Garage sold our trade-in with our cherished plate

[grar]

Hey everyone, first post on what appears to be a busy site, looks good.

Looking for some advice on the law re private plates, if anyone can help.

My partner traded the car in but at the time of getting the new car we could'nt find the V5 for the trade in car, I know!
The Garage just asked for £200 deposit as a sign of intent that we would get the V5. Well time went on and my partner didn't get round to getting the V5.

But it seems the garage sold the car on still with the private plate on it, no call to us or anything.

She got a letter from DVLA saying that the new owners of the car had applied to keep the cherished number, she as result phoned DVLA and spoke to someone who told her that there is now little they can do and the new owner will keep the plate. I should say the letter from DVLA said we had 14 days to reply, but it did'nt say what if we replied would happen, person at DVLA seemed to think this 14 day period did not matter.

My partner has now phoned the garage and the salesman who sold it is off on holiday, but pretty much another salesman that she spoke with intimated that they would'nt usually sell on a car with a cherished plate, as they themselve would put on a normal plate. We obviously have to take this up with the garage which we will, but does anyone on here know where we stand? Has the garage acted illegally here as we may have lost this plate!

Any thoughts?

[JohnnyRims]

grar said:

Hey everyone, first post on what appears to be a busy site, looks good.

The Garage just asked for £200 deposit as a sign of intent that we would get the V5. Well time went on and my partner didn't get round to getting the V5.

How long did time go on for? Gut reaction to this is you're fked legally.

What was the private plate/valuation of the plate out of interest?

Edited by JohnnyRims on Monday 24th January 21:51

[ridds]

If it involves the DVLA I'd say you've lost it tbh.

At least yo know for next time.

[FeatherZ]

Was there an agreement about the plate with dealer? in writing? Should have sorted plates out first really...

[Sid Denham]

If the plate was important to you, why did you put it at risk? And why did "time pass" before you thought about doing anything about it? Did the garage get bored of waiting around with unsold stock? Not meaning to sound overly harsh, but I wouldn't dither about not sorting out the details for something I wanted to keep. Wasn't there a similar thread recently by someone who "didn't get round" to collecting his Rangie from having work done, and wondered why the garage had sold it on?

Edited by Sid Denham on Monday 24th January 21:56

[grar]

Cheers

I was there at the time that it was made quite clear that this was a private plate, but no, no written agreement. Just £200 to get the V5, and we didn't think they'd move it on without it, but it was 2 months ago!!

The plate was bought direct from DVLA when the F plates came out for £600, it was a nice plate.

[JustinP1]

grar said:

Cheers

I was there at the time that it was made quite clear that this was a private plate, but no, no written agreement. Just £200 to get the V5, and we didn't think they'd move it on without it, but it was 2 months ago!!

The plate was bought direct from DVLA when the F plates came out for £600, it was a nice plate.

'Clear it was a private plate'.

So, and?

Did you sell it with the plate, or not? If not, what specifically was agreed? Did you agree at the time when and how you would transfer the plate?

[grar]

Sid Denham said:

If the plate was important to you, why did you put it at risk? And why did "time pass" before you thought about doing anything about it? Did the garage get bored of waiting around with unsold stock? Not meaning to sound overly harsh, but I wouldn't dither about not sorting out the details for something I wanted to keep.

Edited by Sid Denham on Monday 24th January 21:56

Fair point. It was in the hands of my better half, i ain't that happy about it and now wish I'd done more about it.

[LaFleur]

The procss is quite clear regarding private plates. As soon as you part with the car you part with the plate. The rules are provided to anyone that buys a private plate. Before completing sale if you wish to keep the plate you must put it onto retention/transfer to another car.

[R1 Loon]

grar said:

Cheers

I was there at the time that it was made quite clear that this was a private plate, but no, no written agreement. Just £200 to get the V5, and we didn't think they'd move it on without it, but it was 2 months ago!!

The plate was bought direct from DVLA when the F plates came out for £600, it was a nice plate.

Eh? A replacement is only £15

[JustinP1]

R1 Loon said:

grar said:

Cheers

I was there at the time that it was made quite clear that this was a private plate, but no, no written agreement. Just £200 to get the V5, and we didn't think they'd move it on without it, but it was 2 months ago!!

The plate was bought direct from DVLA when the F plates came out for £600, it was a nice plate.

Eh? A replacement is only £15

Reading between the lines, the £200 agreement was there to make it worth the OP's while to sort it out and not mess around. So the dealer staff would not have to expend time/money doing it themselves.

Also reading between the lines, it seems that two months on, the OP hadn't sorted the V5, or contacted the dealer.

Clearly the £200 wasn't impetus enough...

Either way the dealer has clearly got tired of waiting with their money tied up in a car they don't really want, and space taken up on the forecourt and sold the car.

IMHO a lesson learned. If only this amount of effort was expended two months ago, this thread would not have existed. Sorry to be harsh OP, but what did you expect the dealer to do, chase you whilst their money is tied up? That was what the £200 was for...

Edited by JustinP1 on Monday 24th January 22:30

[saaby93]

Two mistakes in one.

The V5 only shows the registered keeper. When you buy or sell a car it's useful to have something called a receipt. You dont need the V5 for that.
Would it be much more useful if the V5 showed the owner of the car?

When you sell a car, you sell it with the private plate. No matter how much you think it's your plate and how useful it would be to law enforcement for it to be known as your plate, nevertheless it goes with the car.
Would it be much more useful if the plate stayed with the owner of the plate?
If you do the correct thing and pay £125? to take it off before selling, the car usually reverts to its original reg number anyway.

