Car private plate

PixiePie

It totally depends on your OR. I have a cherished No. plate - I totally forgot it was one as it was a present from 10 years before my BR, so didn't list it as anything on my forms but my OR spotted it. It too was one that wasn't really worth anything to the majority of people.
The OR sent a valuer round to value my car, which came back at £0, the auctioneer saying he couldn't sell it. The OR then wanted my car (despite the fact that I *needed* the car for work, the OR refused to accept this and when I asked him if he would let me know what he had based his decision on, and how I was meant to get to work, I was told it was not their problem and I had to sort that out myself!) so sent me forms to transfer it to him. I refused and phoned up and said my father in law was willing to purchase it on my behalf. At this point I heard nothing for several months - near the end of my BR I got a letter saying I could purchase the car and plates (the first time they had been mentioned) for £600. I wrote back and told them to stuff it, the car was worth £0 by their own valuation and the plates weren't worth anything near that - I got three valuations online for the plates which came back at £1600, £400 and £125 (I think the first one was dreaming!) and offered the OR £200 in light of these valuations, pointing out it was a guaranteed quick sale (whereas the DVLA etc sellers of regs take it off you and try and sell it over 6 months, if they don't they give it back to you...). They accepted this and my partner gave them a cheque for £200 - am still a bit angry about it to be honest, and wish I had bartered more, but it had immense sentimental importance to me so I really wanted to keep it (silly really!). Plus I was going to be damned if I was going to pay them £80 to transfer it to them (which they wanted me to foot the bill for!!).

I must point out my first OR was a total and utter female genitalia parts (really really really horrid and very unprofessional, reducing me to tears on a par with the bleeding DCAs), but the final stuff about the car was processed by another OR case worker who wanted to wrap it all up before my AD, so that didn't really change anything, and it just shows the whole experience is vastly open to abuse from the OR you get (either way).

Basically don't volunteer it's a cherished plate and hopefully you will slip under the radar, if not, offer them a massively reduced amount to buy it back, and point out that you will not be paying the £80 transfer amount if they do decided to take it off you as well!

Good luck