhere on the website. Once the winner has clicked on the confirmation button the win is accepted. If an auction win has not been confirmed and paid within 14 days of the auction end date, unless there are exceptional circumstances, UKonOffer reserves the right to withdraw the offer to conclude a contract and the winner’s right to pay for and receive delivery of an item will be permanently revoked. In this instance, the bids placed in that auction are non-refundable. The user must pay the total price when confirming the win. After confirming the win and paying the amount due, the winner will receive a confirmation e-mail.
The item will not be sent to the user until the total price has been paid to UKonOffer. A similar requirement for delivery is that all bids purchased and used by the user have been properly paid for. Should bids that have already been purchased and used not have been paid for, payments received shall be viewed as payment toward the bids not yet paid for, and we reserve the right to retain the item purchased at auction until all bids and the total price have been paid for in full.
An invoice containing the auction price and shipping costs will be sent to the user by UKonOffer once delivery has been arranged.
7) Stop & Buy & Payment from Bid Account
Stop & Buy: The full displayed ‘worth up to’ price is payable plus the published delivery charge for the particular item required. From this, the value of all the bids placed by the purchaser (at least one bid must be placed to use the ‘Stop & Buy’ facility), exclusively on the particular item being purchased can then be deducted from the final amount payable. The final total purchase price, including VAT and delivery must be paid in full by the purchaser within 14 days of exercising the ‘Stop & Buy’ option. Failure to pay within this time will render the contract null & void. Refunds will not be issued for Bids placed in an auction or delivery costs.
Payment from Bid Account: Any bids remaining in the purchases ‘Bid Account’ can be used to pay for or partly pay for the item being purchased. This applies to both won auctions through the normal bidding process and ‘Stop & Buy’ purchases. Delivery charges can also be paid for from a purchasers bid account. In the event that there are insufficient funds in the purchasers ‘bid account’ to pay the outstanding purchase cost, the remainder can be paid in Sterling through the normal credit or debit card payment route (PayPal), or by topping up the purchasers ‘bid account’ with at least enough bids to cover the outstanding purchase cost. Any proportion of the required payment can be paid from a purchasers ‘bid account’ with the remainder paid in Sterling through the normal credit or debit card payment route (PayPal).
8) Returns & Cancellations
UKonOffer grants all winners the right to cancel an order. This right is unconditional and begins from the moment the contract is concluded. If a user cancels a contract to which the cancellation provisions apply they are entitled to a refund of the auction end price they have paid in relation to the contract even if the goods are not defective in any way. These cancellation rights end 14 days after the day on which a winner received the goods. An exception to this right to cancel is for products consisting of audio or video recordings or computer software where the customer has broken the security seal or has unsealed the packaging in any way. These items are not eligible for return or refund. This does not affect the consumer’s statutory rights.
If a user wishes to cancel the contract, they must inform UKonOffer in writing (by letter or email), that they want to cancel within the time period noted above. Cancellations by phone will not be accepted.
The following contact details must be used:
UKonOffer, Mad House, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7JH
E-Mail: support@ukonoffer.co.uk
In order to complete a valid cancellation or return, a user must return the received product or products in good condition, such as might be expected from typical testing in a retail store. Costs of postage for returns will be met by the user (unless goods are found to be faulty). If the user is unable to return the service or product received or only able to return it in part or only in a depreciated condition, he will have to pay compensation to us, the refundable amount will be reduced in proportion, as applicable.
Should UKonOffer incur additional costs for insufficient postage on the return or for courier shipments and other irregular shipping methods that are over and above postal shipping costs, these costs will be deducted from any payment made by the customer. Sets/boxes can only be returned in their entirety.
9) Delivery
Unless stated otherwise, delivery will be made directly from our chosen suppliers or from our warehouse to the address provided by the user when registering. Deliveries are made solely within the UK including Northern Ireland, (otherwise only after inquiry). Users in other countries must have a delivery address within the UK. Delivery times vary and any delivery time indicated is provided only as a guide and cannot be guaranteed. UKonOffer shall be entitled to involve third parties to satisfy its contractual obligations without being required to notify the buyer. Obvious damage to the item from transport or packaging damaged during transport is to be reported to UKonOffer upon taking delivery.
