Was Gathering Dust and you, the Client, are the parties to this Agreement. Before using the Services or using the Website, you must accept the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and your continuing use of the Services and Website is contingent upon your acceptance and compliance with these terms.
- Definitions
- The following terms in this agreement (the “Agreement“) shall have the meanings set out below:
- “Appraise” refers to Was Gathering Dust’s evaluation of an item, which must consider its condition and expected market value. Based on this evaluation, Was Gathering Dust must decide whether to make an offer for the item or reject it. The term “appraisal” shall be understood in this manner.
- “Contract” refers to a contract that is enforceable in court between you and us for the sale of your items at the price stated in the offer we made to you.
- “Client” or “you/your” refers to a person using the Services.
- A “Force Majeure Event” is any occurrence that is beyond a party’s reasonable control, such as acts of God, floods, droughts, earthquakes, or other natural disasters; epidemics or pandemics; terrorist attacks; riots, civil unrest, or other armed conflict; imposition of sanctions, an embargo, or the severing of diplomatic ties; contamination with nuclear, chemical, or biological agents; or a sonic boom; laws or other any law or any action taken by a government or public authority, including without limitation imposing an export or import restriction, quota or prohibition, or failing to grant a necessary licence or consent; collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident; or any labour or trade dispute, strikes, industrial action or lockouts.
- “Free Selling Pack” refers to the set of supplies that a client receives in the mail after submitting a request on the website to send in products for appraisal.
- “Item” refers to a single item or a collection of things that you provide to us with the intention of selling them to us in line with this Agreement. The term “items” shall be construed accordingly.
- “Offer” refers to a proposal for the price we will pay for the Items.
- “Parcel” refers to a specific item package that you send to us.
- “Reject” refers to a decision by Was Gathering Dust to forego making plans to buy an item from you, whether by refusing to do an appraisal on the item, refusing to provide a price for the item following an appraisal, or in another manner as specified in this Agreement. Words like “Rejection” should be understood in this context.
- Was Gathering Dust offers the services listed on its website under the heading “Services.”
- A person who accesses the Website, whether as a guest or a customer, is referred to as a “User.”
- “Was Gathering Dust” or “we/us/our” refers to Worth a Bid Limited, a business operating as Was Gathering Dust and registered in England and Wales with company number 05034547 and a registered office at 54 Sun Street, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 1EJ.
- “Website” refers to wasgatheringdust.com as well as any other web- or mobile-based platforms where you might sell us your items.
- The following terms in this agreement (the “Agreement“) shall have the meanings set out below:
- Such Terms
- This Agreement may change from time to time (in accordance with clause 14.8). Every time you use the Services, you agree to review the terms of this Agreement to make sure you are familiar with the most recent version. We advise keeping a copy of this Agreement on file for your records.
- This Agreement applies to our interactions with consumers who are acting as private individuals and not corporations, charities, or other comparable for-profit or non-profit organisations.
- By using our services, you vouch for the following:
- You have the authority to sign legally binding contracts.
- Any items that you send to us are yours to keep legally (or you have the owner’s consent to dispose of them at your discretion).
- You have received your parent’s or guardian’s permission to send the items to us if you are under 18 years old or are at least 18 years old.
- You are a resident of the United Kingdom.
- You are using a UK browser to access the website.
- If we discover upon review of any item you have supplied that it has been registered, reported lost or stolen, or that we feel it may be counterfeit, we shall email you and quarantine the item while contacting the appropriate authorities.
- Each individual is limited to one account creation. You acknowledge that in the event that we determine that a user is using multiple accounts, we shall have the right to promptly deactivate or cancel any account without prior warning. In such cases, we reserve the right to reject your items in accordance with section 7.3 and to withdraw any pending bids to purchase Items we have received from that Customer (via whatever account we believe was used by that Customer).
- By reference, and to the extent applicable to your use of the Website, the provisions of our privacy policy, which are available at https://www.wasgatheringdust.com, are incorporated into this Agreement. When using our website, you can always consult our privacy policy. You agree that we may process your Personal Data in accordance with the principles outlined in our Privacy Policy.
- Please be aware that calls made to us or you may be recorded for quality control and training reasons. Such calls will be recorded, and we will keep such recordings in accordance with our privacy policy.
- Goods we accept
- Items that fit within the following criteria (each an “Approved Category” and collectively the “Approved Categories”) will be appraised:
- Jewellery
- Watches
- Medals, Militaria & Masonic
- Old Coins & Money
- Silver and Silver Plate
- Gold
- Writing Instruments
- Vintage and costume jewellery
- Collectables
- Please get in touch with our team by sending an email to info@wasgatheringdust.com if you wish to send a package with fewer than eight items.
