Terms & Conditions

1.1 The PPA Auction website at [domain] (the Site) is operated by Private Plate Auctions Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17281207, with its registered office at [Registered office address] (PPA Auction, we, us, our). VAT number: [VAT number].

1.2 You can contact us by email at info@private-plate-auctions.com or by phone on 0300000000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.

1.3 We may update these Terms from time to time. The version published on the Site when you register, list a plate or place a bid is the version that applies to that listing or bid. We will tell registered users about material changes by email.

• Auction — a timed online auction for a Registration run on the Site.
• Registration or plate — the right to display a UK vehicle registration mark, as recorded by the DVLA. Buying a Registration does not give you any intellectual property in the combination of letters and numbers.
• Seller — a verified user who lists a Registration for Auction.
• Bidder — a verified user who places a bid; the Buyer is the Bidder whose bid is accepted.
• Hammer Price — the amount of the winning bid.
• Buyer's Fee and Seller's Fees — our fees, as published on the fee pages at the time of the bid or listing.
• Escrow Provider — [Escrow / payment provider], the third party that holds the Buyer's funds until transfer completes.
• Certificate — a V778 Retention Document or V750 Certificate of Entitlement issued by the DVLA.
• Transfer — the DVLA process that assigns the Registration to the Buyer's vehicle or places it on a Certificate in the Buyer's (or their nominee's) name.
• Working Day — Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in England.

3.1 PPA Auction is an online auction platform. We provide the service that lets Sellers offer Registrations to verified Bidders by auction, and we manage the payment and transfer process afterwards.

3.2 We do not own, buy, sell or hold stock of any Registration listed on the Site, and we do not act as a dealer or broker. The contract for the sale of a Registration is made directly between the Seller and the Buyer. We are not a party to that contract.

3.3 We do not value, guarantee or set the price of any Registration. Any valuation tool or guide price shown on the Site is an automated estimate for information only and must not be relied on as a statement of what a Registration is worth or will sell for.

3.4 We do carry out verification checks on users and listings (see our Trust & Safety page). These checks are made to protect the marketplace; they are not a warranty that any listing is accurate or that any Transfer will be approved by the DVLA.

3.5 PPA Auction is not part of, or affiliated with, the DVLA. All Registrations and Transfers are subject to DVLA rules and approval.

4.1 To bid or sell you must register an account. You must be at least 18, resident in the UK (or have a UK address for DVLA documents), and able to enter into legally binding contracts.

4.2 You must complete our identity verification, carried out through [Identity verification provider], and register a valid debit or credit card in your own name. We may carry out further checks at any time to prevent fraud, money laundering or sanctions breaches, and we may refuse or close an account that doesn't pass them.

4.3 The information you give us must be true, accurate and kept up to date. You must not open more than one account, or open a new account after we have suspended or closed one.

4.4 You are responsible for everything done through your account. Keep your login details secure and tell us immediately at info@private-plate-auctions.com if you think someone else has accessed your account.

4.5 If you act for a business, you confirm that you are authorised to bind that business to these Terms.

5.1 Submitting a plate. To list a Registration you must submit it through your account with the documents we request, which will normally be the Certificate or, if the plate is on a vehicle, the V5C registration certificate. We review every submission and may accept or decline it at our discretion, without giving reasons.

5.2 Your promises as a Seller. By listing a Registration you confirm that:

• you are the grantee or registered keeper entitled to transfer the Registration, or you have the written authority of that person to sell it;
• the Registration is valid, capable of transfer, and any Certificate is in date and will remain in date until Transfer completes;
• if the Registration is on a vehicle, that vehicle is taxed (or SORN where permitted), has a valid MOT where required, and is available for the DVLA process;
• the Registration is free of any claim, charge or dispute, and no one else has been promised it;
• everything you tell us or put in the listing is accurate and not misleading.

5.3 Auction schedule. Accepted Registrations are placed into an upcoming Auction. They will normally appear in a "Coming Soon" preview for [5] days before the Auction opens, and each Auction runs for [7] days. We decide the Auction dates and may move a lot to a later Auction if needed.

5.4 Reserve. You may set a confidential reserve price. Once the Auction is live you may lower or remove the reserve, but you may not raise it. If bidding reaches the reserve, you are bound to sell to the highest Bidder.

5.5 Exclusivity. From the moment your listing is accepted until the Auction ends (and any post-auction period under clause 6.6 expires), you must not sell, offer or advertise the Registration anywhere else, including privately to anyone you met through the Site.

5.6 Withdrawing a listing. You may withdraw a Registration before its Auction goes live. Once live, a Registration may only be withdrawn with our agreement. Seller's Fees already paid are non-refundable, and a withdrawal fee may apply as set out on the Seller fees page.

5.7 Our right to remove listings. We may edit, pause or remove any listing, or cancel an Auction, if we believe the listing is inaccurate, unlawful, fraudulent, offensive, or if the DVLA has withdrawn or restricted the Registration.

5.8 Content you provide. You are solely responsible for your listing description and any images you provide. You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use them, together with the Registration itself, to run and promote the Auction and PPA Auction, including after the sale.

