“The most dreadful auction house in the world! They are dishonest and amoral and best avoided at all costs. One particular member of staff, Lyn (others have mentioned her here) is probably the nastiest person I have encountered in years. Thankfully my bank was finally able to reimburse me for the money that they stole from me while they also withheld my goods. My bank eventually compensated me as even their staff initially fell for their lies,so eventually I came out of it quite well but I would strongly advise anyone to avoid Stroud auctions as there are plenty of very decent auction houses in this country. Seems a shame that this auction house is still being allowed to give auctions generally a bad name. Amazed that they are still trading as they are nothing but thieves.”
“Dreadful customer service. Was not able to collect due to travel restrictions on corona, so they take my money, stole my item, resold it and kept the proceeds... horrid experience..... very rude and disrespectful staff... very unprofessional, very disappointing....”
“Dreadful and dishonest auction house, would defiantly not recommend to any buyers.
So many other honest and reputable auction houses with more integrity and honesty. Rude and obnoxious staff.”
“Message to Nick and Mike - How did you get on with the old bank notes that went 'missing' from my collection at the 3rd February valuation day? And I'm a pensioner too!!!”
“I recently purchased an item of Scottish militaria, a dirk, from them which they described as pre 1800 but when I received the item found that the knife and fork which fit into the scabbard were modern replacements. This was not mentioned in the description on their listings, as they have someone who they describe as a militaria expert on their staff this should have been mentioned.
After sending them a number of e-mails, which were not all replied to, and an image of the items in question, and offering to send the item back to verify my concerns they were not the least bit helpful stating that sending it back would not achieve anything.
I see the profile of their head auctioneer mentions he "is passionate about providing excellent service" which is a load of nonsense !
I will never use them again, they are more interested in making money and certainly not interested in customer service and satisfaction.”
“I bought a lot of watchmaker's tools and parts and when it was picked up by a friend of mine, Stroud auctions had put some of the boxes which had come open and had spilled out into the plastic bag they had roughly dumped them into upside down, with no care for the parts which have very delicate pivots, etc. Some parts were broken and damaged, because quite obviously they didn't care once they had their money. Total idiots, as far as I'm concerned, with no regard to the goods or the packing/storage after the sale. I won't be putting any more business their way with this kind of cavalier attitude!”
“There are some extremely negative reviews of Stroud Auction house, including such words as "awful", "dreadful" and "arrogant".
I too had a bad experience and echo these negative comments; upon raising my concerns, I was rebuffed by the dreaded Lyn, about whom so much bad press has already been expressed.
The main problem I faced was that they cram in so many lots, 1000 in a day, that the auctioneer is forced to go so fast that there is insufficient time for online buyers, particularly those with slow broadband speeds, to place their bids. This deprives sellers of their full potential and causes buyers to miss out altogether.
Based on my experience, I do not believe that this auction house serves the interests of either buyers or sellers, only themselves. I would certainly not sell through them.”
“Same experience as Greg's review below. Awful customer service. Really horrid woman who was very unhelpful. I can't explain just how awful and unpleasant they were with a simple inquiry. Rude, arrogant and condescending and put the phone down on me. Their payment arrangements are open to fraud as they refuse to confirm their details over the phone which leaves the buyer open to scamming. Their processes are weak and not at all secure as they rely solely on a customer sending them money by BACS on the strength of an email (which is likely to be seen as spam by a email filter so if you have 'auto-delete' on spam, it's gone for ever) so the buyer has no come back if there is a problem. I would not use their company until they sort out their payment security and manners,”
“Hello Nick
I feel obliged to make a formal complaint against an employee of your Company who was extremely rude and confrontational on the phone yesterday.
I placed bids in your recent auction via The Saleroom online and monitored my email box waiting for confirmation of any sale but nothing came through so I assumed I had not been successful.
At 4pm yesterday (13/02/2020) Lyn phoned with a very bad attitude and demanded to know why I had not collected my item. I explained I had not received an email of the sale therefore I was unaware I had an item to collect. Lyn then demanded I collect that day and I explained this was impossible as I do not live close by and I offered to get my daughter to collect today and Lyn then said it had to be today as this was the last day possible.
This attitude made me extremely angry and I said that I would not be doing any more business with your company and put the phone down.
Two minutes later I get an email from The Saleroom telling me I have been blocked from using their site!
Then I get an email from yourselves with the confirmation of sale.
Today I get an email telling me you have taken the money from my credit card.
I did not get the original email so this is not my fault and Lyn should not have made demands but should have been more diplomatic and more flexible, definitely a questionable telephone manner. I would also like to ask what you are going to do about unblocking me from The Saleroom as this is entirely out of order.
I have asked a colleague of mine to collect the item later today and I sincerely hope their is no confrontation about this matter.
I have been doing business with your company for many years both buying and selling and on occasion have found staff to be less than accommodating and a little pompous but at the end of the day a professional person should at all times be courteous to his customers as they are the ones keeping you in business.
Greg Holder”
“I was blocked for being a late payer by a couple of days after purchasing items by the salesroom. I explained that I had lost my wallet with all my cards but I was blocked anyway. Unimpressed! I was also quoted severe storage charges for small items. £5/lot per day. Fortunately, the always excellent Mailboxes Etc. at Cheltenham came to the rescue.”
