Bought vehicle, got wrong V5C section
Discussion
I bought a used van from a Gumtree ad on Tuesday and I could kick myself for not reading up on the paperwork beforehand - I didn't know much about the V5C stuff as I'm an exchange student from Germany and this the first car I've ever bought.
I didn't notice until I was home that I had received the wrong part of the V5C. I had filled out the V5C/2 (green / section 10 / new keeper's details) but the seller kept it and the slip I received is the V5C/3 (yellow / section 9 / selling or transferring your vehicle to a motor trader, insurer or dismantler) with the seller's details filled into the "name and address of motor trader" section. Neither did I think of asking for a receipt (I paid cash) so at the moment I'm left without the V5C slip or a proof of ownership.
I called up the seller yesterday and he said he'd send the V5C/2 together with the second key (that was apparently with his father at the moment of sale, he told me he'd send it to me) in a Royal Mail Recorded Delivery parcel this morning, asking me to transfer £10 into his account for packaging & shipping - he had originally offered to post it free of charge, but apparently the post office declined to accept a car key in a normal letter. He promised to send the tracking number of the parcel as soon as it's sent out, around 8AM, I haven't heard back from him since and he didn't respond to my texts or attempts to call him.
The van is parked on a self-storage facility at the moment since I only bought it in order to get me and my belongings back to Germany at the end of June and I can't afford to insure a van for 2 months plus I won't need it in the meantime, so I got a 24h policy the day I bought it and my mother is currently sorting things out for an export insurance (apparently there's an insurance company in Germany specialising in this type of insurance for vehicles from the UK) which would be valid for most of June but for the paperwork she'll need a copy of the full V5C.
Long story short: bought a van, got the wrong part of the V5C, for all I know the seller hasn't informed the DVLA of the sale yet, I can neither tax nor SORN it at the moment, I'll need a V5C by June which is when I'm leaving the country and I'm starting to get seriously worried about the legal nightmare this might get me into.
I guess the first thing I'll do is to wait a few days for him to finally send out the documents and try to contact him again, but how would I proceed from here if nothing has changed until then? I thought about maybe filling out the "I sold the vehicle" DVLA online form myself but I really wouldn't want to do that since I guess that would be fraud. Do I contact the police about this? Or the DVLA? Would the following be enough to proof that I've actually bought the van?
I didn't notice until I was home that I had received the wrong part of the V5C. I had filled out the V5C/2 (green / section 10 / new keeper's details) but the seller kept it and the slip I received is the V5C/3 (yellow / section 9 / selling or transferring your vehicle to a motor trader, insurer or dismantler) with the seller's details filled into the "name and address of motor trader" section. Neither did I think of asking for a receipt (I paid cash) so at the moment I'm left without the V5C slip or a proof of ownership.
I called up the seller yesterday and he said he'd send the V5C/2 together with the second key (that was apparently with his father at the moment of sale, he told me he'd send it to me) in a Royal Mail Recorded Delivery parcel this morning, asking me to transfer £10 into his account for packaging & shipping - he had originally offered to post it free of charge, but apparently the post office declined to accept a car key in a normal letter. He promised to send the tracking number of the parcel as soon as it's sent out, around 8AM, I haven't heard back from him since and he didn't respond to my texts or attempts to call him.
The van is parked on a self-storage facility at the moment since I only bought it in order to get me and my belongings back to Germany at the end of June and I can't afford to insure a van for 2 months plus I won't need it in the meantime, so I got a 24h policy the day I bought it and my mother is currently sorting things out for an export insurance (apparently there's an insurance company in Germany specialising in this type of insurance for vehicles from the UK) which would be valid for most of June but for the paperwork she'll need a copy of the full V5C.
Long story short: bought a van, got the wrong part of the V5C, for all I know the seller hasn't informed the DVLA of the sale yet, I can neither tax nor SORN it at the moment, I'll need a V5C by June which is when I'm leaving the country and I'm starting to get seriously worried about the legal nightmare this might get me into.
