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Frequently Asked Questions

Your questions answered

FAQs
  • Selling
  • Buying
  • Account registration
  • Paying & Collections
  • Conditions of Sale
  • Glossary
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How do I sell through Hilditch?

We provide a complete medical equipment remarketing service, helping re-sell your used and surplus equipment, in a stress-free, secure and sustainable way.

Our sales team sell assets globally and are located in the UK and across Europe. They can provide you with all the information you may need regarding the entire selling process, from valuations, collection and sale logistics to project managing larger projects. 

Contact the team today with details of your equipment by emailing sales@hilditchgroup.com or calling us on 01666 822577.

Let us introduce you to our sales team

Find out more about us

Do I need to register for an account?

No you don’t need to register for an account on our website, unless you would like to buy equipment. If you are looking to sell equipment please contact us directly by emailing sales@hilditchgroup.com or calling us on 01666 822577.

Valuing medical equipment

We can value all medical equipment for you, our sales team has expert knowledge which is backed up by our extensive database of equipment prices. Visit our valuations page  or contact us today for more information.

Clearing data from equipment

Our in-house medical engineers screen equipment for patient identifiable data, carry out data wiping, assess for necessary repairs and complete condition reports.

We are fully certified and legislation compliant data protection processes:

  • Cyber Essentials Plus Certified
  • IS027001 compliant
  • HMG Infosec Standard 5, Higher Standard

Visit our data protection page for more information

How we support sustainable healthcare?

We provide the opportunity to introduce your surplus equipment into the circular economy, looking to resell, reuse or recycle all medical equipment, therefore minimising materials sent to landfill and help NHS organisations meet their green commitments.

Find out more about our initiates and how we can help you, visit our Sell Equipment page for our sustainability information.

Money protection for sellers

Client Money Protection for our sellers is mandatory for every company that acts as an agency in property (including chattels auctioning), which handles client money.

Principals, Partners and Directors (PPDs) whose company handles client money must have their client account inspected as part of their compliance; this is achieved through providing an Accountant’s Report on an annual basis.

By using Hilditch Group you can be assured that your money is in safe hands. Click here to view our Client Money Protection Certificate.

How do I buy used medical equipment?

We offer multiple buying opportunities, via our auctions and direct sales, these can be found under our ‘Auctions & Sales’ page.

What types of sales are there?

Live Webcast Sale

These auctions are conducted live, usually from our Malmesbury saleroom, where you can attend the sale in person or bid online in real-time with a live audio/video feed of the auctioneer. You can also leave commission bids prior to the sales.

Timed Online Auctions

All bidding takes place online, you can bid 24/7 while the sale is in progress until the auction closes. You may leave commission bids on these sales.

Direct Sales – Retail & Trade Sales

A direct sale is the opportunity to buy equipment as a standard retail purchase. Selected equipment is available to buy immediately, at a fixed price.

Our Trade Sale equipment is sold as seen.

Our Retail Sales equipment has been carefully selected by our team, cosmetically refreshed, assessed by our medical engineers and is sold ready to use with a warranty.

Tender Sale / Private Treaty Sale

This is a sealed bid system; bids are submitted via the website before a given deadline. You will not be able to see bids from other potential purchasers, so need to submit your highest bid. The successful bidder will be notified and invoiced once the sale closes.

Auctions are held regularly throughout the month, including a monthly 3-day mixed medical equipment webcast auction, two large timed online auctions, plus a number of specialists timed online auctions.

To purchase medical equipment, you must be registered and authorised to buy, before any bids can be accepted. You can do this by registering via the ‘Login’ button at the top of any page.

Registering to bid in an auction

To place a bid, you will need to have an account with us. You can do this by registering via the ‘Register’ button at the top of any page.

We will send you an email to confirm your registration and begin the authorisation process, which we must undertake for you to begin bidding. Depending on how quickly we are able to collate the required information this may take a few days, so please consider this if there is an upcoming auction you wish to bid on.

