Auction Terms & Conditions
Rules on the organization and conduct of electronic vehicle sale auctions
- TERMS USED IN THESE RULES
- Auction means a public sale of Vehicles taking place on the Platform where, in relation to the Vehicle (s) specified in a particular Notice, the Bidders submit bids indicating the price and which is completed by announcing the winning bidder of the Auction, i.e. the legal person offering the highest price.
- Administrator means Trucks Merchant, UAB, address: Laisvės pr. 36, LT-04340 Vilnius, Lithuania, registration code 306224093, a legal entity that manages and controls the website https://www.trucksmerchant.com (hereinafter „Website“) on which the Platform operates. The legal name and registration data of Administrator is also provided within the Privacy Policy.
- Auction Organizer means any legal entity interested in selling Vehicles by means of an online auction.
- Bidder means a legal entity registered on the Platform and participating in the Auction.
- Auction Documents means all documents related to the executed Auction, including documents submitted by the Bidders, description of the Auction object and other documents related to the conduct of the Auction and the conclusion of the Purchase and Sale Contract.
- Bid Price means that the bidder shall indicate the price excluding VAT in its bid. When concluding the Purchase and Sale Contract and issuing an invoice, VAT shall be calculated and added to the price of the Vehicle offered by the Buyer at the Auction in accordance with the VAT rate in force on the day of calculation.
- Participation Fee means a monetary contribution from the Bidder which the Bidder must pay to the bank account specified in the Notice prior to submitting a Bid Price. The monetary contribution of a Bidder entitling him to participate in a single Auction shall be specified in the Notice.
- Purchase and Sale Contract means the main purchase and sale contract for the Auction object, concluded between the Seller and the Auction Winner (the Buyer).
- Preliminary Purchase and Sale Contract – if the Bidder wins the Auction, the confirmed winning bid is considered to be analogous to a preliminary contract. In the event that the Purchase and Sale Contract is not concluded after the confirmation of Auction Winner, the Auction Winner that refused to conclude the Purchase and Sale Contract is liable for the amount of Participation Fee.
- Auction Winner (Buyer) means the highest Bidder who is declared as the Auction Winner by the Administrator.
- Vehicle means a lorry, trailer or semi-trailer owned or legally operated by the Bidder, the Seller or other companies belonging to the Seller’s Group companies.
- Seller means a legal entity that has registered on the Platform and created a Notice on the Platform.
- User means the Seller, the Bidder and the Auction Winner (the Buyer) or any other legal entity registered on the Platform.
- Platform means the software running on the Website that allows Bidders to bid in real time for the Vehicles listed in the Notices.
- Account means the personal space of the User created on the Platform, to which the User is identified upon logging in.
- Rules mean these Rules for the organization and conduct of electronic Auctions conducted by the Bidder via the Platform.
- Notice means an offer for the sale of a Vehicle created by a Seller and placed on the Platform.
- Confidential Information means all and any non-public information and data, whether in written, electronic, visual or oral form, i.e. the Notice, the technical documentation of the Auction object, any other commercial, financial, legal, technical information or data communicated or disclosed by the Bidder to the Users, whether or not such information, material or data has been marked as confidential or not. Confidential information includes all copies, summaries and results of documents relating to the subject of the Auction, as well as information on the discussions and negotiations held with regard to the conclusion of the Preliminary Sales Contract and the Purchase and Sale Contract, including the content of those discussions and negotiations. Confidential information shall not include information that is publicly available, designated as non-confidential by the Seller or the Administrator.
- These Rules define the principles of use of the Platform and the rights and obligations of the Administrator and the Users in relation to the use of the Platform.
- These Rules are binding on all persons who register or have registered on the Platform, as well as those who participate or wish to participate in the Auction. In the event that other (specific) Auction rules are referred to in the Notice or attached to the relevant Auction, the terms of the other (specific) rules attached to the relevant auction shall apply, unless expressly provided otherwise.
- The Administrator may unilaterally amend these Rules by posting them on the Website or the Platform without prior notice. The amended Rules apply only to Notices created after the updated Rules are posted on the Website or Platform.
2. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND NOTICE OF THE AUCTION
- In order to become a User, you must create an Account on the Platform. In order to create an Account on the Platform, you must be a legal person with the capacity to acquire rights and assume obligations.