- We have the right to Reject your entire Parcel if it has fewer than eight Items that fit into one of the Approved Categories specified at 3.1.
- Any items that we acquire that don’t fit into one of the Approved Categories specified at 3.1 may be appraised at our exclusive discretion. When we receive such Items, we reserve the right to return them to you or to consider them independent from the Parcel and include them in the parcel that we appraise.
- For returns of items that don’t fit into an Approved Category, we have the right to charge £15 per box. Our administrative costs for returning such items are covered by this amount. Where we decide to charge this fee, we will notify you in writing and give you our bank account information so you can send the cost. The applicable items will be declared abandoned if you don’t pay the fee to us within 28 days of our providing you notice to do so and we will then try to dispose of them at our discretion.
- Items that fit within the following criteria (each an “Approved Category” and collectively the “Approved Categories”) will be appraised:
- Things we won’t accept
- Items that fall within the following categories (each a “Restricted Category” and collectively the “Restricted Categories”) will not be appraised by us:
- Clothing
- Furniture
- Fur, taxidermy, items crafted from materials obtained from threatened or extinct species of animals, or the cruel treatment of animals.
- Contemporary electronics since 1990
- Mobile devices
- Firearms
- Contemporary children’s toys
- Vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, cassettes, video games, and digital cameras
- First Day Covers
- Stainless steel
- Coins that are shipped by themselves, without any other items, and weighing less than 5 kg.
- Everything that falls under the description of being easily breakable, such as, but not limited to, China, Crystal, Glass, Porcelain, Ceramics, Slate, and other delicate items.
- Parcels containing both approved and restricted category items will void all insurance on the entirety of the parcel. Was Gathering Dust is not responsible for any missing or damaged items that fall into a Restricted Category or that are shipped to us in a package that also includes any items that fall under an approved category.
- Items that fall within the following categories (each a “Restricted Category” and collectively the “Restricted Categories”) will not be appraised by us:
- Sending Us Your Goods
- You can send your items to us in one of two ways:
- Using the Post Office
- You must attach one of the pre-paid postage labels and one of the customer labels you receive in your postage pack to the parcel in order to use a Post Office drop-off service to send us your Items.
- Your pre-paid postage label has a tracking number that you should photograph or write down that is located underneath the bar code.
- Bring your Parcel into a Royal Mail Post Office with both labels on.
- It is advised that you get a receipt that includes the tracking number. If a parcel is misplaced, you will only be able to file a claim if you have the tracking number.
- Collection from your home
- You must reserve a collection time with our team by phone or email, if you want to use a home collection service to bring us your items.
- When you book a collection, a driver will be assigned to pick up your package (s).
- The driver will attach pre-paid postage labels to your package while they are with it, (them). To be clear, you do not need to attach the pre-paid postage label from the Postage Pack. We already have a copy of the tracking number and have connected the labels to your account.
- The tracking number from the labels the driver brings should be noted down. You must see to it that the driver applies the label in your presence. Your box will only be insured if a label was applied while you were there and you retained the tracking number.
- Using the Post Office
- You acknowledge that Was Gathering Dust may impose limitations on the kinds of items, their dimensions, or their weight that you can deliver using the pre-paid label it has given you. The weight cannot be greater than 10kg. The Parcel’s size must not be greater than its absolute limit of 300 cm in length, girth, and length alone. The length is multiplied by 2, along with the breadth and depth.
- Was Gathering Dust disclaims all responsibility for items that you submit in violation of our instructions, as per our Postage Pack, or that are damaged during shipping because they were inadequately or badly wrapped. Because we only appraise items “as is,” please make sure to carefully package any items you send to us.
- Please be aware that each parcel is covered for a maximum of £250 in insurance. Please check our Insurance Policy to learn how to upgrade your insurance level and submit an insurance claim if you think the items you want to send in a package are worth more than £250.
- Pre-paid postage labels are included in the Free Postage Pack or when a driver is dispatched for a home collection. The costs of utilising any alternative mailing service or carrier will not be reimbursed.
- Please follow clause 13’s complaints procedure if your package is lost in transit.
- You can send your items to us in one of two ways:
- Evaluations and Offers
- After two days of receiving your package and verifying receipt, we will appraise your items and call you with the results. We will send you an email or an SMS if we can’t reach you directly.