6.1 Bids are binding. Every bid is a legally binding offer to buy the Registration at that price, plus the Buyer's Fee and any DVLA fee shown on the listing. You cannot withdraw or reduce a bid once placed, including an automatic (maximum) bid.

6.2 Before you bid it is your responsibility to read the listing, check that the Registration is suitable for your vehicle (in particular that it wouldn't make the vehicle appear newer than it is), check whether it can be held on a Certificate, and make any enquiries you need.

6.3 Card pre-authorisation. When you place your first bid on a lot, we may place a temporary hold on your registered card of up to [£X / the Buyer's Fee on that bid] to confirm the card is valid. The hold is released if you don't win.

6.4 Extensions. Any bid placed in the final [2] minutes of an Auction extends that Auction by [2] minutes from the time of the bid.

6.5 Winning. When the Auction ends, if the highest bid meets or exceeds the reserve (or there is no reserve), the highest Bidder becomes the Buyer and a binding contract is formed between the Seller and the Buyer at the Hammer Price.

6.6 Bids below reserve. If the Auction ends below the reserve, the highest bid remains open for the Seller to accept for [24] hours. If the Seller accepts within that time, a binding contract is formed on the same terms as clause 6.5. If they don't, no sale takes place and the bid lapses.

6.7 Prohibited bidding. You must not bid on your own Registration, arrange for anyone else to bid on it, or bid on a Registration listed by someone connected to you, to push up the price. You must not collude with other Bidders to suppress prices. We may cancel any bid we reasonably believe breaches this clause, a bid that is an obvious typing error, or a bid from an account that fails our checks.

6.8 Technical issues. If a technical fault, error or interruption materially affects an Auction, we may extend, suspend, re-run or cancel it. Bid and outbid notifications may not always arrive in real time, and you should not rely on them.

7.1 Buyer's Fee. When a contract is formed under clause 6.5 or 6.6, the Buyer's Fee becomes due to us immediately and will be charged to the Buyer's registered card. It is non-refundable except as set out in clause 9.

7.2 Paying the Hammer Price. The Buyer must pay the full Hammer Price, plus any DVLA fee shown on the listing, into escrow with the Escrow Provider within [2] Working Days of the Auction ending, using the payment link in their account. The Buyer must never pay the Seller directly, and any payment made outside the Site is at the Buyer's own risk.

7.3 How escrow works. The Escrow Provider holds the funds on behalf of the Buyer and Seller. We instruct release to the Seller only once the Transfer is complete (clause 8.5). If the sale doesn't complete, the funds are dealt with under clause 9. The Escrow Provider's own terms also apply, and we will link to them during checkout.

7.4 Currency and taxes. All amounts are in pounds sterling. Our fees include VAT where applicable. A Seller who is VAT registered must include any VAT in their reserve: the Hammer Price is the total price payable for the Registration and no VAT or other charge can be added to it after the Auction.

8.1 Once the Buyer's funds have cleared in escrow, we will notify both parties and manage the Transfer with them.

8.2 The Seller must, within [5] Working Days of that notice, provide the documents we ask for, normally the Certificate (or V5C and vehicle details if the plate is on a vehicle), and complete any DVLA steps required of them, including signing a V317 form where needed.

8.3 The Buyer must, within the same period, provide the details of the vehicle the Registration is to be assigned to (or the name of the person to be shown on a new Certificate) and any documents we ask for. The receiving vehicle must be taxed, have a valid MOT where required, and be eligible for the Registration under DVLA rules.

8.4 DVLA fees and timing. The DVLA's assignment fee (currently £80) is payable by the Buyer unless the listing says otherwise. Most Transfers complete within [2–6] weeks, but timing depends on the DVLA and on both parties supplying correct documents promptly. We are not responsible for DVLA delays.

8.5 Completion. The Transfer is complete when the DVLA confirms the Registration has been assigned to the Buyer's vehicle or placed on a Certificate in the name the Buyer gave us. At that point we instruct the Escrow Provider to release the Hammer Price to the Seller, less the Seller's Fees, normally within [3] Working Days. We are not liable for payments delayed or lost because of incorrect bank details supplied by the Seller.

8.6 Displaying the plate. The Buyer must not display the Registration on any vehicle until the DVLA has completed the Transfer. If the Registration is supplied on a Certificate, the Buyer is responsible for assigning it or renewing the Certificate before it expires. A Registration on an expired Certificate may be lost permanently, and neither we nor the Seller are responsible for that loss.

9.1 Buyer fails to pay or cooperate. If the Buyer doesn't pay into escrow within the deadline in clause 7.2, or doesn't provide what's needed under clause 8.3 within [10] Working Days of being reminded, we may cancel the sale. The Buyer's Fee is kept, and we may also offer the Registration to the underbidder or re-list it.

9.2 Seller fails to complete. If the Seller withdraws, doesn't supply documents, sells the Registration elsewhere or otherwise fails to complete for reasons that aren't the Buyer's fault, we will cancel the sale, the Buyer's escrowed funds will be returned in full, and we will refund the Buyer's Fee. The Seller must pay us a failed-sale fee equal to the Buyer's Fee plus the success fee that would have been due, as shown on the Seller fees page, which we may charge to the Seller's registered card.

