Collection, Storage & Shipping Policy – Cullens of Surrey Auctions
Updated September 2026
Collection, Storage and Shipping Policy – Cullens of Surrey Auctions
Last updated September 2026
1. General information
Cullens of Surrey Auctions offers collection, packing, UK delivery and limited international delivery services, subject to the nature, size, weight, value and destination of the purchased lots.
Shipping is not available for every lot. Certain fragile, oversized, unusually shaped, restricted or high-risk items may be designated as collection only or may require delivery by a specialist carrier.
All shipping is subject to the terms, size limits, weight limits, prohibited-item rules and compensation exclusions of the applicable carrier or insurer.
Nothing in this policy excludes or limits any rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded under UK consumer law.
2. UK shipping prices
The following prices normally apply where the total invoice or order value is less than £100:
Large Letter: £5.95 including VAT
Small Parcel up to 2kg: £7.95 including VAT
Medium Parcel up to 10kg: £15.95 including VAT
Medium or Large Parcel up to 20kg: £17.95 including VAT
Extra Large Parcel up to 30kg: £30.95 including VAT
These prices apply per parcel and are subject to the packaged item meeting the relevant carrier’s size, weight and service restrictions.
If an order requires more than one parcel, the appropriate charge will apply to each parcel.
All parcels will be sent using a tracked service requiring a signature or equivalent recorded delivery confirmation. We do not offer untracked delivery.
Where it is safe and practical, we will combine multiple lots to provide the best available shipping value. Lots will not be combined where doing so could increase the likelihood of loss or damage or exceed a carrier’s limits.
3. Orders valued over £100
Invoices or orders valued over £100 will be sent using an appropriately covered service. Depending on the item, value, weight and destination, this may include:
Royal Mail Special Delivery;
Parcelforce with enhanced compensation cover; or
Royal Mail, Parcelforce or another approved carrier with additional third-party cover provided by Secursus or another suitable insurer.
Royal Mail Special Delivery and Parcelforce enhanced-compensation shipments will be charged at the carrier’s current rate, together with a standard packing and handling fee of £6 including VAT per parcel.
If an item requires specialist or additional packing because of its size, construction, condition or fragility, the additional packing charge described in section 4 will also apply. This charge is separate from the standard £6 packing and handling fee.
The selected service, level of cover and total price will be confirmed in the shipping quotation before the parcel is dispatched.
Where Secursus cover is used, charges generally start from £1.50. For guidance, cover above £500 is generally charged at an additional £1 for each further £100 of cover required, up to a standard maximum insured value of £90,000 per parcel.
These figures are indicative and may change. The actual charge, available cover and applicable conditions will be confirmed in the shipping quotation. Cover exceeding £90,000 may be available only by prior agreement with the insurer.
Secursus cover requires an eligible tracked service with a mandatory signature upon direct delivery. Certain carriers, delivery methods, destinations and categories of goods may be excluded.
Where third-party cover is proposed, the insurer’s applicable terms, conditions, exclusions, packaging requirements and evidence requirements will be supplied with or before acceptance of the shipping quotation.
Carrier or insurer conditions govern the availability and administration of their compensation cover. They do not remove or reduce any statutory rights the buyer may have against Cullens of Surrey Auctions.
We reserve the right to decline postage or require specialist transportation where suitable transit cover is unavailable for a particular item, value or destination.
4. Fragile items and additional packing
Items considered fragile or requiring specialist or additional packing may incur an additional charge of between £6 and £12 including VAT per parcel.
This charge is additional to the standard £6 including VAT packing and handling fee applicable to Royal Mail Special Delivery and Parcelforce enhanced-compensation shipments.
Items requiring additional packing may include ceramics, glass, framed items, delicate models, ornaments, electronic equipment and any other item requiring additional materials, protection, handling or preparation.
The need for additional packing will be determined by our packing team, taking account of the nature, condition, construction, size and value of the item. Buyers may also request additional packing.