- If we decide to make an offer after our appraisal, your offer will be good for 28 days. We may send you a letter asking you to call us about your offer if we haven’t been able to reach you by phone, or if you haven’t replied to our email or SMS after 7 days.
- If you call us, send us an email, or respond to an SMS inside that 28-day window to let us know you want to accept the offer, you will be regarded to have done so.
- Your items will be declared abandoned if you don’t reply to our offer within 28 days, at which point we will decide how to dispose of them. You acknowledge and accept that we shall have no liability to you for any loss of any kind, whether direct or indirect, resulting from your failure to act within the 28-day period and accept or reject the Offer.
- If you contact us after 28 days and your Offer has been deemed abandoned in accordance with section 6.4, we might not have your Goods in hand.
- Prior to the conclusion of a Contract for the purchase of the items as outlined in article 6.3 or the items being deemed abandoned as a result of section 6.4, neither title nor risk in the items pass to Was Gathering Dust. You agree that up until then, you will be held accountable for any loss or harm to your items.
- By virtue of clause 6.3, when you accept an offer, you and Was Gathering Dust enter into a legally enforceable contract for the items specified in the offer. You will get the amount specified in the applicable Offer in exchange for the items and Was Gathering Dust will take full ownership and title of all of your Items.
- You can reject an offer made for your items via phone, Text, or email if you’re not satisfied with it. Your items will be regarded as having been rejected if you do this, as stated in clause 7.
- Was Gathering Dust will pay you for your Items in the manner described in clause 10.
- In accordance with clause 8, you have the right to cancel, but given the nature of our business and the urgency with which we want to start the sale of goods process, it is typically not possible for us to track down your items and return them to you once you have confirmed acceptance of your Offer. Hence, accepting acceptance of your Offer makes it final and ends your ability to cancel.
- Refusal of Items
- Was Gathering Dust has the right to reject any item for any reason, and it is not obligated to explain its decision to you or any other website user.
- Was Gathering Dust will email you to let you know that your items have been rejected if we decide not to appraise them after receiving them or decide not to buy them after an appraisal, for any reason.
- Rejected Goods that you have sent will be returned by post to the address you entered with us when you created your account, and you will be notified by email.
- When a client sends Was Gathering Dust a collection of items, we may decide to accept some and reject others. Was Gathering Dust will make arrangements for the return delivery of the Rejected Items at its own expense, subject to section 3.5. if the Customer who sent the items accepts the Appraisal and enters into Contracts for the sale of the specified Items.
- After a delivery attempt, if your items are later returned to us, they will be stored at our facility for 28 days, at which point they will be deemed abandoned and we will try to dispose of them as we see fit.
- We shall keep the Items for at least 28 days if your Shipment comes to us without any of your information and we don’t hear from you to confirm ownership. The Items will be considered abandoned after 28 days, at which point we shall decide how to dispose of them.
- Your Right to Cancel
- Any Contract you enter into with us may be cancelled by you at any time, without giving a reason, and within 14 days starting on the day after the Contract is created. The “Cancellation Period” refers to this. Please be aware, nonetheless, that the Cancellation Period will terminate right when services are provided to you.
- As a result, the moment you confirm your acceptance of the Offer and money is sent from Was Gathering Dust to you, your right to terminate any Contract you enter into with Was Gathering Dust for the sale of the items will come to an end. Instead, you may contact us in writing if, after sending the Items to Was Gathering Dust, you decide that you do not want us to appraise them. When you give such notice, Was Gathering Dust will reject your items using the procedure described in clause 7.2.
- Despite the terms of 8.1 and 8.2 above, we will make efforts to ensure that your Contract is cancelled if you inform us that you intend to cancel the Contract after we have started delivering the Services but before we have started processing your Goods. However, you should be aware that once you confirm accepting your Offer, conditions 8.1 and 8.2 will take effect, thus we are unable to guarantee this.
- If you decide to make use of your cancellation rights, please get in touch with us at info@wasgatheringdust.com and inform us in writing of your decision within the cancellation period.
- Restrictions
- You may not send us any items that would be against the law for you to post or sell, or in our reasonable judgement, for us to store or buy from you, or that you could not transmit to our designated carrier (including, without limitation, counterfeit or stolen Items, firearms and other offensive weapons, or hazardous chemicals). Our shipping partner’s website, https://www.parcelforce.com/help-and-advice/sending/prohibitions-and-restrictions, contains a list of prohibited Goods.
