Business & Tech

BBB Warning After Manchester Residents Complain About Auction Company

The Better Business Bureau in St. Louis has received 18 complaints, including at least two from Manchester residents, about delayed payments from a Clayton company.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is advising people to "exercise caution" when working with Clayton's  because of numerous complaints, including from Manchester residents, it has received about delayed payments by the auction house.

Fifteen complaints about the auction company have been filed with the BBB, said Chris Thetford, vice president of communications for the BBB in St. Louis. The group provided additional details Monday in a news release. The BBB, which works to set standards for best business practices, has given Ivey-Selkirk an F grade.

The company has been in existence since 1850.

Manchester resident Matthew Hertell started working with Ivey-Selkirk when he and his family wanted to have approximately 140 items such as antique furniture, an old Dutch painting and silverware appraised and auctioned off. His father, who died about 10 years ago, collected antiques. The family was in the process of clearing out Hertell's mother's house, and his brother contacted the auction company about the items.

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At the start, "the experience was actually very good," Hertell said. The appraisers reviewed the items, catalogued it and developed an inventory describing their expected value at auction. All of the items sold by October 2010. 

Ivey-Selkirk told the family they would receive a check for $22,000 within 45 business days. That period passed, Hertell said, but the family decided to give the company the benefit of the doubt because the timing coincided with the holiday season. 

On Jan. 3, the family called Ivey-Selkirk. 

"They started jerking us around and telling us, 'We've sent a check,'" Hertell said. He said his wife called again later only to be told that the company was behind in making payments.

At another time, Hertell said, Ivey-Selkirk owner Malcolm Ivey said he would have the missing check tracked. 

By late February, the family contacted the BBB and the Missouri Attorney General's Office. The BBB contacted Hertell a short time later to say that it had contacted Ivey-Selkirk. 

Still, Hertell said, there was no response from the company. On March 1, he said, he called Ivey-Selkirk again and proposed a solution: Cancel the check, let me come to your office in person and you can write me a new one. 

Ivey-Selkirk agreed, Hertell said. He and his wife went to the auction house, got the check and went straight to the bank to deposit it. 

Hertell said he couldn't recommend the company to someone looking for an auction house. While he wouldn't have been happy about the delay, he wouldn't have had a problem if he had been able to anticipate it up front.

Florissant resident James Steele read and signed a consignment agreement with Ivey-Selkirk stating that he would be paid between 35 and 45 business days after the close of an auction in which he planned to participate.

"But it wasn't 35 to 45 business days, it was more like 75 business days," Steele said. He had nine decorative Chinese pendants auctioned off for $1,705, and he got $1,200 back. The remaining monies went to the auction company according to the terms of the contract he signed. While the delay in payment didn't cause him financial difficulty, he said, parties in a contract should live up to their agreement. 

Steele said he made several attempts to contact the company about the delay. 

The company's response? 

"'We're working on it,'" said Steele, who had not previously worked with an auction house.

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The BBB lists other affected customers in and around the St. Louis area, including a Manchester couple who worked with Ivey-Selkirk to sell $23,000 in items from a family estate. Auctions happened in June and September 2010, the release states, and while the company stated in a letter to the family that they would be paid in 45 business days, they did not receive payment until this March. 

Another customer told the BBB that her family waited six months past the promised delivery time to get $80,000 from an estate auction, the release states.

In response to a letter of inquiry from the BBB, Ivey-Selkirk owner Malcolm Ivey stated in a letter that the delays were a product of the economic climate.

"The delay was obviously more than they or we would have liked but unfortunately the circumstances dictated the delays," the BBB quoted Ivey as saying. 

Contacted at his office on Monday, Ivey said he would be willing to speak about the BBB statement later in the day. A follow-up voicemail seeking comment was not immediately returned. 

Thetford, with the BBB, said the earliest of the 15 complaints against Ivey-Selkirk for the current three-year reporting cycle was made Aug. 27, 2008. Three additional incidents reported to the BBB don't count against Ivey-Selkirk's grade and aren't reported on the group's website because they didn't meet the group's complaint acceptance criteria. 

Of the 15 complaints, nine have been resolved and closed; two were resolved after a delay; and four did not receive a response from Ivey-Selkirk. The group's website states that 10 of the complaints were tied to problems with a product or service; three with advertising or sales; and two with billing or collection issues.

Companies typically respond to complaints, he said. 

"The goal is to try to help the business and the consumer by resolving the issue," Thetford said.

He said consumers considering Ivey-Selkirk should be aware that some customers have reported concerns about delayed payments.

"If that's not an issue for you, then there's no red flag," he said.

The BBB has several recommendation for those interested in using an auction company:

  • Use an auction company with expertise in the type of item you are selling.
  • Ask to get an appraisal.
  • Read contracts carefully to determine how long you can expect to wait before being paid.
  • Realize that an appraisal is an estimate.
  • Get a BBB Business review. These are available by going to bbb.org or by calling 314-645-3300.


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