9.3 DVLA refusal or withdrawal. If the DVLA refuses the Transfer, or withdraws or cancels the Registration before the Transfer completes, for a reason that isn't either party's fault, the sale is cancelled, the Buyer's escrowed funds are returned and the Buyer's Fee is refunded. Once the Transfer is complete, any later action by the DVLA is a matter between the keeper and the DVLA.

9.4 Inaccurate listings. If a sale fails because the listing was inaccurate or the Seller wasn't entitled to sell, clause 9.2 applies, and the Seller is responsible for any loss that causes the Buyer.

9.5 Deals outside the Site. Sellers and Bidders must not arrange to complete, or try to complete, a sale of a listed Registration outside the Site, whether during the Auction or within [90] days after it ends. If they do, the Seller must pay the fees that would have been due on a sale via the Site, calculated on the higher of the reserve and the highest bid.

10.1 Our fees are published on the Seller fees and Buyer fees pages. The fees that apply are those shown when the listing is submitted (for Sellers) or when the bid is placed (for Buyers).

10.2 Sellers pay a listing fee when their Registration is accepted for Auction and a success fee on sale. Buyers pay the Buyer's Fee on a successful bid. Listing fees and optional extras (such as featured placement) are non-refundable, including if the Registration doesn't sell.

10.3 If a payment due to us isn't made, we may charge interest at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate, and we may recover our reasonable costs of collection.

You must not use the Site to:

• break any law, commit fraud, or launder money, and you confirm the funds you use have no link to criminal activity;
• list a Registration you aren't entitled to sell, or a Registration arranged to be offensive or misleading;
• manipulate bidding, harass other users, or impersonate anyone, including PPA Auction staff;
• copy, scrape, crawl or extract data from the Site (including prices, results or valuations) by automated means without our written permission;
• interfere with the Site's security or operation, or upload viruses or harmful code;
• deal with us if you, or anyone you act for, are subject to UK, EU or US sanctions.

The Site, our brand, logo, design, valuation tools and content are owned by or licensed to us. You may use them only to take part in Auctions for your own purposes. Nothing in these Terms gives you any other rights in them.

13.1 Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

13.2 If you are a consumer, you have the right to cancel your account registration with us within 14 days of creating it, by telling us at info@private-plate-auctions.com. However, by listing a Registration or placing a bid within that period, you ask us to begin providing our service immediately, and you accept that once an Auction in which you have listed or bid has ended with a sale, our service for that Auction has been fully performed and cannot be cancelled.

13.3 A winning bid creates a contract between the Buyer and the Seller, not with us. If the Seller is a business, a consumer Buyer may have statutory rights against that Seller, which these Terms do not reduce.

13.4 You may close your account at any time, unless you have a live listing, a live bid, or a sale that hasn't completed.

14.1 We will provide our service with reasonable care and skill.

14.2 Because we are not a party to the sale contract, we are not responsible for the Seller's or Buyer's performance of it, or for the accuracy of listings, the value of any Registration, or decisions made by the DVLA.

14.3 We do not guarantee that the Site will always be available, uninterrupted or error-free.

14.4 We are not liable for losses that were not foreseeable when you accepted these Terms, or for losses caused by events outside our reasonable control, including DVLA delays or system outages, postal failures, or failures of third-party providers.

14.5 If you use the Site for business purposes, we are not liable for loss of profit, business, goodwill or opportunity, and our total liability to you in connection with any Auction is limited to the fees you paid us for that Auction.

14.6 Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.

14.7 You agree to cover any losses, costs and claims we suffer because you breach these Terms, including by listing a Registration you weren't entitled to sell. If you are a consumer, this is limited to losses that were reasonably foreseeable.

We may suspend or close your account, cancel your bids or remove your listings if we reasonably believe you have broken these Terms, provided false information, failed our verification checks, or acted in a way that could harm other users or PPA Auction. Where we can, we will tell you why and give you a chance to respond.

16.1 If you're unhappy with our service, contact us at info@private-plate-auctions.com. We will acknowledge your complaint within [2] Working Days and aim to resolve it within [14] days.

16.2 Disputes between a Buyer and a Seller about the sale should first be raised with us, and we will try to help resolve them using the auction record and documents we hold. We are not obliged to decide the dispute, and the Buyer and Seller remain responsible for their own obligations to each other.

17.1 These Terms, together with the documents they refer to, are the whole agreement between you and us about your use of the Site.

17.2 If any part of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest remains in force.

17.3 If we delay enforcing any right, we can still enforce it later.

17.4 We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation. You may not transfer yours without our written consent.

17.5 No one other than you and us has any right to enforce these Terms, except that a Buyer or Seller may enforce clauses of these Terms that directly concern their sale contract.

17.6 We may send you notices and documents by email to the address on your account.

These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you are a consumer, you may bring proceedings in the courts of England and Wales, or of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live there. If you are a business, the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

Private Plate Auctions Limited · Registered in England and Wales, company no. 17281207 · Registered office: [Registered office address]

If you don't agree to these Terms, please don't use the site.