If your account is not authorised, please contact us to discuss this 01666 822577.

The bidding process

As a registered and approved buyer, first login to your account and select the auction. You will need to accept the sale terms and conditions before you proceed, however once that is done you may submit your bids on your chosen lots. Simply repeat this latter process if you are outbid.

If you can’t attend a sale then you may leave a ‘Max Bid’, this is called a commission bid. As bidding increases the website will continue to bid on your behalf until your max bid has been reached. For Webcast Auctions we recommend you leave a commission bid prior to the sale starting via the website.

Successful bidders at the end of a Timed Online Auction will be sent an email confirmation, an invoice following shortly after the sale.

For Webcast Auctions, if attending in person or bidding online the Auctioneer will let you know if you are the successful bidder immediately by calling out your bidder number. If you leave a commission bid with us and you are successful with the bid you will be sent an invoice up to 24 hours after the auction.

Deposits and Credit limits

When your account is authorised, an automatic bidding limit of £1,000 will be set. If a higher limit is needed, a refundable deposit will be required. Please contact the office sales@hilditchgroup.com for further information.

Bidding limits explained: If you bid £300 on a lot, you will have used £300 of your £1,000 limit, leaving you £700 to purchase other lots.

Regular Buyer Status: After you have successfully purchased, paid and collected items from several sales within our terms and conditions, you may request that the limit be increased.

Is there a cost to participate in the auction?

You will be charged a 22.5% buyers premium on the hammer (bidding) price for all lots purchased.

Plus, UK VAT at 20%, will also be charged in addition to the hammer price and buyer’s premium.

VAT is only applicable on the hammer price when indicated on specific lots by our ‘V’ symbol.

Engineer Reports

Engineer reports are our medical engineers’ comments on the item’s functionality and condition, where appropriate they will be included on the lot page and are not a guarantee.

Please Note: It is not always possible to write engineer reports for all items in a sale. Any comment on an item is the opinion of our engineers, not statements of fact – all items are sold as seen.

Viewing lots in person

You may inspect lots before placing bids. Most lots are kept at our Malmesbury showroom, unless otherwise stated. Please contact us sales@hilditchgroup.com to arrange a visit.

Can I be notified of upcoming auctions?

Yes, just register your interest and we will send you an email when new sales are published relating to your areas of interest.

Buying rules and responsibilities

Buyers responsibilities

The Buyer accepts responsibility for having the equipment checked before use and thereafter maintained appropriately; ensuring its continued safe/effective use, while also following any instructions, advice or warnings issued by the manufacturer or other competent body.

The seller/s of the goods listed on the invoice, and the Auctioneer, accept no responsibility for the use or condition of the item. All items are strictly ‘sold as seen’.

Removing bids

Confirmation of a bid is a legally binding commitment to purchase the item, therefore bids cannot be removed once made.

Reserve prices

These are the minimum prices a lot may be sold at, once a reserve price has been met the lot may be sold.

Is my bid guaranteed?

No, your bid is not guaranteed. You will be notified with all items you were successful with, once the auction has ended.

Buyer’s Premium & VAT

You will be charged a 22.5% buyers premium on the hammer (bidding) price for all lots purchased via auction.

Plus, UK VAT at 20%, will also be charged in addition to the auction hammer price and buyer’s premium. 

VAT is only applicable when indicated on specific lots by our ‘V’ symbol.

VAT refunds for international buyers

International buyers may be eligible to claim a VAT refund, if the relevant equipment has been exported from the UK and all documentation provided to Hilditch Group within 5 days post shipment and within 3 months from the date of our initial goods invoice.

For further information or to submit paperwork, please email: vatdocs@hilditchgroup.com

When to pay for equipment?

Once the auction has closed, we will send you an invoice with all the details you require. All payments must be paid in full, within 5 working days of the invoice date.

How to pay for my equipment? 

