LANGTONS auctions are designed to be fair, transparent and competitive. To protect the integrity of the auction process — and to ensure all bidders have an equal opportunity — we monitor for suspicious or irregular activity and take action where required.
What is not permitted
When using LANGTONS' websites, auctions and services, you must not:
- use bots, scrapers, scripts, automated bidding agents or any other automated means to bid, watch lots or interact with our sites (other than LANGTONS' own AutoBid technology)
- engage in shill bidding, phantom bidding, or any bidding intended to artificially inflate the price of a Lot
- collude or coordinate bidding activity with other Members or accounts to influence the outcome of a Lot
- create or operate more than one Member account without LANGTONS' written consent
- use another person's account, or allow another person to use yours
- systematically harvest Lot information, valuations, price estimates or sales data — including for the purpose of training artificial intelligence models or operating a competing service
- place bids you do not genuinely intend to honour
- interfere with, disrupt or attempt to bypass any security feature on our websites
Why we monitor activity
Automated bidding, bid manipulation and coordinated activity can distort prices, disadvantage genuine bidders and undermine confidence in the auction process. LANGTONS uses fraud detection and monitoring systems to identify activity that is inconsistent with ordinary human behaviour, including:
- unusually rapid, high-volume or precisely-timed bids
- multiple accounts sharing common payment details, devices, IP addresses or delivery addresses
- repeated last-second bidding across unrelated Lots
- a pattern of winning bids that go unpaid
What may happen if activity is flagged
Where LANGTONS reasonably suspects or determines that a Member has engaged in conduct of this kind, we may, acting reasonably:
- refuse, void or reverse bids (including after an auction has closed)
- disqualify the Member from current or future auctions
- cancel any related sales and refund the counterparty
- suspend or close the Member's account
- withhold sale proceeds otherwise payable, pending investigation
- block the relevant IP address, device or payment instrument from accessing our websites
- report the conduct to law enforcement or regulatory authorities where appropriate
LANGTONS' AutoBid is permitted
To be clear, LANGTONS' own AutoBid feature is fully permitted and encouraged. AutoBid is designed to let you bid competitively up to a maximum amount you set, without the need for any third-party software. See AutoBid: bidding with intention.
If your account has been actioned
If your account has been suspended or restricted and you believe this is in error, you may request a review by contacting our Customer Experience team on 1300 946 347. We will consider your request in good faith and respond within a reasonable time.
Reporting concerns
If you believe another Member may be engaging in any of the conduct described above, please let us know via the Customer Experience contact form. Your report will be treated confidentially.
Suggested articles
- If you're unable to place a bid
- AutoBid: bidding with intention
- Protecting your account with multi-factor authentication
Here to help, whenever you need us.
Share your enquiry through our Customer Experience contact form and one of our specialists will be in touch shortly. You are also welcome to speak with your Private Client Manager, or call us on 1300 946 347.