Deal hammered out in auction saga
COLLECTIBLES seller Brian Axten feared he was flogging a dead horse when he tried for months to recover some possessions following a sale carried out by TV antiques show regular Hansons Auctioneers.
Brian doggedly pursued his own bargain hunt in a bid to track down a batch of new plastic boxes he had used in March to send off the items, an inheritance from a late relative’s estate, before the sale last year.
They had set him back £96.97. Each was marked with his details and instructions for them to be kept so he could pick them up or have them returned.
But while Amazon receipts showed proof of their provenance, their whereabouts remained a mystery.
“I get positive responses when I call Hansons, but nothing comes of them,” the engineer first explained. “I understand that Covid creates difficulties so I agreed initially for Hansons to try to find them. But that hasn’t happened and I’ve not heard.”
As Brian asked Crusader for help, Hansons then found the boxes and offered to return them. “But I’ve waited so long I don’t need them now and keep asking for a refund,” he reasoned as his dispute turned into a beef about value.
Unhappy with a subsequent offer of £40, he also rejected the suggestion he had not asked for the boxes to be returned and cited the labelling proof.
His meticulous record-keeping made all the difference and we asked Hansons if it could reconsider.
We are delighted to report they have. Hansons told us “the matter has been resolved”.
There was still some hoo-ha over a cancelled cheque and then a bank transfer, but “I’ve been refunded £96.97 and am very relieved,” Brian said, as he thanked us and brought the hammer down on the saga.