The Virginia Auctioneers Board has suspended the license to

The Virginia Auctioneers Board has suspended the license to auction of John Walker Jenkins of Sperryville, according to the Virginia Department of Commerce.

A bulletin issued by the department states that the twoyear suspension, along with a fine of $1,000 and costs of $860.69, were imposed as a result of an administrative hearing held earlier this year. Mr. Jenkins, who trades as Jenkins Auction House, was found to be guilty of Section 54-1.20 of the Code of Virginia and regulation 3.9.1 of the Auctioneers Board relating to failure to pay a seller for goods sold at auction.

According to a report submitted to the Auctioneers Board by F. Mather Archer, who presided at the administrative hearing, the complaint against Mr. Jenkins was brought in September 1985 by Nancy S. Crossman of Amissville. She alleged that he had agreed to sell a number of household items for her in February 1985.

Mr. Jenkins, according to Mr. Archer’s report, entered into an “oral contract” with Ms. Crossman to sell her goods within “two to three weeks,” with Mr. Jenkins receiving a 20 percent commission and the balance to be paid to Ms. Crossman.

According to the findings made at the hearing, Mr. Jenkins took possession of the auction items in February, but did not contact Ms. Crossman as he agreed. In fact, Mr. Archer’s report said, “Sale of Crossman’s goods was not completed until about November 1985, but Jenkins threw into the trash several of her ‘small’ items which he was unable to sell.”

Although Mr. Jenkins promised, at a meeting in August 1985, “to ‘clean it- up’ in a week and give her her share of the proceeds,” Ms. Crossman did not in fact hear from Mr. Jenkins again until November 1986. At that time he contacted her in reply to her mother’s written request for an explanation about what had happened to the articles and/or money for them, Mr. Archer’s report said.