“I bought an air rifle from Stroud Auctions and when it arrived I found that it had been wrongly described and was not what I was after. Initially, after The Saleroom got involved, they said they would give me a full refund if I returned the item. I did this and then got an email from them claiming that the rifle had been damaged in the post, totally impossible and the slight mark was apparent in the original auction pictures. They said that they’d put it back in the next auction and wouldn’t budge from that. I lost over £200 dealing with these thieves and would warn anyone else to stay well clear.”
“Absolutely disgraceful. Do not use or trust this company under any circumstances. Once they have your money, they will lie and cheat and use any underhand methods to swindle you, you have been warned”
“Read the (frankly appalling) customer feedback about Stroud Auctions, decided to withdraw my item, only to be informed that will cost me £60. Given that my painting is by a very well known artist (richard ellis) AND there is no reserve on it, I am very unhappy about this. AVOID THIS BUSINESS”
“You people are a joke. Greedy unprofessional. Doing more research on your business. I m not the only one you've upset. But I'm getting a very big portfolio up about your business.”
“Called to collect goods won in auction. Waited at counter with my collection note, and waited and waited... Three different staff walked past me without making eye contact even though I was smiling at them. Completely ignored! I eventually managed to stop someone and complained about the staff's manner and he completely ignored the comments. Got my goods for me, threw it on the counter and said when I have loaded the car to bring the old fruit box back. No please no thank you. I would warn people with a sensitive disposition to avoid this set of ignorant people.”
“AVOID DEALING WITH STROUD AUCTIONS
SELLERS BEWARE
My experience of dealing with Stroud Auctions was initially positive, with promised results. However, after the initial meeting, the general positive first impression of Stroud Auctions was totally obliterated by the conduct of staff after the sale was over. I rang with a query regarding how the reserve process worked on bidding as one of my lots was sold for less than the reserve. As a first time auction seller, I only wanted to understand the process. Alex Bowkett, who was my contact at the auction, failed to answer my email query regarding the item and after leaving a message, I received a phone call from one of the rudest individuals I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. Her name was Lyn/Lynda. She was rude and abrupt from the outset, in a manner that was totally unprofessional and unnecessary. She was arrogant, dismissive and absolutely rude beyond belief. This woman told me that she was an owner of the auction house, and spoke over me, failing to listen to what I was asking, and failing to grasp the nature of the enquiry. She just hurled insults and negative unkind words at me. I merely wanted to understand the process of reserves. She spoke over me, shouting and angry, for about five minutes. She then hung up on me, leaving me shaken and aghast that anyone could be so vile to another human being. Worse yet, to think that she is an owner of the company.
I understand from checking, that there is indeed a female director of Stroud Auctions, whose name is Lynda Bowkett. Having checked reviews online, on various platforms, I have found numerous negative reviews citing the same disgraceful conduct of this very same woman, Lyn.
All I can say is that I will never use the auction house again, and I would urge anyone considering selling items at auction to chose carefully, as there are other professional auctions available, who will treat you in a professional and humane way. The reality is that you don’t have to scratch very far below the surface to realise the true character and nature of this outfit.
After a further phone call with the delightful Lyn, she refused to discuss arranging my unsold items in a reasonable way. She was extremely uncooperative and would not arrange the return in a reasonable way. I therefore rang again and spoke to Mark Rozelaar, about the return of my unsold items and I informed him how shocked I was at the behaviour of that woman- that was both bullying and intimidating. Immediately after this phone call I received an email from Mark asking what he needed to do to make things right, expressing concern at how quickly things had got toxic. He offered to waive the commission on the item that they had sold under the reserve price, as a solution to the problem. He asked for a reply by email that day to resolve the issue. I accepted the offer of waiving the fee in the one item, but pointed out that the only real resolution needed to be an apology from that unprofessional individual, Lyn, who had created the situation so unnecessarily. I did not receive any such apology and the promised waiving of the fees, offered by Mark Rozelaar has not been forthcoming.
SELLERS BEWARE- AVOID STROUD AUCTIONS AT ALL COSTS.”
“Can't believe I had a meeting with the owner about the night mare iv had dealing with these unprofessional group.. As you see she has acudecd me of putting false reviews on there site. I can assure everyone I did not. What I put is in my name. The so called meeting I had with her she wouldn't let me get a word in. And to accused me of false statements well. Her attitude wS appalling. Good job I took someone with me. I am taking further now and hope more people do as well. Not even a sorry just rudeness.”
“Be very aware if your buying from Stroud Auction Rooms via The Saleroom and internet bidding, I spent many thousands of pounds and although the staff were friendly and very polite there were no boxes available so be advised to take your own, I ended up with a car full of loose diecast models which took hours to collect and load. Look very closely at the pictures or phone them for a condition report on each item as the descriptions are very vague and they do not give the condition of the items, many of my lots were either broken in there original boxes or repainted models which would have swayed me not to buy those lots. May I add that it would be very doubtful if I use them again, I have found other auction houses selling toys a bit more switched on.
Quick up date I have just been banned from Stroud Auction Rooms 03/06/19 for giving them a truthful review, after a not so polite phone call from a rude lady I am very happy to be banned, If you do use them I wish you the very best of luck ! they are a lot worse than I first imagined.”
“STROUD AUCTIONS is probably the mother of all crooked auction houses, not only in the UK but also in the world. They run their scams on multiple levels:
By starting the bidding at the supposedly secret "bidder's highest level"
Then collecting the price and shipping fee even when the purchased item has been smashed by their clumsy employees. This just happened to me. I was fortunate that my Credit Card company intervened and cancelled both charges (auction price and shipping) but buyers are at risk.
RUN !”