- You might be breaking the law by violating clause 9.1. Was Gathering Dust must adhere to a number of legal requirements regarding the carriage of items, including, but not limited to, the transporting or accepting for transport, items that are deemed to be “Dangerous Goods” as defined by the Classification, Packaging, and Labelling Regulations of 1983, the Packaging and Labelling of Dangerous Substances Regulations of 1984, the Radioactive Material (Road Transport) (Great Britain) Regulations of 1996, and the Carriage of Explosives by Road Regulations 1996. Without warning, we will report you to the appropriate authorities if we believe you are in violation of article 9.1.
- You agree that in the event that you violate clause 9.1, Was Gathering Dust will be free to handle any items it receives in any way it sees fit without having to pay you (including reporting and handing over the appropriate items to the police without giving you any notice) and to fully report such activity to the appropriate authorities. Was Gathering Dust has a zero tolerance policy for stolen property and will notify the authorities about any Items it suspected of being stolen.
- You acknowledge that you are responsible for Was Gathering Dust’s loss or damage resulting from your violation of section 9.1, including, but not limited to, any expenses incurred as a result of Was Gathering Dust’s breach of any legal responsibilities as a result of obtaining an illegal item from you.
- You acknowledge that any loss, damage or criminal prosecution you may incur as a result of your violation of section 9.1 will not subject Was Gathering Dust or its agents to liability to you.
- You may not send us any items other than those needed for an appraisal. Was Gathering Dust retains the right to charge you for any costs it incurs as a result of your violation of this provision, even though it does not offer storage or any other service in regard to the items.
- Money Transfers to Clients
- Clients who enter into contracts will be paid via bank transfer, cheque, or cash. The Client shall select the mode of payment when accepting the Offer, unless otherwise specified on the Website or in a message from Was Gathering Dust dedicated to you.
- Where a contract is entered into, Was Gathering Dust will pay you as follows:
- By making a bank transfer within 48 hours of accepting your offer to enter into a Contract using the information you provided by phone or message
- By sending you a cheque or cash via postal mail within 48 hours of accepting your Offer, using the address information you provided on the website or to our customer support team.
- After authorization, bank transfers could take up to two days to clear. Moreover, many banks don’t handle transactions on weekends and Bank Holidays. Please get in touch with us if a bank transfer takes longer than this to arrive on your account.
- Cash will be sent Special Delivery and will arrive the following day unless posted on a Friday in which case it will arrive on the Monday. Cheques will be sent by Royal Mail First Class and normally take 2 days to arrive. Was Gathering Dust disclaims all responsibility for any cheque delivery delays. Please let us know if a cheque does not come, and we will send you a replacement after taking all necessary procedures to cancel the missing cheque.
- Was Gathering Dust disclaims all responsibility for any errors in the payment information you give us. As a result, Was Gathering Dust disclaims all responsibility for any damages you could sustain if a payment is delivered to the wrong account or address, is delayed in any way due to a mistake you made.
- We will not be accountable for any losses you may incur if, for any reason, we fail to make a payment within the timeframes mentioned above. All listed payment timeframes are subject to variations, particularly during busy periods, strikes, and the holiday seasons.
- Using our Website
- We make no promises regarding the availability or continuity of our website or any of the content on it. For administrative and business purposes, we reserve the right to temporarily stop, remove, or restrict access to all or any portion of our Website. Any suspension or withdrawal will attempt to provide you with reasonable notice.
- Those who live in the UK are the target audience for our website. We make no claims regarding the suitability or availability of the content on or through our website for use elsewhere.
- You must consider any user identification code, password, or other information that you choose or are given as part of our security procedures as confidential. You can’t give it out to anyone else. If in our reasonable opinion you have violated any of the conditions of this agreement, we have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether selected by you or assigned by us, at any time.
- We make no promises regarding the security or virus- and bug-free operation of our website. You are in charge of setting up your information technology and access platform so that you can use our website. You should apply your personal virus prevention programme.
- You must not intentionally use our website for malicious or technologically harmful purposes by uploading malware such Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, and viruses. It is forbidden for you to try to obtain unauthorised access to our website, the server where it is housed, or any other server, computer, or database that is linked to our website. You may not use a distributed denial-of-service attack or a denial-of-service attachment to access our website. You would be in violation of the Computer Misuse Act of 1990 if you violated this clause. Any such violation will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agencies, and we will work with them by giving them your identification. Your right to use our website will end immediately if you violate this clause.
- Liability
- Whether you send your package to us or Was Gathering Dust sends it back to you, all claims for missing or damaged items MUST be made to us within 28 days of the package being posted.