Any additional packing charge will be included in the shipping quotation before the service is charged or the parcel is dispatched.
Additional packing reduces the risk of damage but cannot guarantee that an item will withstand transit or that a carrier or insurer will accept a claim. We may refuse to ship any item that we do not reasonably consider suitable for our in-house shipping service.
5. Packing-only service
Where we are unable to provide shipping, or where the buyer prefers to appoint their own courier, we may offer a packing-only service.
Packing-only charges range from £6 to £12 including VAT per parcel, depending on the contents, size, fragility and packing materials required. Exceptionally large, complex or unusually fragile items may require an individual quotation.
The packing-only charge covers packing materials and the reasonable preparation of the item for collection. It does not include postage, courier charges, insurance or transit cover.
Once packed, we can provide the buyer with the parcel dimensions and weight so that they can arrange and pay for collection by their chosen carrier.
The buyer is responsible for checking that their chosen carrier accepts the type, size, weight and value of the item and provides an appropriate level of transit cover.
Where the buyer independently appoints a carrier that was not offered or arranged by Cullens of Surrey Auctions, responsibility for the goods may pass to the buyer when the parcel is handed to that carrier, to the extent permitted by law.
Cullens of Surrey Auctions remains responsible for carrying out the agreed packing service with reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of a carrier independently appointed by the buyer, except where liability cannot lawfully be excluded.
The buyer or their courier must inspect the external condition of the parcel at collection and report any visible concern before removing it from our premises.
Use of the packing-only service does not extend the collection deadline or suspend any applicable storage charges unless an extension has been agreed in writing.
6. Delivery addresses
Buyers must provide a complete and accurate delivery address that can be validated and accepted by the carrier.
We may contact the buyer for clarification or request an alternative address if the supplied address cannot be validated.
An address cannot normally be changed after dispatch. We may require additional identity or security checks before sending valuable goods to an address different from the buyer’s registered or payment address.
The buyer will be responsible for reasonable additional delivery costs resulting from an incorrect or incomplete address supplied by the buyer, an unsuccessful delivery caused by the buyer, or a parcel being returned to us in those circumstances.
7. Lost parcels
If tracking does not confirm delivery within the expected timeframe, the buyer should contact us as soon as reasonably possible.
Cullens of Surrey Auctions will raise the necessary enquiry or claim with the carrier or insurer where we arranged the delivery. The buyer must provide any information reasonably required to investigate the loss.
Where UK consumer law applies and we arranged the carrier, responsibility for the goods generally remains with the seller until the goods are delivered into the physical possession of the buyer or a person identified by the buyer to receive them.
If a parcel is confirmed as lost, we will provide the remedy required by applicable law. This may include a refund or, where possible and agreed, a replacement.
Carrier or insurer compensation limits do not restrict a consumer’s statutory rights against the seller.
If the buyer independently appoints a carrier that was not offered or arranged by Cullens of Surrey Auctions, responsibility for the goods may pass to the buyer when the goods are handed to that carrier, to the extent permitted by law.
8. Items damaged in transit
Buyers should inspect parcels promptly after delivery.
If an item appears to have been damaged in transit, the buyer should contact us as soon as reasonably possible and preferably within seven days of delivery. Reporting within seven days helps us meet carrier and insurer claim deadlines, but it does not remove or shorten any statutory rights the buyer may have.
The buyer should, where reasonably possible:
photograph the parcel before opening it if there are signs of damage;
photograph the external packaging, shipping label and internal packing materials;
photograph the damage to the item clearly;
retain the item and all packaging until the claim has been resolved; and
avoid repairing, altering or disposing of the item without our agreement.
We may ask for further photographs, information or the return of the item where reasonably necessary to assess the damage or support a carrier or insurer claim.
The buyer should not normally submit a separate compensation claim directly to the carrier where Cullens of Surrey Auctions purchased the shipping service.