I guess the first thing I'll do is to wait a few days for him to finally send out the documents and try to contact him again, but how would I proceed from here if nothing has changed until then? I thought about maybe filling out the "I sold the vehicle" DVLA online form myself but I really wouldn't want to do that since I guess that would be fraud. Do I contact the police about this? Or the DVLA? Would the following be enough to proof that I've actually bought the van?
- got a printout of the Gumtree ad
- took money out of my account on Tuesday
- got the key
- got an insurance certificate from RAC Dayinsure
- got a part of the original V5C, albeit the wrong one plus the last five MOT certificates
- got the name, address (not sure if it's the right one), phone number and bank details of the owner
Download a V62 form and send it off with the fee. You will receive a V5C in about 4-6 weeks (it takes this long as DVLA will check with the old keeper to make sure your application is genuine).
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...
Note that to tax the vehicle, you need the V5C/2 or V5C in your name. As you have just bought the vehicle, and don't have the V5C/2, you probably will not be able to tax the vehicle; without tax, you cannot use the vehicle legally. From what you've written, it sounds like this shouldn't be a major problem - but for most people, this would have been very inconvenient.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...
Note that to tax the vehicle, you need the V5C/2 or V5C in your name. As you have just bought the vehicle, and don't have the V5C/2, you probably will not be able to tax the vehicle; without tax, you cannot use the vehicle legally. From what you've written, it sounds like this shouldn't be a major problem - but for most people, this would have been very inconvenient.
sorachan said:
I had a look into this form as well, but it says it should only be used if more than four weeks have passed after buying the vehicle... or can I safely ignore that?
That's to give them time to send your new V5C back.The new V5C is generated by the seller sending the main bit back to DVLA, which he might still be doing. The V5C/2 is really only for you to tax it in the interim - which you can't do anyway, since it's not insured.
The new V5C will usually come through in a week or two at the moment, if it's going to. You've got time for the end of June.
WatchfulEye said:
Download a V62 form and send it off with the fee. You will receive a V5C in about 4-6 weeks (it takes this long as DVLA will check with the old keeper to make sure your application is genuine).
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...
Cheers, I guess that's what I'll do then if nothing has changed until Monday... if it takes 4-6 weeks this is going to be a close call https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...
WatchfulEye said:
Note that to tax the vehicle, you need the V5C/2 or V5C in your name. As you have just bought the vehicle, and don't have the V5C/2, you probably will not be able to tax the vehicle; without tax, you cannot use the vehicle legally.
I don't need it until the end of June anyway and it's off-road, but I'll have to SORN it ASAP if I understand right?Some Gump said:
Am I the only one thinking scam?
He has V5c. He has a key. He presumably also has your address (on the slip you left him). If he's a bad un, what's to stop him collecting "his" van on some night in future?
Also considered that but at least he doesn't know the current location of the vehicle which is a couple of miles from where I live.He has V5c. He has a key. He presumably also has your address (on the slip you left him). If he's a bad un, what's to stop him collecting "his" van on some night in future?
Some Gump said:
Am I the only one thinking scam?
He has V5c. He has a key. He presumably also has your address (on the slip you left him). If he's a bad un, what's to stop him collecting "his" van on some night in future?
You could say that about any seller - they always have the buyer's address, from the main V5C...He has V5c. He has a key. He presumably also has your address (on the slip you left him). If he's a bad un, what's to stop him collecting "his" van on some night in future?
Hallo. Sie schreibst sehr gut Englisch. Ich lerne Deutsch, aber ich habe gerade erst begonnen. Wilkommen!
And that's about the extent of my German haha. I hope you get this resolved soon OP. Hopefully the seller is genuine and has just been busy. I'm afraid it does ring alarm bells however...
And that's about the extent of my German haha. I hope you get this resolved soon OP. Hopefully the seller is genuine and has just been busy. I'm afraid it does ring alarm bells however...
rainmakerraw said:
Hallo. Sie schreibst sehr gut Englisch. Ich lerne Deutsch, aber ich habe gerade erst begonnen. Wilkommen!
And that's about the extent of my German haha.
Danke für die netten Worte! And that's about the extent of my German haha.
Best of luck with learning German! I'm sure your German will improve soon... as holds true for any foreign language, fluency comes with time and with actively speaking the language. 
rainmakerraw said:
I hope you get this resolved soon OP. Hopefully the seller is genuine and has just been busy. I'm afraid it does ring alarm bells however...