We accept the following forms of payment:

  • Bank Transfer – this usually takes 3 days to clear our bank
  • Cash – up to the value of £500 only
  • Debit card – there is no charge for using a debit card (Please note: limited to £1500/€1500 per invoice per telephone transactions) 
  • Business credit card – there is a 2.5% surcharge for commercial cards (Please note: limited to £1500/€1500 per invoice per telephone transactions)

How to receive my purchases?

You will need to either collect your items from the sale location in person, or arrange for a transport company to collect the goods on your behalf. 

Items are to be collected within five working days of the auction date – late collection charges will apply after this date, see our ‘Late collection fee’ FAQ question for more information.

Our offices are open between 8.30am until 5pm, Monday to Friday and all collections must be booked in advance, see our ‘How to book a collection’ FAQ question for more information.

If a courier or transport company is sent to collect the items purchased, it is essential that they are provided with the buyer’s name and number, the sale number and the invoice number/s. If this information is NOT provided when collecting, it may result in a failed collection.

How to book a collection?

Booking a collection is easy, you won’t need to book a specific time slot, just select a morning (8.30am-12pm) or afternoon (12pm-3pm) on the day for the intended collection 48hrs before arrival by:

  1. Emailing collections@hilditchgroup.com to request a collection date, including invoice numbers of the goods to be collected.
  2. We will respond either confirming your request or suggesting an alternative date.
  3. Arrive at our Hilditch premises between 8.30am and 3pm on the agreed date and be promptly attended to by our goods-out team.

Please provide us at least 2 – 5 days’ notice for a container collection and always check on availability prior to booking your container. Failing to do this may result in you needing to cancel your booked container if we cannot accommodate you on the day you have advised it will be arriving.

We ask that you arrive by 3pm at the latest, as picking up equipment will take time and we reserve the right to refuse pick up for arrivals after 3pm.

Packing & Shipping equipment

Lots are sold ‘as seen’ in the auction photographs and are usually unpacked. You may wish to pack the items yourself, or we have a specialist team who can pack them for you, please contact us for more information or a quote. 

Postage of small items can be arranged at an additional charge and while we do not recommend any shipping providers, and cannot be held responsible for shipping, we understand that it is often helpful to have a selection of contacts that our buyers can approach, please contact us directly for a list of options.

Late collection fees

Items which are not collected within 5 working days following the auction date will be subject to a late collection fee.

A minimum of £10 per pallet, per week beyond five working days for pre-agreed extensions, up to a maximum of two months. If an extension has not been agreed, this fee will increase to £20 per pallet, per week to cover our additional warehouse and movement costs during this time, and items will be re-entered into auction after six weeks.

Please also note that any items left on site after six weeks will be considered abandoned and will be re-entered into auction or disposed of and any fees incurred will be charged to the buyer or deducted from proceeds.

Conditions of sale

Click here for our buyers terms and conditions.

Key Auction Terminology

Sold as seen – All items are sold without warranty or guarantee, they are sold as seen, unless otherwise stated.

With next lot – The item is being sold with the next Lot as one item.

Option – There is more than one of the same item available, the winner of the first lot decides how many lots they would like for the winning bid amount and the rest of the option, if any, are put up to be re auctioned.

Pass – The item has not sold; the auctioneer will move onto the next lot.

Commission bid – Bids placed prior to the auction are known as commission bids. These are one off bids of the highest amount you are prepared to offer and this information is passed to the Auctioneer at the time of the Auction. All commission bids are kept confidential and will only be used by the Auctioneer as required to secure a lot.

STC (Sold subject to confirmation) – Items sold under the reserve amount, needing confirmation from the vendor as to whether they would like to accept the offer made at time of sale, or if they would like to put in a counter offer. If offers are accepted by the vendor the lot is added to the buyer’s invoice and all sale terms and conditions apply.

Accreditations
45001 Certified For Health & Safety Management
ISO 9001 Quality Management accreditation
ISO 14001 Certified For Environment Management
ISO 13485 Certified For Medical Devices Quality Management
Cyber Essentials Plus certified
Good Business Charter Accreditation