Chrished Plate Retention

[Old Gregg]

I bought a car that came with a private plate on. When I sold the car I paid to retain the plate for a year (retention period started in Spetember '10) and bought another car shortly after, to which I had the plate transferred.

All ok up to this point.


I then sold that car in May this year, but the car went to Germany. Obviously, the German chap took the car with the plates on to the ferry port. When he got home, he physically posted me back the plates and tax disk (even though I told him that I didn't need the actual plates back because I owned the rights to the issue of it for a year [not that I owned the plates-in-plastic], he insisted on sending me them anyway) so I could cash in the remainder of the tax disc.


So, now that the car has gone abroad (and the DVLA have been notified), if I want to sell the plate privately, how do I go about it? Someone has mentioned to me that now that the car is no longer in the UK, that I have lost the rights to the plate and it is no longer mine, even though I paid for 12 months' retention - that can't be right, can it?


What do I physically "sell" when someone buys the number from me?

[joewilliams]

Do you have a current retention certificate for the plate?

[Marf]

Are the tax and MOT still current?

If not you'll not be able to put the plate on retention.

[S1_RS]

You should have applied to put the plate on retention before it was sold. You never actually "owned" the plate anyway, only the right to display it which you don't have now as you sold it on the car.

Edit - you say you payed to put it on retention, so you have a retention certificate with the plate on, what's the problem?

[joewilliams]

S1_RS said:

Edit - you say you payed to put it on retention, so you have a retention certificate with the plate on, what's the problem?

The way I've read it, he got a retention certificate in September 2010, but then put the plate on a new car. He then sold that car without putting the plate back on retention.

[calibrax]

1) If the plate is on a car, it's yours as long as you own the car.
2) If the plate is on retention (i.e. a certificate) it's yours for 12 months, or until you put the plate on a car.

If you didn't put it on retention when you sold the car... it's gone with the car.

[B160 AVE]

You don`t have 12 months no matter what you do with it, you only have 12 months if you leave it on retention. Because you transfered it onto a vehicle, the original retention certificate is now useless. You should have transfered it back off the vehicle before you sold it. I believe you could still transfer it onto retention again with the new owners help, however I`m not sure of the rules regarding doing this if you`ve already exported the vehicle, as a condition of re-registration is that the DVLA may want to inspect the vehicle before they issue a different one to it, irrespective of whether it`s about to be crushed or exported.

[Old Gregg]

Thanks for all the replies.


Bugger, so it sounds like even though I paid for a retention for a year and the car is no longer in the UK, that I've now lost the rights to display the plate (or indeed sell it, which is what I want to do).

I've tried ringing the DVLA to speak to someone to explain the details of the situation, but getting to actually speak to a real person is techically inpossible.



Does anyone know of a DVLA contact number that will enable me to speak to someone, as opposed to selecting my way through a million options and not actually getting anywhere?

[Magic919]

Have you got the plate on retention or not?

[Old Gregg]

Magic919 said:

Have you got the plate on retention or not?

I retained it by the proper methods last September - it was initially on my DC5, I got a "normal plate" assigned to that car and sold it whislt retaining the private plate that the car came with.

Then I bought a DC2 and put the private plate on that, then I sold that car to a chap from abroad.

There seems to be some conflicting views on whether the retention lasts a year, or if it lasts until it gets assigned back onto another vehicle. Does the retention still continue, or did it become null and void when I had it transferred onto my DC2?

I just typed it into the DVLA's cherished plate selector and it doesn't come up as available - surely that means it's still mine, as it's no longer in the UK?

[Marf]

• AHEM*

Marf said:

Are the tax and MOT still current?

If so I'd try applying for retention regardless of the export status of the vehicle.

[uncinquesei]

there's no confict. It's retained until it goes on a car or 12 months elapse.

[Magic919]

It stopped being retained when you assigned it to a vehicle.

You basically need to see if you can retain it now.

[Old Gregg]

Marf said:

If so I'd try applying for retention regardless of the export status of the vehicle.

So it will cost me another £105 for another year... The plate is probably only worth £300-£350, so having paid out once for retention last year and then again now, I'm not really sure it would be worth it? (I know £100 is £100 at the endo of the day, but still)

uncinquesei said:

there's no confict. It's retained until it goes on a car or 12 months elapse.

Ok, so what you're saying is that once it went onto my DC2, the retention ceased to exist, and that it doesn't now run until Sept '11 because it has been on a car since my intial retention last year?

[Marf]

Old Gregg said:

Marf said:

If so I'd try applying for retention regardless of the export status of the vehicle.

So it will cost me another £105 for another year... The plate is probably only worth £300-£350, so having paid out once for retention last year and then again now, I'm not really sure it would be worth it? (I know £100 is £100 at the endo of the day, but still)

Only you can answer that.

[Old Gregg]

Magic919 said:

It stopped being retained when you assigned it to a vehicle.

You basically need to see if you can retain it now.

Right, ok. Understood. So I suppose if I do apply for retention again then I can still sell it and make a small amount of money.


The fact that it seems to be unavailable to buy doesn't have any bearing on any of this then? I wouldn't have to actually buy it again and then retain it...?

[Magic919]

It can be ages before plates go back into the pool for sale, so that's normal. You just need to try to retain it. I'd expect DVLA would be ok with it.

[Roo]

Magic919 said:

It can be ages before plates go back into the pool for sale, so that's normal. You just need to try to retain it. I'd expect DVLA would be ok with it.

Unless he's sent the bit of the V5c back saying the car is exported.

[Magic919]

Doesn't mean DVLA won't be able to help.

[Roo]

Magic919 said:

Doesn't mean DVLA won't be able to help.

He sold the car in May. If he's sent of the export part of the V5c he doesn't own the car, or the right to display the registration, any more.