Should UKonOffer, or it’s delivery partners, are not be able to deliver the item ordered, UKonOffer shall be entitled to substitute the item with a comparable replacement product with the same or better features, or provide a refund if this is the user’s preference. This does not affect the user’s statutory rights.
10) Offsetting – Withholding Payment & Retention of Title
The user shall only have the right to reduce any sums that they may owe to UKonOffer if he or she has a counter claim against UKonOffer that UKonOffer does not dispute or has been upheld in a court of law.
The user is not entitled by reason of any alleged minor defect to withhold more than a proportionate amount of the sum due.
The item delivered shall remain UKonOffer’s property until payment is received in full of the total price, including for the bids used in the appropriate auction. Until such time as payment has been made in full the user undertakes to store the item separately from their other possessions safely and securely, including insuring the item against fire, theft and damage. UKonOffer shall have full rights of access to the place where the item is located during normal business hours to take possession of it.
11) Damages – Reimbursement of Expenses – Limits on Liability
UKonOffer’s total liability in contract, tort (including negligence), misrepresentation or otherwise in relation to these General Terms and Conditions shall be limited to £50,000.
UKonOffer shall not be liable to the user for: any indirect, special or consequential loss or damage; or loss of data or other equipment or property; or economic loss or damage; or incurring of liability for loss or damage of any nature whatsoever suffered by third parties (including in each case incidental and punitive damages); or any loss of actual or anticipated profit, interest, revenue, anticipated savings or business or damage to goodwill, even if UKonOffer is advised in advance of the possibility of any such losses or damages.
In particular, UKonOffer shall not be liable for faulty operation of computers during bid placement and for incorrect or overly slow transmission of bidding data by the telephone or internet provider (including but not limited to those specified in condition 12 below). Should such an event occur, the bidder shall have no legal right to the purchase or receipt of an item.
UKonOffer shall not be liable for any losses arising from the user’s subsequent use or misuse of the item including (without limitation):
Fair wear and tear; willful damage; and the user’s negligence or any failure to follow UkonOffer’s instructions as to placing of the bids.
Liability for reimbursement of expenses shall likewise only be assumed in accordance with the stipulations above.
Liability for damage arising from loss of life and limb, health, or well being, and that according to product liability law shall not be affected hereby.
Liability for damage arising from loss of life and limb, health, or well-being, as well as that according to product liability shall not be affected. These terms and conditions shall not affect a user’s statutory rights regarding the return of defective goods and claims in respect of losses caused by any negligence on the part of The company.
12) Guarantee & Returns
All of our items offered for auction are provided as fit for purpose. If the goods develop a fault within 6 months of being sold, the goods may be returned for a refund or replacement at UKonOffer’s expense. All items are supplied on the basis that they are reasonably fit for any reasonable purpose to which the winner may put them and subject to what is authorised by the manufacturer in their instruction manual. All other warranties or conditions (whether express or implied) as to quality, condition or description (whether statutory or otherwise) are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
In the event that UKonOffer sends you an incorrect item, please contact us. A UKonOffer representative will then contact you with instructions on how to return the item. If the instructions provided by UKonOffer are followed there will be no charge for the return. UKonOffer will send the user the replacement as soon as the original item is received by UKonOffer, our suppliers or our chosen representatives.
UKonOffer will take all reasonable care to ensure that details, descriptions and prices of products which are featured on its website are correct at the time when the relevant information was entered onto the system. UKonOffer shall endeavour to keep the website as up to date as possible but can offer no guarantees that the information including descriptions of products on the website is still accurate when a user visits the website and/or bids for products.
Product images may differ from those displayed on the website, images published on the website should be regarded as for illustrative purposes only.
