The National Consumer Tribunal has fined an auctioneer R250 000 and ruled he must refund a Limpopo couple after selling them a game farm. The brochure for the sale showed all the amenities, including a dam, as well as some of the animals, including a crocodile.

However, the photographs were taken at the neighbouring Lephalale farm.

The Citizen reports that Juan and Freda Scholtz placed the winning bid for the game farm, Ba Batle, at an auction run by Root X Africa Auctioneers CC on the farm in June 2022.

According to the auction advert, prospective buyers could view the farm for an hour before the auction began.

The Scholz-couple arrived two hours before the auction would start to ensure they could still view the 370 hectare farm before bidding on it.

However, they had limited opportunity as the gate was closed when they arrived.

When the auctioneer, Dirk Pienaar, eventually provided access, he told them that there was a hunting party on the farm and therefore they could only view some of the farm buildings.

Juan Scholz placed the winning bid at the auction for R6.6m and Freda Scholz paid the deposit of R660 000, as well as the auctioneer’s commission of R569 250.

However, the next day, they discovered that the farm they bought had no dams.

They demanded that Pienaar refund them the R1.2m they paid and cancel the sale but fought in vain to retrieve their money from the auctioneer. When Root X Africa refused, the couple approached attorney Trudie Broekmann who referred the matter to the Consumer Tribunal.

The Citizen notes that the tribunal dismissed Root X Africa Auctioneers’ defence and arguments in its judgment.

‘Root X Africa Auctioneers included a photograph depicting a dam in the bidders’ pack, which created the impression that the dam formed part of the game farm: ‘The buyers were misled by this mistaken belief into buying the game farm. The auctioneer was aware of the dam’s ownership but failed to disclose it. The failure to do so rendered the representation false, deceptive and misleading,’ the tribunal said in a scathing judgment.

Broekmann points out that the key rulings in the judgment are that the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) regulates auctions and that auctions are regulated especially strictly because as an exception to the general rule in the CPA, goods can be sold voetstoots on auction.

Full report in The Citizen