Where UK consumer law applies, the outcome of a carrier or insurance claim does not replace or restrict the buyer’s statutory remedies against the seller.
This transit-damage procedure concerns damage occurring during delivery. It does not extend any rights relating to an item’s age, wear, condition, restoration, faults or imperfections that were disclosed in the catalogue description, condition report or images before the sale.
9. International shipping
International shipping may be available for lots that can lawfully be exported and are accepted by our carriers and insurers.
Prices are available on application and will depend on the destination, size, weight, value and nature of the goods.
International buyers are responsible for any applicable import VAT, customs duties, clearance fees, local taxes and other charges imposed by the destination country, unless expressly stated otherwise.
International shipping is subject to customs rules, sanctions, export restrictions, carrier restrictions and insurance exclusions. We may refuse international shipping where an item cannot be lawfully exported or adequately covered in transit.
The buyer must provide any information reasonably required for customs or export documentation. Delays caused by customs authorities are outside our direct control.
10. Large items, furniture and local delivery
Furniture, oversized lots and items exceeding carrier size or weight limits will normally be collection only unless alternative arrangements are agreed.
We may be able to provide an in-house delivery service within 10 miles of our premises. Availability and cost are provided on application.
For destinations more than 10 miles away, buyers may arrange an independent courier. Shiply can be used to obtain competitive courier quotations:
[www.shiply.com](http://www.shiply.com)
Any courier appointed directly by the buyer acts on the buyer’s instructions and is independent of Cullens of Surrey Auctions. The buyer is responsible for checking that the courier has suitable equipment, experience and insurance for the purchased items.
We will provide reasonable access for an agreed collection, but we cannot supervise or accept responsibility for the independent courier’s packing, loading or transportation.
11. Collection
Purchases may be collected from:
Builders Yard, behind Collingwood House
367 Croydon Road
Wallington
Surrey
SM6 7NY
Access is through the alley next to Steptoes Newsagents, with the entrance at the second gate on the right.
Collection hours are:
Monday: 10:00 to 16:00
Tuesday to Friday: 09:00 to 17:00
Please telephone in advance when collecting multiple lots so that the items can be prepared.
The person collecting may be required to provide the buyer’s name, invoice number and suitable identification or collection authority.
12. Collection deadline and storage charges
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all purchases must be paid for and collected, or have shipping arrangements completed, within seven working days of the auction closing.
The following storage charges may apply after seven working days:
Small lots: £2 including VAT per lot, per day
Furniture and large lots: £5 including VAT per lot, per day
These charges cover storage, handling and administration.
Contact us as soon as possible if collection cannot be completed within the required period. Any extension is at our discretion and must be agreed in writing.
Arranging a courier or requesting a shipping quotation does not automatically suspend the collection deadline or storage charges.
13. Unpaid and uncollected lots
Where a lot remains unpaid, we may exercise the remedies set out in our Conditions of Sale, which may include cancelling the sale, recovering reasonable losses, blocking the bidder from future auctions or re-entering the lot into a future auction.
Where a paid lot remains uncollected, storage, handling, redelivery, return or disposal charges may apply in accordance with our Conditions of Sale and applicable law.
Paid goods will not be treated as abandoned, resold or disposed of without following the notice procedure required by the applicable contract and law.
14. Cancellation and statutory rights
The statutory 14-day cancellation right applicable to some distance contracts does not normally apply to a contract concluded at a public auction where consumers are able to attend the auction in person.
An online-only auction at which consumers have no opportunity to attend in person may be treated differently under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
Whether additional consumer rights apply can also depend on whether the seller is acting as a trader or as a private individual.
Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts or replaces any statutory rights that apply to a particular transaction.
15. Contact details
For shipping quotations, collection arrangements or delivery claims, please contact:
Cullens of Surrey Auctions
Email: [admin@cullensofsurrey.co.uk](mailto:admin@cullensofsurrey.co.uk)
Telephone: 020 8669 5890
