Private Plate / Dvla Help

[Citroenmad]

Does anyone known about transferring a cherrished registration?

I sold my car yesterday, they took it away yesterday, with my private plate on it. Which technically means its their reg now, but they dont want it and it was part of our agreement that it would come off.

Now i had thought, and was led to believe by the DVLA website, that if i send off the V3?? form (along with the V5C) filled in with me as the keeper and wanting to put the reg on a retention certificate, i would be sent the retention certificate with my reg and the new keeper the new V5 with the cars original reg.

Its seems that would be too logical and its not so simple.

After a good while trying to find the DVLA office today, i went in and asked if this was right.

The most unhelpful woman ive met dealt with me, she was very quick in saying i should have taken it off before i had sold the car.

Which i know, and its all well and good saying that now. However i had planned on keeping the car had it not sold quickly, so i didnt want to take the reg off before and didnt see a problem with doing it after.

So i know that as soon as i send in the V5 the car and reg belong to the new keeper. Although it would seem, since the new keeper has filled in the V5 im no longer the owner, and i have no rights to the registration. Unless i cross out their name and send the V5 in as mine again. I would then recieve the new V5 with my name and the old reg, plus my retention certificate.

OR

I can get the new keeper to fill in the V3?? form, putting their name and details as the registered keeper and me as the garantee for the number, signing all rights on the plate over to me.

However this seems backwards as until the V5 is processed im still its keeper, so why could they not process them at the same time.

Anyway, my only option now is to get the new keeper to fill in this for with them as the keeper signing over the reg to me. Nothing wrong with this, apart from its a 250 mile round trip to the new keepers and back.

So the new keeper said if i post the V5, cheque to the DVLA to retain on retention and V3?? form to them, they will fill it in, making me the owner of the reg and they would go to their local DLVA office and get it transferred.

So, is this a wise move, to post everything i have, the V5 and reg form to them, so they can try and sort it. Or would the DVLA not transfer the number back to me until the new V5 arrives saying the new keeper is the current keeper.

I feel uneasy posting everything and trying to rely on other people to sort it out. They dont mind and have a private plate of their own to go on the car. But still, seems a bit iffy to me. So id rather drive down, get them to sign the forms and then i can go to the DVLA myself.


Im going to ring the DVLA to confirm tomorrow, but wondered if anyone had any suggestions, anyone ever done this, changed their plate after they have sold their car?

Thanks for any help, Chris

[Dieselman]

I think the new registered keeper has to apply to put the plate on retention or transfer as they are now the licenced user of said number.

[xmexclusive]

Hi Chris

Sorry about your problems. Have a care about relying simply on DVLA telephone advice, get it written down if you can with proof of which staff member provided the proceedure to be followed. The regulations are designed to automatically return to the DVLA for resale any "unwanted" and "expired" registrations. There is no appeal to correct if you get the regulations wrong. I thought that retention certificates were non transferrable except through the DVLA sales process. Seek some independant advice (CCC?) just to make sure it does not go horribly wrong.

Just a thought, if you have not yet posted it hang onto the V5 for a day or so. You may just get away with posting of a retention application backdated a couple of days so it gets into the DVLA system and processed before the change of owner V5 goes in and gets processed.

John

This post has been edited by xmexclusive on February 16, 2009 09:54 pm

[Citroenmad]

Thats what i feared.

Now, if it does go wrong and the number is lost then its not huge deal. It doesnt actually mean much to me, i bought it with the car its still on, but now it has become my number, everyone i know knows its mine and it keeps my car individual. The reg is L9 MPG, which i like.

So obviously i would rather have it back to put on my next car. The advert for the car stated it would not be included in the sale, and the reciept we swapped says its not too. But that means nothing really.

When i asked in the office thats what they said, so i shall ring up again and get it confirmed, taking down the details of who i asked.

The form i have, makes it able to hand over the rights to a number plate. So the new keeper can hand it over to me, although since the V5 is still here with me, albeit with the new keeper details i dont see why its a problem for me to take the reg off. But aparently it is down to the new keeper now.

I have rang them and they dont want it, they are quite happy to sign it over. What im not sure about is who is the current keeper, i would have thought me, until it gets to the DVLA, which it will arrive with the transfer details.

The V5 is not yet sent, i was planning on sending it with the reg retention application form, allowing me to hold the reg. But it would seem as soon as the V5 reaches the DVLA its not in my name anymore.

Honest, why does such a simple thing have to be so complicated.

If they do have to sign it over, i think im best going to see them and getting it signed then I can take it to the DVLA office myself so i know its done and i can pay for it to be held on retention. I think that is how its going to work now.

Chris.

[Citroenmad]

Hi John, i still have the V5, although it needs to be sent off with the retention application. I could cross out the new keeper details (according to DVLA) and send it in with the retention application.

Although it could take a few weeks for the new V5 to get to me, then i would have to sign it over to the new keeper. Which is fine except they have the car now, so it should be in their name asap, as i dont want to be responsible for the car now.

Ive just realised why i dont buy and sell cars very often

At least ive learnt my lesson, never sell a car with a private plate if you want to keep it easily!

Chris.