- The creation of an Account on the Platform shall be carried out by filling in the mandatory information within the registration form. The creation of the Account shall be confirmed via email.
- A legal entity may act directly or grant the right to represent the legal entity on the Platform and in the Auction to its representative – an authorized person by submitting a power of attorney complying with the requirements of the legislation. If the User is represented by another person, such person must provide such documents confirming the basis of the representation and identifying the person as requested by the Seller or the Administrator.
- In order to participate in the Auction, the User must verify its Account as follows:
- Pay the Participation Fee;
- Submit the specified documents or information to the Administrator through the Platform or in another specified manner.
- The Participation Fee shall be paid by the Bidder via e-payment platforms connecting the Bidder directly to the bank or by using a credit card (MasterCard / Visa). The payments shall be made in Euro currency. If any conversion costs apply due to the usage of different currency, those costs shall be covered by the Bidder.
- The Administrator has the right to verify the Account of such a User or refuse to verify it unilaterally and without reason.
- After the User has completed the payment, provided the documents, information and received the Administrator’s confirmation via the e-mail specified in the User’s Account, it is considered that the User Account is verified.
- Only Users whose Account has been verified and who have paid the Participation Fee amount have the right to acquire the status of a Bidder and participate in the Auction. Payment of the Participation Fee gives the right to participate in one Auction for one Vehicle.
- One legal entity may have only one Account on the Platform.
- If the Administrator finds that a legal entity does not comply with any requirements of the Rules or the Administrator’s instructions provided to the User by e-mail, the Administrator shall have the right to unilaterally remove the Account without separate notice. The Administrator also has the right to cancel the Account without separate notice if it becomes known or the Administrator suspects that the User is committing illegal acts, violations of legislation, breaches of contractual obligations, is a sanctioned entity, or is in breach of the present Rules.
3. CREATION OF AN ACCOUNT ON THE PLATFORM AND REGISTRATION OF BIDDERS
- The Notice may specify:
- Start and end time of the Auction;
- Minimum price change value;
- Vehicle information;
- Opening price of the Vehicle;
- Contact details of the Seller;
- Other information and documents.
4. CONTENT OF THE NOTICE
- The opening price of the Vehicle is determined by the Seller.
- The Auction starts at the time specified in the Notice.
- During the Auction, Bidders are required to indicate their bid price for the Vehicle.
- A Bidder may bid at or above the opening price, increased by a value no less than the minimum price increase value specified in the Notice or in the Auction.
- Other participants must offer a higher price than the previous price, but increase it at least in the interval specified for the minimum price increase.
- History of the prices offered by the Bidder himself and the highest price offered for the Vehicle, the remaining time till the end of Auction and other information displayed during the Auction.
- If the Auction Bidder offers the same Bid Price offered by another Auction Bidder, the highest Bid Price of the Bidder who has previously indicated a Bid Price shall be displayed as the highest Bid Price, which shall become the then current Bid Price for the Vehicle.
- The Bid Prices is allowed to be offered until the end of the Auction time.
5. CONDUCT OF THE AUCTION
- The Auction shall be deemed to end when the Auction time specified in the Notice expires and bidding by the Bidders ceases.
- If at least one Bid is received five minutes before the end of the Auction, the Auction shall be extended for a further five minutes, during which the Bidders may Bid for the Vehicle to be sold. The Auction shall be extended for exactly five minutes after each price Bid received during the extended additional five-minute period, which shall start counting from the moment of receipt of the price Bid. The Extended Auction shall be closed if no further Bid is received within exactly five minutes of the last Bid.
- After the end of the Auction, the Administrator will contact the highest Bidder by e-mail or telephone within 2 (two) working days and inform them of the result of the Auction (i.e. announce the Auction Winner). The Administrator has the right unilaterally to extend the deadline during which he will announce the Auction Winner. In the case of each individual Auction Upon receipt of such notice, the Bidder shall be deemed to be the Auction Winner. The Purchase and Sale Contract together with the Proforma invoice shall be sent to the Auction Winner. The Administrator shall have the right not to send additional notifications to other Bidders after the end of the Auction.