I hope so as well... another thing that rings my alarm bells even more is that, taking a closer look at them, the MOT certificates including the last one were all issued in the city that coincides with the regional identifier of the licence plate, which is about 80 miles from where the seller lives... this doesn't seem very consistent with the statement that he had owned the car since 2008... it's not impossible though, he might have previously lived or worked there but it still seems suspicious to me.sorachan said:
I hope so as well... another thing that rings my alarm bells even more is that, taking a closer look at them, the MOT certificates including the last one were all issued in the city that coincides with the regional identifier of the licence plate, which is about 80 miles from where the seller lives... this doesn't seem very consistent with the statement that he had owned the car since 2008... it's not impossible though, he might have previously lived or worked there but it still seems suspicious to me.
I've got a f
king bad feeling right now... I did some digging around on Google and I found the same van with the same pictures put up on Gumtree for sale by the previous owner on 26/4... so the seller definitely lied to me about having owned the van for years. Since the DVLA vehicle enquiry service still says it's taxed until February and tax isn't transferrable, this must mean that the V5C was never in his name to begin with? Furthermore, when I enter the Doc. Ref. from the V5C slip into the "view tax rates" function, the system tells me "The reference number you provided did not match the vehicle record."Could anyone knowledgeable in car documents and sales please explain to me what might have happened here, what might happen from now and whether or not to ring up the previous seller tomorrow to find out a bit more about what's going on?
Ignore the advice given above about applying for a new V5 using the V62 form, it'll take too long and cost £25.
The document reference number on the yellow bit of the V5 (V5C/3) is the same as the document reference no on the main green bit (V5C/1) you filled in and left with him.
If he hasn't done anything with that or posted it, you can do the equivalent on line, beating the postal system.
If you go on to the DVLA Sold Vehicle website, you can effectively do his work, saying he sold the vehicle to you.
Using the reference number, this will give you a new V5 within 5 days, and you can get email confirmation that it has gone through.
That is providing the V5 was the latest issued one and he hasn't done anything with it yet.
The document reference number on the yellow bit of the V5 (V5C/3) is the same as the document reference no on the main green bit (V5C/1) you filled in and left with him.
If he hasn't done anything with that or posted it, you can do the equivalent on line, beating the postal system.
If you go on to the DVLA Sold Vehicle website, you can effectively do his work, saying he sold the vehicle to you.
Using the reference number, this will give you a new V5 within 5 days, and you can get email confirmation that it has gone through.
That is providing the V5 was the latest issued one and he hasn't done anything with it yet.
sim16v said:
That is providing the V5 was the latest issued one and he hasn't done anything with it yet.
Did you read my last post about the V5C probably not even belonging to him? 
UPDATE (01:13): Did a history check on hpicheck.com - it confirmed Gumtree's information that "the vehicle [associated with the licence plate] has not been reported stolen, scrapped, exported or flagged as unroadworthy". However, the system tells me that the issue date on the V5C slip I have does not match the information provided by the DVLA, i.e. it doesn't seem to be from the latest V5C which also explains the error I get from the DVLA's website... the current keeper was registered in February 2017, the V5C is from 2013. Who do I best turn to now? The police? The DVLA? The bloke who sold it in April? This s
t is literally making me sick right now... 
Edited by sorachan on Friday 12th May 04:55
Did the seller have the full V5 document (red front)? If he only bought it a few weeks ago he may not have V5 in his name. Often when the buyer takes the green slip the other un-needed parts on that 'side' of the V5 document stay with the green slip, including the yellow part. So, perhaps he was taing advantage of your lack of experience of the docs, and intentionally gave you the only bit he had.
I'd suggest going back round to see him and pick up the doc and the key in person.
It's probably underhand tactics but might not be anything to worry about - the V5 is a registration doc not a proof of ownership, so if you have a record of buying the car (texts, emails, bank withdrawls) then if necessary you could prove ownership. The only issue would be if the car didnt belong to the person you bought from, Did you buy from him at his house?