- If you think your package has been stolen, lost, or damaged, you must present a legitimate postal receipt from an authorised postage partner in accordance with clause 5.1. You are accountable for requesting a receipt from the postage partner and keeping it on file for tracking and insurance needs. You will not be able to file a claim for any loss or damage to your items if you cannot present a valid postage receipt for the Parcel you wish to make a claim for. Any packages sent to us via a postal service not mentioned in article 5.1 will not be our responsibility.
- If an item is claimed to be missing or damaged and it is on the prohibited items list specified in article 4.1 or clause 9.1, Was Gathering Dust is not responsible.
- We shall only be liable for loss or damage you sustain that is a direct and foreseeable result of our breach under the Contract up to the maximum amount specified in clause 12.6 under this Agreement. If the loss or harm is an obvious result of our breach at the time we engaged into the contract with you, then it is foreseeable.
- We are not liable for any of the following, to the degree permitted by law:
- consequential or indirect loss or harm
- unexpected harm or loss
- items lost or damaged as a result of a third party.
- losing profit.
- losing money.
- a reduction in expected savings
- loss of financial usage.
- In any case, our aggregate liability to you for all claims arising under this Agreement shall at all times be capped at the value of your Offer. Our total obligation to you shall be limited to the amount of the Offer for which the Contract was formed.
- There is nothing in this Agreement that would restrict or exclude our obligation for:
- Death or personal injury brought on by our mistakes.
- Fraud, deceptive representation
- Any other matter for which we cannot legally limit or attempt to limit our liability.
- You have legal rights in connection to the provision of the Services as a consumer. None of these legal rights are affected by anything in this Agreement. You can get information about your legal rights from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau or Trade Standards office in your community.
- Was Gathering Dust ADR and the Complaints Process
- You may be eligible to file a claim under our Insurance Policy if your Parcel has vanished or if any of your Items in a Parcel have been harmed. For further information on what you should do in this situation, please refer to our insurance policy’s “Making a Claim” section. If you are unhappy with the service received, please email info@wasgatheringdust.com with the specifics of your complaint and your special customer reference number. We strive to respond to every messages within three business days.
- If you don’t like our solution, you can appeal to our customer service team, who will try to respond with a decision within 5 business days.
- You might want to call Citizens Advice’s consumer helpline for impartial legal advice regarding your complaint.
- You might want to file a complaint with an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service if, after using our internal complaints procedure, you feel the problem has not been adequately resolved. ADR is a process for resolving disputes outside of court where a neutral party evaluates the facts of the case.
- General
- Any notices from you to us should be sent to info@wasgatheringdust.com. We may also give notice to you at the postal address you provide on the website, the address you supply while using the website’s functionality, or the contact email address you provide on the website. If you provide the notice by hand, it will be regarded to have been received on the day it is left at the aforementioned location, the day it is received by us if you send it by mail, or the day it is delivered if you send it by email.
- Without first getting our explicit consent, you are not permitted to transfer this Agreement or any of your rights or duties resulting from it.
- At any time, without prior notice to you, we may transfer this Agreement or any of our rights or obligations arising from it.
- Any failure on our part to fulfil or delay performance of any of our obligations under the terms of this Agreement or the conditions of a Contract that is brought on by a Force Majeure Event will not subject us to liability or responsibility.
- While a Force Majeure Event exists and/or makes performance of our responsibilities difficult, our performance of this Agreement and/or any applicable Contract will be suspended. During this time, we will have an extension of time to complete our obligations under the Agreement or Contract. We or you may end this Agreement or a Contract affected by it by submitting 7 days’ written notice if the Force Majeure Event lasts for more than a month.
- Any party’s failure to exercise a right granted to it by this Agreement does not constitute a waiver and does not excuse that party’s obligations to the other. A waiver of one right under this Agreement does not constitute a waiver of any other right or obligation. Any waiver of a right under this Agreement must be made in writing and sent to the other party in order to be taken into account.
- If any term, condition, or provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid by any competent authority, that term, condition, or provision shall be deleted, and the remaining terms, conditions, and provisions shall remain in effect.
- We reserve the right to periodically revise this Agreement to reflect changes to our business practises, market conditions that may have an impact on our operations, technological advancements, new payment options, amendments to applicable laws and regulations, and improvements to our IT infrastructure. The Agreement in effect at the time you place an order with us will apply to you. As we modify or alter this Agreement, we’ll send you an email at the address you provided while using the website’s feature to advise you of the changes.
- According to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties Act of 1999), a person who is not a party to this Agreement has no rights in connection to this Agreement.
- The parties agree that the Laws of England and Wales shall govern this Agreement and that the Courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claims arising out of it.