Anyone noticed the OP cant respond
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by saaby93 on Monday 24th January 22:37

[jondude]

Only other option I can think of is talking to the new owner and seeing if they will help - unless the plate is a goldmine or means something special to them, can't see why they wouldn't?

[AOK]

Come on then OP, spill the beans... how good a registration mark have you lost?? What was it?

[Mr E Driver]

saaby93 said:

If you do the correct thing and pay £125? to take it off before selling, the car usually reverts to its original reg number anyway.

£125? are you sure, last time it was £80 for the transfer + £25 for the retention?

Anyway OP you are fked and the only way of getting it is if you buy it from the current owner.

BTW what was the plate?

Edited by Mr E Driver on Tuesday 25th January 00:48

[Red Devil]

LaFleur said:

The procss is quite clear regarding private plates. As soon as you part with the car you part with the plate. The rules are provided to anyone that buys a private plate. Before completing sale if you wish to keep the plate you must put it onto retention/transfer to another car.

^^This^^
However if you still have the V5C then you have a breathing space because the DVLA record the RK not ownership. It is only the current RK who can transfer a registration.

I'm curious how the garage sold on a car without a V5C. Presumably an application for a new one was made on a V62 which triggered the DVLA contact with the OP's partner.

grar said:

She got a letter from DVLA saying that the new owners of the car had applied to keep the cherished number, she as result phoned DVLA and spoke to someone who told her that there is now little they can do and the new owner will keep the plate. I should say the letter from DVLA said we had 14 days to reply, but it did'nt say what if we replied would happen, person at DVLA seemed to think this 14 day period did not matter.

This advice doesn't sound right to me. I am wondering whether she spoke to the right person at DVLA. Cherished Transfers are dealt with by a separate section and their staff are normally well up to speed. The existing V5C would still be in the name of the OP's partner. If a written objection had been lodged within the 14 day deadline it might well have been possible to resolve the matter and retain the number. I suspect it will be far too late now.

For the record nobody ever owns any registration number attached to their vehicle. It belongs to the Secretary of State who grants the assignee the exclusive right to display it.

[will261058]

I have a private plate and the last time I changed my car I had the private plate put on a retention certificatethe week before I traded it in. However I was informed by DVLA at the time that even though I had the plate on a retention, if I sold the car within 21 days the new owner could claim my private plate by law. Therefore if you want to keep your plate you must transfer it at least 21 days before you intend to sell. They also said it was unlikely that anyone would try to claim my plate since the car would now be on an age related plate but the law allowed them to. As you didnt transfer the number at all I doubt you have a case if the rules are still the same. Crap I know and you have my sympathy! Hope you get lucky.

[Red Devil]

will261058 said:

I have a private plate and the last time I changed my car I had the private plate put on a retention certificatethe week before I traded it in. However I was informed by DVLA at the time that even though I had the plate on a retention, if I sold the car within 21 days the new owner could claim my private plate by law. Therefore if you want to keep your plate you must transfer it at least 21 days before you intend to sell. They also said it was unlikely that anyone would try to claim my plate since the car would now be on an age related plate but the law allowed them to. As you didnt transfer the number at all I doubt you have a case if the rules are still the same. Crap I know and you have my sympathy! Hope you get lucky.

If the private plate is put on retention DVLA will assign another registration number to the vehicle, quite possibly the original one. I have transferred 3 different plates to various cars and got the original one back each time.

The reality is that the only time you are vulnerable is prior to the receipt of the V948. The new tax disc should come with it. Once you have the V948 you can get the new plates and swap them with your personal one. Once that is done I can't see how the buyer will have any information to enable them to lay claim to your personal plate, so the law is moot. There may be a delay before the replacement V5C arrives but all that might do is delay the sale. The last time I did a transfer the V5C arrived four days after the V948 which was in plenty of time before the car was sold.

If I was definitely trading in my car I would start the ball rolling with the retention process sooner than a week in advance though. That's not really enough time to be sure of receiving the V948 from Swansea.

I always take the documents to my local DVLA office rather than send them direct to Wales. Once they have custody of them it's their responsibility if they go missing. They never have yet. The staff are also seem to be alot more knowledgeable and helpful than most of the people that answer the phone in Swansea.

[streaky]

JustinP1 said:

R1 Loon said:

grar said:

Cheers

I was there at the time that it was made quite clear that this was a private plate, but no, no written agreement. Just £200 to get the V5, and we didn't think they'd move it on without it, but it was 2 months ago!!

The plate was bought direct from DVLA when the F plates came out for £600, it was a nice plate.

Eh? A replacement is only £15

Reading between the lines, the £200 agreement was there to make it worth the OP's while to sort it out and not mess around. So the dealer staff would not have to expend time/money doing it themselves.

Also reading between the lines, it seems that two months on, the OP hadn't sorted the V5, or contacted the dealer.

Clearly the £200 wasn't impetus enough...

Either way the dealer has clearly got tired of waiting with their money tied up in a car they don't really want, and space taken up on the forecourt and sold the car.

IMHO a lesson learned. If only this amount of effort was expended two months ago, this thread would not have existed. Sorry to be harsh OP, but what did you expect the dealer to do, chase you whilst their money is tied up? That was what the £200 was for...

Edited by JustinP1 on Monday 24th January 22:30

I guess whatever happens that the garage owes the OP and 'SO' the £200 deposit they paid, back - Streaky

[hondafanatic]

I could have imagined it all, but wasn't there a post in here last night by TVR1 that stated that he could get his boss to sort the OPs problem out if he 'wet her beak'?

I only remember it because I've only heard that phrase on the Godfather film. Was it Ry_B in one of his many guises?