I'd suggest going back round to see him and pick up the doc and the key in person.
It's probably underhand tactics but might not be anything to worry about - the V5 is a registration doc not a proof of ownership, so if you have a record of buying the car (texts, emails, bank withdrawls) then if necessary you could prove ownership. The only issue would be if the car didnt belong to the person you bought from, Did you buy from him at his house?
Edited by johnnyBv8 on Friday 12th May 05:41
Ugh. Called him today to check back after I got a text from him saying he was too busy yesterday. Asked him about the history of the vehicle and he said the bloke he had bought it from was his colleague and he literally said, I quote, "I know the guy, you can ring the guy, ask him personally". That's what I did - said guy told me he definitely did not him before, I told him what was happening and the story he told me was fully coherent with the details in the HPI history. Apparently he had bought it off eBay in February and used it for two months but decided it was too small. He was also shocked to hear that his company's signage was still on the van and he said he had no clue about the intentions of the guy who bought it from him just to sell it two weeks later. He agreed to try and sort this out with the DVLA for me. A while later the guy I bought the car from called me, telling me he was "gonna start getting frustrated", asking "what gives you the right to be ringing around", saying the previous owner had called him, "shouting and bawling", stating I had told him the van had been involved in some kind of robbery, which I definitely didn't.
I'm starting to get really worried about the seller's intentions. Do you think that's the point where I should contact the police?
k this has already turned into after such a short time.
I'm starting to get really worried about the seller's intentions. Do you think that's the point where I should contact the police?
johnnyBv8 said:
Did the seller have the full V5 document (red front)?
I don't really remember whether it was the full V5.johnnyBv8 said:
If he only bought it a few weeks ago he may not have V5 in his name. Often when the buyer takes the green slip the other un-needed parts on that 'side' of the V5 document stay with the green slip, including the yellow part. So, perhaps he was taing advantage of your lack of experience of the docs, and intentionally gave you the only bit he had.
Might be - but in any case, the logbook doesn't seem to be the current one. The issue date on the slip is from a few years ago, while according to the HPI check the current keeper acquired the car in February 2017, which the previous owner confirmed.johnnyBv8 said:
I'd suggest going back round to see him and pick up the doc and the key in person.
The van is not insured at the moment and it's not too close to where I live, so either insuring the van to get there or taking the train would both cost me around 60 quid which I don't have to spare at the moment. Plus, I'm starting to feel really unwell about that guy, see johnnyBv8 said:
It's probably underhand tactics but might not be anything to worry about - the V5 is a registration doc not a proof of ownership, so if you have a record of buying the car (texts, emails, bank withdrawls) then if necessary you could prove ownership. The only issue would be if the car didnt belong to the person you bought from, Did you buy from him at his house?
I do have a record of buying the can as stated in the first post, but I did not buy from him at his house but on the roadside. As I said, it's my first time ever buying a car and I seriously regret it, thinking of the clusterfk this has already turned into after such a short time.sorachan said:
I do have a record of buying the can as stated in the first post, but I did not buy from him at his house but on the roadside. As I said, it's my first time ever buying a car and I seriously regret it, thinking of the clusterfk this has already turned into after such a short time.
OK, so the seller's a tk this has already turned into after such a short time.t. <shrug> Your dealings with him are over already.Just get a V5C in your name - V62 is quickest way to do that - and move on with life. OK, it'll cost you £25, but you already spent a tenner on a cock and bull story about postage, right?
Hi, How this story ended up? I am in a similar situation right now, I bought a car yesterday the New Keeper slip didn't go through to tax my car, I checked from gov.uk and the slip I have is not the recent one, I can not reach the mfkr who sold me the car, and I am worried how to get V5C in this case.
Turker35 said:
Hi, How this story ended up? I am in a similar situation right now, I bought a car yesterday the New Keeper slip didn't go through to tax my car, I checked from gov.uk and the slip I have is not the recent one, I can not reach the mfkr who sold me the car, and I am worried how to get V5C in this case.
Hi mate. Did you manage to sort it out? I'm in a similar situation. Please help me. Please tell what is my next step? I'm too worried. thanksEdited by Ras2019 on Monday 12th September 18:06
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