My visit to the gallery turned out to be a costly ...
My visit to the gallery turned out to be a costly mistake
Their impressive literature referenced average clients had annual increases of 25%, building novice investors a custom-made portfolio works from very wide fields, scouring art markets, auctions, etc
I transferred a six figure sum to them
Four years later, I have made a substantial loss
Worse, a quarter of the collection remains unsold
My last five emails have been ignored
Their conduct pushed me to investigate their claims and the discoveries shocked me
I had mystery shoppers inquire giving briefs that perfectly aligned with my artwork and not one was told about my pieces, an enquiry about the specific piece, they recommended other works as better investments
The gallery made a big issue that the only fees were 20% of the profit What they did not tell me is that they also receive a fee from certain artists if they sell their work Refusing to tell me what that was, my inquiries revealed galleries get fees of 20% to 60%, averaging 40% At no point does the gallery tell customers about the other, much larger, fees
Nor was I told all of the vast majority of the works they recommend are from their own artists
Inevitably, that means it is the gallery and their artists that are the priority and not me as the customer and investor Especially as at almost no point will the sale of a customer’s artwork generate more income than the sale of their artists work
This has huge implications for me as a customer
Firstly, it means the recommendations were not impartial, or the result of scouring the art world, were not tailored to my requirements, but rather based on what was profitable for the gallery and the artists
Secondly, there was almost no possibility of buying at a keen price, as their commission is based on the value of the works, the higher the price, the larger their commissions
Thirdly, as a customer, when coming to sell the works, their new works will always mean customers works are not sold
They are not transparent, do not tell you about the various dynamics behind purchases and sales which means I patiently waited for the works to sell
Above all else, it is the reason for the sale that makes the experience and the findings truly heart-wrenching for me and my family My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020, and as my only asset, the sale of the artwork became essential and urgent, to provide the funds needed to be able to travel overseas and spend time with her In her 70s, time becomes very precious I communicated this explicitly
I had assumed that any business giving financial advice had to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Agency that regulates financial services and gives ciosnumers like me protection But when we made enquiries, it turns out galleries escape being regulated
I feel foolish that I have allowed the gallery to fob me off for two years, that I did not realise there was much more behind the lack of a sale than met the eye, and that I placed my trust in a business, assuming that business would keep its promises and put something as significant as seeing your own mother before she passes than a few thousand pounds of additional revenue
I will never be able to get back the months I have missed because of their conduct And every day the current situation continues brings us a day closer to when it will be too late And that is an unforgivable situation
When we have put reviews up on other platforms the gallery has managed to have them removed, rather than address the cause of the reviews