13) Site Opening Times – System Downtime and Temporarily Interrupted Auctions
The UKonOffer web site will be open for bidding from 9.30 am until 10.00pm each day of the week. Golden Auctions will start at 6.30pm each day and continue until the auctions are won. The bidding position and the time left to run for every auction will remain exactly as it was when the session ends each day at 10.00pm and will start in exactly that position each day at 9.30am. All times will be GMT, adjusted for daylight saving where applicable. These opening and closing times are subject to change entirely at the discretion of UKonOffer. When a time change is introduced all users will be informed either by email or by an announcement made on the site at least 7 days in advance of any time change.
System downtime is defined as when bids cannot be submitted for items due to an unforeseeable disruption in a system. If this happens, auctions will be temporarily stopped and the remaining times for the auctions, the current bidding price and the current highest bidder will be maintained. After the issue has been resolved, the auctions will be continued and 10 minutes will be added to the remaining times for the auctions. Temporarily halted auctions are clearly indicated. Bidders who are bidding on temporarily halted auctions shall have no right to a refund for bids used or other costs incurred. Some auctions may close prematurely due to a technical error or the result of foul play, such as the use of third party bidding software. In this instance email notification of a win is not considered a binding contract. If an auction has closed due to a technical error, UKonOffer reserves the right to void the email notification, we will return any money paid for the item and resume or restart the auction. This mechanism exists to ensure the fairness of the auction to all our users who may have been prevented or discouraged from continuing to bid in the auction due to unfair practices or any technical issues beyond our control.
With the currently available technology, it is not possible to develop and operate computer programs (software) and data processing systems (hardware) completely without errors, or to rule out any unpredictable events in connection with the internet (hereinafter referred to collectively as ‘technical faults’). UKonOffer, therefore, cannot provide a guarantee for the constant and uninterrupted availability of its website and technical systems. In addition, but not subject to, the provisions of clause number 10, UKonOffer shall not be liable for any damage whatsoever incurred by auction users or third parties from using UKonOffer’s services. In particular, UKonOffer shall not be liable for damage that occurs due to bids submitted by auction users not being received by UKonOffer or not being received promptly or not being considered, as a consequence of technical faults.
14) Applicable Law / Severability Clause
English law shall apply and shall exclude application of the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods.
To the extent legally permitted, the place of jurisdiction is the courts of England and Wales.
15) Protection of Data: Collection, Processing, and Use of our Customers’ Personal Information
The protection of your data is very important to us.
For more information on the collection, processing, and use of personal data, please read our Privacy Policy.
16) External Links
Our website may contain links to other websites operated by third parties, and these sites may themselves contain links to other websites. Despite conducting careful checks, we assume no liability for the content of external links. The operators of the sites linked to and from this site are solely responsible for their contents. We hereby expressly distance ourselves from all content of any and all websites linked to the UKonOffer website. We cannot take any responsibility for the content of the data protection and privacy guidelines of third-party websites.
17) General
The contract between UKonOffer and users is binding on the parties and on their respective successors and assigns. The user may not transfer, assign, charge or otherwise dispose of any contract formed under these General Terms and Conditions or any of their rights or obligations without UKonOffer’s prior written consent.
UKonOffer has the right to revise and amend these General Terms and Conditions from time to time in its absolute discretion for reasons including but not limited to; changes in market conditions affecting UKonOffer’s business, changes in technology, changes in payment methods, changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements and changes in UKonOffer’s system capabilities. All users will be subject to the policies and terms and conditions in force at the time that they have successfully bid for items listed on the UKonOffer website, unless any change to such policies or terms and conditions is required to be made by law or governmental authority or UKonOffer notifies its users of the changes to such policies or General Terms and Conditions before UKonOffer sends information relating to dispatch (in which case UKonOffer has the right to assume that all successful winners have accepted the changes to the terms and conditions unless notified to the contrary with 7 working days by the user of the items).
UKonOffer is the owner of all intellectual property rights on the UKonOffer website and the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world and all rights relating to the same are reserved. Users are free to print one copy and may download extracts of pages for personal reference only. Users must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text. Users must not use any part of the materials on the UKonOffer website for commercial purposes.
Please Note: We would like to advise all users to keep a record of their bidding practices. Buying bids online at www.UKonOffer.co.uk can incur high costs.
(Last update: 22.10.2009)