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Can a seller transfer a vehicle to me with a private number plate on it and then have me transfer the registration mark back to him?
I am looking to buy a Lotus Elise at a proper price etc ie not a surprisingly cheap price. The seller is telling me that in order be speedy he will sell the car with the private registration remaining on and I can then place on retention and transfer it back to him. Is this a scam
No it's not a scam and it will ensure quicker transfer of the vehicle. The vendor is in fact at greater risk of fraud as he will be relying on you on trust to transfer the plate back to him. You can do this for 12 months after the retention certificate is issued.
The way it works is as follows: If you wish to sell or scrap your vehicle but keep the registration number then you can put the registration on to a retention certificate. You can then assign the registration number to another vehicle in the future (in this case back to the original seller).
The Department Of Transport charge £105 for this service (£80 the assignment fee paid in advance and £25 the cost of the first year on certificate). Please note that registrations from Northern Ireland can not be put directly on to a retention certificate but must first be registered on a British car which costs a further £80.
If the application is successful, a V778 Retention Document valid for 12 months is issued to the keeper (now known as the grantee) who will also be issued with a V5 registration document for the donor vehicle showing a replacement registration number.The V778 must be kept very secure because it will be required when the registration number is subsequently assigned to a vehicle. For £25 each you can add the name of a nominee (if you wish to assign the retained number to his / her car) or if you wish to extend entitlement for a further 12 month period after the first year expires.
Although not obliged to do so the DVLA do issue expiry reminders however the responsibility to apply to extend in time rests with the grantee. Once the expiry date has lapsed, entitlement is lost.
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