What were the dangers of being an auctioned pauper?

If a pauper was auctioned, they would basically become a slave but technically not a slave legally. This meant that their bidder could give them inadequate food, shelter, and medical care if they chose to. There was no punishment for this abuse since the pauper would technically be owned by the bidder for the contract they had made. They could be overworked and pushed to the limit depending on what the bidder would want.