AUCTIONEERS. (Hansard, 2 March 1927)

§ Mr. WOMERSLEY

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend the law with respect to auctioneers and to prohibit the holding of mock auctions. I should like to point out, in the first place, that this is not the same Bill as that which was introduced by the Noble Lord the Member for the King's Lynn Division of Norfolk (Lord Fermoy) and read a Second time on Friday last. That was a Measure to protect the honest seller against the fraudulent buyer. My Bill is one to protect the honest buyer against the fraudulent seller. I can therefore claim, at any rate, that it has a quite different object from the Bill of the Noble Lord. Its object is to protect the public, and particularly the members of the working-class, who, I say without hesitation, are being swindled out of their money by the sale of worthless or inferior goods, under the pretence that they are genuine, by auctioneers who, while selling in a fraudulent manner, try to make the people believe they are carrying on a genuine sale. I have no doubt that many Members of the House have noticed these mock auctions in many of the main streets of the towns which they represent, in the City of London, and particularly in many of the seaside resorts during the season when the trippers are there spending their holidays. They will have noticed that these establishments are set out with a great display of flashy jewellery, furniture and ornaments, and that they are conducted by people who, although they hold auctioneers' licences 391 issued by the Customs and Excise Department, and are regarded by the public as genuine auctioneers, are indeed a disgrace to an honourable professon. They usually claim to be selling off bankrupt stock and all sorts of tricks are resorted to in order to persuade people to bid, and fancy prices are obtained. The selling is generally assisted by a ring of touts who receive remuneration for making mock bids, and other means are employed to persuade people to bid prices for goods far in excess of their value.

I hope that hon. Members have seen a copy of the pamphlet issued by the chairman of the Incorporated Society of Auctioneers, which sets out the details of many of the tricks resorted to by these people. As my time is limited, I regret that I cannot give the House further details about these swindles which are taking place, but I can assure hon. Members that I know a good deal about them. I have had experience both as a practical man—not as a seller and not as a buyer—and I speak as one who understands the class of business and who has tried from time to time to persuade people that these men are fraudulent and to stop their practices. Not only are people swindled, but honest traders suffer by the operations of these individuals, inasmuch as they sell goods to people at very high prices, and every article sold, whether fraudulently or not, is one article less for somebody else to sell. The honest trader thereby loses trade. It is also destructive to the credit of the genuine auctioneer and the genuine trader that these people should be allowed to carry on this business. I myself, in my own constituency, have seen this kind of swindle practised, and I have done my best to persuade people not to purchase from these individuals. I could give a case in point. A very small jeweller's business—the man had not above £25 worth of goods in his shop—was bought up by one of these mock auction firms. They filled the shop up with goods of all descriptions of a flashy nature, chiefly of German make, and they advertised it as selling off this man's stock. The working people in the district went to the sale and were persuaded to bid very high prices for goods which afterwards they discovered were not worth anything like a quarter of the money 392 which they had paid, but the auctioneer had departed. Complaint was made to the police, and the difficulties of dealing with the question were pointed out by the chief of police.

There is another form of swindle, which is known as the rigged sale, and this does not hit the working-class so much as others. A vacant country mansion is taken and is well stocked with inferior furniture imitating something of a better character. Pictures that are fakes and faked ornaments are brought there in order that they may be sold as though they were the property of the late owner. The sale is advertised, and people come from all parts of the country thinking that they are going to buy genuine articles. This practice has been very prevalent near and in the neighbourhood of Brighton, though it is not by any means confined to that district. I could give a case where a certain pair of vases were put into one of these auctions and were bought for £85, and I know where they came from and what they cost—£3 That is only one case out of many. Under the present state of the law, it is extremely difficult to put an end to the practice, and, although numerous complaints have been made to the police authorities throughout the country, they have found themselves in the great majority of cases quite unable to take any effective action. For example, the Chief Constable of Blackpool, where the matter has become a public scandal, says: The existing law is inadequate to deal with this matter, and I am quite satisfied that the proposals in the new Bill would effect a definite improvement on the present position. I have letters from chief constables in many other parts of the country and also letters from the Incorporated Society of Auctioneers expressing their desire for stronger powers to deal with this evil. I shall he pleased to show these letters to any hon. Member who is interested. It is possible that some cases could be dealt with by an action for obtaining money by false pretences, but, in view of the difficulties the police find in securing convictions under the existing law, as expressed by the chief constables for these various towns and cities, I hope that the House will agree that I have made out 393 a strong case for the Bill and that it will allow me, at any rate, to have a First Reading.

The Bill is being promoted by the Incorporated Society of Auctioneers and Landed Property Agents, after consultation with the Auctioneers' and Estate Agents' Institute, the two leading organisations representing the profession, and it is cordially supported by the National Chamber of Trade, the National Association of Goldsmiths, the Scottish Association of Watchmakers and Jewellers, and the London and Suburban Traders' Federation. It is backed by Members of all parties in the House, and has not, so far as I am aware, encountered the slightest sign of opposition from any quarter. During the Debate on the Second Reading of the Auctions (Bidding Agreements) Bill on Friday, it was mentioned that although we had one hon. Member who was an auctioneer supporting the Bill, he had not backed that Bill, and no member of the legal profession had backed the Bill. I have taken the precaution of getting the backing of the hen. Member for Central Bradford (Lieut.-Colonel Gadie), who is an auctioneer by profession, and also of the hon. and learned Member for South-West Hull (Mr. Grotrian). They have carefully gone over the Bill, and it has their full approval and backing. The Bill imposes penalties for wilful misdescription of the purposes of a sale, the origin, or quality, and substance of the goods, and, if the offender be a licensed auctioneer, he is rendered ineligible to hold a licence for 12 months after conviction.