“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.”
“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.”
“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,”
“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.”
“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.”
“One of the best auction houses I've had dealings with as a buyer.
Customer satisfaction seems to be a priority. In house packing and postage a bonus.I look forward to have future dealings with them.”
“We recently sold a large personal collection of items through the Stroud auction rooms and received a 1st class standard of service from start to finish. All members of staff were very professional, courteous and helpful. Myself and other members of my family attended the two days over which the sale took place, and were most impressed with the professional manner in which the sale was conducted. We would certainly use Stroud auctions in the future, should the need arise. In addition, I would highly recommend their services; once again a big Thank You !!”
“I visited Stroud Auctions this week and found the staff to be very professional, helpful and friendly. There was a good selection of items to buy and was well worth the journey from Oxford. I will definitely visit again.”
