Is it safe to give only the green slip from V5 ?

mkoprulu

Hi all,

I've got an unusual question...

I'm selling my car and a potential buyer called me this evening to ask if i could tax it (SORN at the moment). I said no, because i'm not insured with it so i can't tax it.

He doesn't want to wait for the weekend and I'm only available in the evenings, so he called up DVLA and asked what needs to be done. He then told me that DVLA adviced him to leave a deposit, leave the car with me and take the green slip out of V5, get his insurance and tax it, then pay me the rest of the money and pick the car up.

I never had this situation before, and i was wondering if it's safe to give the green slip without taking all of the payment. At the end of the day, the signature part of the V5 will stay with me and it won't be signed until he pays me all of the money. I appreciate his situation for not wanting to wait till the weekend and this seems to be the only solution since i'm not available during post office opening times.

As far as i know the green slip is not a proof of sale as the important bit is the remainder of the V5 document where we both need to sign and send to DVLA. So even if he turns out dodgy and claims the car was paid for, he will only have the green slip and i will have the rest of the document which will be without any signature.

Is it safe to do this? I'll give a ring to DVLA tomorrow as well but just wanted to ask here too, in case anyone else had this situation before...

Many thanks in advance!

reduceditem

It's fine.

anewman

The slip does state it won't produce a V5 document so can't see any potential issues. Would rather have all the money than just a deposit though, and if they're genuine buyers and going to get tax and insurance I can't see how they wouldn't want to pay in full.

mkoprulu

I would prefer to have the full payment too, but the issue is he won't be able to drive it off due to the vehicle being SORN, therefore if i look at it from his point of view, he wouldn't want to pay for a vehicle and leave it with the buyer.

You said slip won't produce a V5 but how about the application for a replacement V5? If he applies for a replacement, will he still be asked for proof? As long as DVLA has my details in their records, he shouldn't be able to do this, so i should be safe. Am i right in this theory?

KeithP

Remember, a V5 is not proof of ownership.

He will not have proof of ownership until he gives you all the money and you then give him a receipt, will he?

If he were to apply for a replacement V5, my understanding is that DVLA will write to last known RK, i.e. you, asking if it is ok.

mkoprulu

As far as i know V5 is the proof of ownership because it is the official document government issues for the car. A sale receipt is not mandatory and i don't think more powerful than a V5 document with your name on it.

I agree about the replacement V5 comment you made. They should be checking with the last known owner first, otherwise people would be getting registrations on themself all over the place

mkoprulu

I just called up DVLA and asked about this.

The Green slip - or new keeper's supplement as they call it - is NOT a proof of ownership. Therefore it's only good for taxing the vehicle.

BUT!

There's also nothing stopping him from going away and applying for a V5 document on his name with that green slip...

The upside of this is DVLA would then mail me telling someone is applying for a V5 on their name, and ask if i'm still the owner of the car or not. At that point i would say i am still the owner and they would tell him off

The downside is it's an unnecessary hassle to do this whole thing. Why can't he just wait till the weekend?

KeithP

mkoprulu wrote: »

As far as i know V5 is the proof of ownership because it is the official document government issues for the car.

Well here is a quote from a government website...

If you decide to buy a vehicle make sure the person selling it has the right to do so as the registration certificate isn’t proof that they own the vehicle.

mkoprulu wrote: »

A sale receipt is not mandatory...

You may well be right on that point, it which case there may well be no proof of ownership.

mkoprulu

Yes, DVLA confirms that too. That's why they don't use "Owner" term in the V5 but instead "Registered Keeper" term. Also insurance companies always have two questions, are you the owner and are you the registered keeper.

If you have a sale receipt as well as V5 that makes you both the owner and the registered keeper. It's very strange how these legalities are.

hartcjhart

why do you ask a question then answer it yourself??

mkoprulu

I didn't answer it myself, DVLA did.