This post has been edited by Citroenmad on February 16, 2009 10:11 pm

[xmexclusive]

I suspect that the V5 transfer is the date you and the buyer put on the V5 not when it gets to Swansea. In practice you can hold off sending the V5 for a couple of weeks while you sort out the transfer. I though that to transfer a registration outside the DVLA system it has to be on a roadworthy car that is sold to the new owner. If this is so then what you intend to do will not work out right.

John

[Citroenmad]

So it seems, if i want to keep it, i need the new owner to fill out the V3?? form that i have here. Which means he will, as the cars owner, sign over the registration rights to me.

Thats what i was told today, ill ring tomorrow and see if that is correct. So thats what ill have to do.

Its really the same as if the new owner was selling the reg to someone, only he will sign it over to me, ill then pay for it to be held on retention in my name, until i get my next car. Which should be thursday this week, but i dont think you can transfer it to a car from another keeper.

If all goes wrong, ill have to scrap the idea of having that reg

Chris.

[dean]

Hi Chris

Yes the number plate should have been placed on retention before the sale took place, bit of a daft way of doing things but ive kind of come to expect this sort of stupidity from these government agency's now.
If the person who bought it off you is straight and trustworthy you wont have a problem, if on the other hand they decide that they want to sell the reg then there may be nothing you can do, reciept or not. But it would take a real b*****d to go against a verbal agreement i think.


D

[xmexclusive]

Hi Chris, Dean

One of the points I was trying to make was that I think you cannot sell or transfer retention certificates only roadworthy registered cars carrying that registration. This is one of the regulations they brought in to protect the DVLA's nice little extra earner of selling cherished registrations. The roadworthy bit caught out lots of very early high value registrations as the cars were well beyond an MOT.
Chris one other thing now to bear in mind is the fate of the existing set of numberplates for a number you are trying to retain and get on another car. Not suggesting that anyone involved with the transaction is other than honourable simply that I prefer to personally dispose of any redundant number plates myself. Sadly the world has a few low life skip and garbage trawlers that will exploit anyones disposal errors they come across.

John

This post has been edited by xmexclusive on February 16, 2009 10:51 pm

[Ciaran]

If you haven't already sent off the V5 with the new owners details to the DVLA then there's a few things you could do. The first, is hold onto the V5 for now (and hope the new owner doesn't go through any speed cameras!), and send in the cherished plate retention form. When you recieve confirmation the plate is on retention, then send in the V5.

The other option could be to send in the 'lost V5' request and have them send you out another, fresh one, without the new owners details on it. Process your plate transfer, send it and the clean V5 off, then when it comes back, put the new owners details on it and send it in, finally transferring the car to them on its new reg.
Of course all that could take a few weeks the way the wheels of efficiency turn with those morons.

Ciarán

[dean]

Thats right John, i tried to get a plate from a scrap car once, phoned the DVLA and i was told it had already been fed back onto the system ready for sale by themselfs and that i could not get a plate off of an unmot'd vehicle.
Ciaran's suggestion would work but its the timeframe that could be a problem and the fact that the new keeper now has to fill out the V5 not the seller......

D

[zee]

hi all i pxt my motorcycle with my personal plate on the dealer applied for the number on a retention certificate with me as recepiant cost £80 but no further fees on changeover hope it helps ps the bike ended up back on its original numbwe

This post has been edited by zee on February 16, 2009 11:24 pm

[Assich]

I suggest you keep a hold off the signed V5. Apply for a replacement for lost or damaged V5 which of course will have your details on it. Then retain plate then transfer ownership. Long winded but keeps everything as per the system intends so much easier.

[Citroenmad]

Thanks for all your replies, your a big help.

Ill have to ask the buyer if its ok to get a fresh V5, as im sure they want the car in their name, as do i.

The car is obviously roadworthy and MOT'd etc, it would seem all i need to do is get the buyer to sign the form i have to swap the plate over, back into my name.

The buyer recently sold their car, having taken off their number plate. It took 3 weeks for the new V5 with the old reg to return. 3 Weeks! How can it take so long.

There is a new way of doing things, the buyer of the car can hand over the rights to me of the number plate. Obviously its done through the DVLA and i still need to pay £105 to keep it on retention, but thats how it can be done.

Now i think the buyer is honest, they certainly seem like nice people, so i dont think im going to have any bother, maybe i will have with the DVLA!

Ill give the DVLA a ring and see what they suggest, lets hope there is someone more helpful who works at the DVLA! Im sure it must take more energy for someone to be miserable and unhelpful than it does to be happy and polite!

Chris.

[Citroenmad]

Right, ive just phoned the DVLA, they said i do need to get the new keeper to fill in the V317 with their details as the registered keeper.

I have filled in my details under the Grantee section, which signs all the rights of the number over to me.

The buyer simply needs to sign the form and send it in, with the V5 (with the new keeper details written on), the current MOT and the tax disc serial number, which i have already written on.

So ill post the V5, V317 form and a cheque made out to the DVLA (ill write on the back what its for) to the new keeper, for them to fill in their bit and hopefully ill get my reg back on retention and the new keeper will get the V5 back with the cars old registration number.

So that should be sorted!

Thanks, Chris