- After the end of the Auction, Bidders who have paid the Participation Fee but did not win the Auction shall have the right to request a refund of the Participation Fee or to keep the Participation Fee and continue to participate in other Auctions organized on the Platform. In case of a request for the return of the Participation Fee, it shall be refunded within 5 (five) working days to the account specified by the Bidder. All fees associated with the return of the Participation Fee shall be charged to the amount of the Participation Fee to be returned to the Bidder to whom the Participation Fee is returned.
- The Administrator shall have the right to suspend or to cancel the Auction: a) upon notification or suspicion regarding any violation of the legislation, contractual obligations, infringement of the Rules. b) if Administrator has information that the Vehicles are not ready or safe for use.
- The Administrator shall not be held liable for any damage, loss incurred by the Buyer due to Auction cancellation, Platform technical errors, communication problems, etc.
- The Administrator assumes no liability for any failure to login to User’s Account, authenticate it, other operational issues of the Platform or for any acts or omissions related to the sale of the Vehicles, and the performance of the Auctions and shall not be liable for any loss, damage, expense, loss of shares, loss of profit or loss of opportunity to participate in the Auction or to Bid.
- If we are found to be liable to you for any reason, our liability will be limited to the amount of the Participation Fee paid for the right to participate in the Auction.
- We are not liable for any technical problems you may encounter when accessing and using our Website and/or Platform or participating in Auctions, including, but not limited to, loss of internet connectivity, or any of the problems with our Platform, due to software or any hardware malfunction on User‘s or Administrator‘s end. We shall not be held liable any liability for any delay or failure to submit a Bid in the Auction or for any errors or omissions in the submission of Bids due to technical difficulties caused by technical problems, whether caused by us or by problems with software or hardware or internet connection whether it should happen on Administrator’s or User’s end.
- The User will indemnify and hold the Administrator harmless from all claims, demands, suits or other forms of liability that may arise against the Administrator for or on account of any action taken by the any third party pursuant to any activities within the Platform, purchase of the Vehicle or participate in the Auction.
6. CLOSING, SUSPENSION AND ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY OF THE AUCTION
- The Administrator shall have the right to unilaterally cancel the registration of a Bidder in the Auction and/or cancel the User’s Account without prior notice if:
- Not all documents referred to in point 3 have been submitted;
- The documentation provided is not relevant or the information provided is incorrect (false);
- Not all fields on the registration form (Account Form) have been completed or the information provided is incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete;
- In other cases provided for in the Rules.
- The Administrator shall not be liable for any damages incurred by the User as a result of the cancellation of the Account. Even if the Dispute Resolution Bodies accept the Administrator’s liability, the maximum amount of the Administrator’s liability is limited to the amount of the Participation Fee.
7. WITHDRAWAL OF BIDDER’S REGISTRATION AND CANCELLATION OF USER’S ACCOUNT
- The Participation Fee paid by the Auction Winner shall be credited towards the final price of the Auction object specified in the Purchase and Sale Contract. The remaining part of the price of the Auction Object must be paid by the Auction Winner within 3 (three) working days from the date of receipt of the Purchase and Sale Contract and Proforma invoice by e-mail to the Seller’s bank account specified in the Proforma invoice or within another period of time agreed between the Buyer and the Seller.
- Auction winnings shall be equated to the conclusion of a preliminary Purchase and Sale Contract. In the event that the Auction Winner refuses to enter into the Purchase and Sale Contract, the Buyer shall lose the status of the Auction Winner and shall not be entitled to recover the Participation Fee, which shall be deemed to be the Seller’s minimum loss, and to purchase the Vehicle. Failure to conclude the Purchase and Sale Contract for any reason whatsoever within 2 (two) working days of the announcement of the Auction Winner shall be deemed to be a refusal to conclude the Purchase and Sale Contract due to the fault of the Auction Winner.
- The Seller and the Buyer shall agree on the manner of delivery of the Vehicle to the Buyer.
- The cost of transport and delivery of the Vehicle and all taxes and charges not covered by the Rules shall be borne by the Auction Winner.
- The transfer of ownership of the Vehicle is defined in the Sale and Purchase Contract.
- The Seller shall be responsible for the condition, quality, documentation, title and other limitations of the Vehicles, subject to the terms and conditions set out in the Purchase and Sale Contract.
8. CONCLUSION OF THE PRELIMINARY PURCHASE AND SALE CONTRACT AND THE PURCHASE AND SALE CONTRACT
- If the Buyer fails to pay the Proforma invoice within the deadline of 1 (one) working day from the signing of the Purchase and Sale Contract, the Participation Fee paid by the Bidder shall not be refunded to the Auction Winner and shall be retained by the Administrator as a minimum loss, which shall have the right to transfer it or a part thereof to the Seller. If the amount of the Participation Fee does not cover the Administrator’s or the Seller’s losses, the Seller or the Administrator shall have the right to claim full compensation for the losses. If the Buyer fails to comply with the time limit set out in this clause, the Buyer shall forfeit the status of the Auction Winner in the Auction and shall lose the right to purchase the Vehicle.
- In the event of more than one breach of the obligation set out in Clause 9 by a Buyer in respect of the same Auction or different auctions, the Administrator shall have the right to restrict the use of, or access to, such Buyer’s Account or to terminate the Account without any separate notice and deny creation of the new Account.
- The Buyer shall be liable for the payment of all applicable taxes (including VAT) or duties and any additional costs, if any, incurred in connection with the purchase and transport of the Vehicle.
9. BUYER’S LIABILITY
- You confirm to us that:
- any information or documents provided to us are and remain true and accurate.
- the funds used to purchase the Vehicles are not the proceeds of criminal activity, including tax evasion;
- you are not involved in money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, fraud or other criminal behavior, and are not under investigation and have not previously been charged with or convicted of a criminal offence;
- You are not subject to trade sanctions, embargoes or other restrictions that prohibit you from doing business in the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area.
- you will not pass on your Platform login details to third parties and will keep them secure. In the event of unauthorized use of your login data by third parties, you shall be liable for the consequences arising from such actions.
- You have read and understood these Rules, the form and clauses of the Purchase and Sale Contract, other documents related to the Auction and the Platform and understood their essence, and agree that the clauses of the said documents are confirmed by you. Participation in the Auction shall be deemed to be a confirmation that the Bidder has read Rules all documents and information referred to in these Rules and the approval of the documents hereof.
- You will not use any software or hardware that may affect the results or conduct of the Auction.
10. USER GUARANTEES
- We will protect and process all personal data relating to you in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
11. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
- All notices or other communications between you and us relating to these Rules must be made in writing and may be given:
- by live delivery or by post or courier delivery to the address: Laisvės pr. 36, LT-04340 Vilnius, Lithuania; or
- to us – by the email address on our Website, to you – by the email address you provided at the time of registration of your Account, unless we are otherwise instructed in writing.
- Notifications will be deemed to have been received:
- by live delivery, by post or courier – on the day of delivery;
- if sent by email, on the day on which the email is sent, unless sent on a day which is not a working day or after 17.00 at the place of receipt, in which case the email will be deemed to have been received the following working day.
12. COMMUNICATIONS
- Before the start of the Auction, during the Auction and after the Auction, participants, Users, Buyers, Sellers or any other interested persons are obliged to contact the Administrator to resolve any disputes related to the Notice, the Auction or the operation of the Platform. All claims or complaints must be lodged within 3 working days of the circumstances giving rise to the claim or complaint coming to light, failing which the person concerned shall be deemed to have waived their right to claim or complain.
- All interested persons must submit all claims to the Administrator by email, specifying the specific Auction or Notice, the factual circumstances and the formulation of the request.
- The Administrator shall have the right to set a time limit of 5 (five) working days for other interested persons to submit comments if, in the opinion of the Administrator, it is necessary to obtain the opinion of other interested persons on the claim or complaint.
- The Auction Administrator shall take a decision on the claim within 15 (fifteen) working days from the receipt of the claim or complaint, and in the event that feedback from other persons is requested – from the expiry of the time limit for the submission of feedback by the last interested person. The Administrator shall communicate the decision to the person concerned by email.
- Upon receipt of a claim, the Administrator shall have the right to suspend, cancel or not to start the Auction until a decision has been made on the claim or complaint received.
- If the person concerned disagrees with the Administrator’s decision on the claim or complaint, he may apply to the court to settle the dispute in accordance with the procedure established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
- Should any provision of these Rules be invalidated or declared invalid, the other provisions of these Rules shall remain in full force and effect. The Parties will enter into consultations with a view to agreeing on a new provision to replace the invalidated or repealed provision, which is as close as possible to the meaning and scope of the original provision.
13. FINAL PROVISIONS