Ebay seller saying car has mot but not showing on dvla

Joe_Horner

arcon5 wrote: »

Actually the other poster is right, MOTs don't always show up on the system straight away and paperwork issued during a contingency test is a legal document meaning the vehicle has a valid MOT but not yet recorded on the system

No, he's not right. The paper copy (whether "normal" or contingency) doesn't stand as legal proof of the MOT.

If you show a contingency certificate then they can still check that the test shows up on the database once it's been updated and, if it doesn't, then the certificate counts for nothing.

So trusting a seller who shows a piece of paper - which carries no security markings at all (ie: no funny patterns, no holograms etc) when the test isn't on the database, is foolish. That paper could have come from their printer and - unless the test can be traced in the computer records - that's exactly where any court would assume it came from.

shaun_from_Africa

Joe_Horner wrote: »

So trusting a seller who shows a piece of paper - which carries no security markings at all (ie: no funny patterns, no holograms etc) when the test isn't on the database, is foolish. That paper could have come from their printer and - unless the test can be traced in the computer records - that's exactly where any court would assume it came from.

Exactly.

The cautionary note from the TSI follows the arrest by Cleveland Police of a man, 38, who allegedly forged MOT certificates.

"We are concerned that motorists still do not know that paper certificates are no longer proof of existence of a valid MOT certificate," said Gerald Taylor, TSI's motor trade lead officer.

"The downloaded certificate in its present form can be altered and abused at will using the simplest of computer software available with nearly every personal computer. Purchasers - whether private or trade - should NOT rely on printed MOT certificates when buying cars."

http://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/used-car-buyers-beware-of-fake-mots

Marvel1

I would want to check it's current MOT online and also look at it's past MOT history for advisories.

Rover_Driver

The DVLA website can take up to 5 days to update, the check-mot.service website (as in post 2) can be quicker.

AdrianC

Just a thought... The car isn't in Northern Ireland, is it? Their MOTs are valid in Great Britain, but don't show up on the online checkers.

arcon5

Joe_Horner wrote: »

No, he's not right. The paper copy (whether "normal" or contingency) doesn't stand as legal proof of the MOT.

If you show a contingency certificate then they can still check that the test shows up on the database once it's been updated and, if it doesn't, then the certificate counts for nothing.

So trusting a seller who shows a piece of paper - which carries no security markings at all (ie: no funny patterns, no holograms etc) when the test isn't on the database, is foolish. That paper could have come from their printer and - unless the test can be traced in the computer records - that's exactly where any court would assume it came from.

You've been told by several posters now:

Mots can take up to 5 days to update
Contingency test papers are valid documents


So like the op and others you are being a drama queen. Just because it wasn't showing on the system on the day op looked doesn't mean the seller has done anything wrong. So for op to say they think the seller is lying and for others to say move on or imply any wrong doing is pretty low

patman99

Even faked MOTs can show up on the DVSA database.
A good example of how easy it is to fake MOT tests has to be the Essex couple done earlier this year for undertaking a large number of fake MOT tests.

They simply used the same car 2 or more times to give the MOT some kind of 'validity' on the system. All they did was use the reg no. of the car they needed the MOT certificate for, then add in an advisory or two in order to avoid detection.

They only got caught when someone at the DVSA spotted an issue with the timings of the MOT tests.

Joe_Horner

arcon5 wrote: »

You've been told by several posters now:

Mots can take up to 5 days to update
Contingency test papers are valid documents


So like the op and others you are being a drama queen. Just because it wasn't showing on the system on the day op looked doesn't mean the seller has done anything wrong. So for op to say they think the seller is lying and for others to say move on or imply any wrong doing is pretty low

At no point did i say the seller was lying.

i simply pointed out that, until the test shows up on the database (assuming it does), accepting one of the new certificates - OR a contingency one - as evidence of an MOT is foolish. It also goes against the specific recommendations of gov.uk, the AA, the RAC and just about anyone else except, it seems, you and NUH.

You've repeated that a contingency cert is a "legal document" but you don't seem to understand that it does NOT provide proof of an MOT unless there's a corresponding record either in the database or queued (possibly in paper form on a tester's desk) waiting to be added to that database.

If no such record turns up you will NOT get off a driving without MOT charge by showing that bit of paper.

So saying you shouldn't trust a paper cert unless there's a database entry isn't being a drama queen, it's advocating simple common sense.




eta: Please also note that your advice to accept a paper cert without it showing online is the exact opposite of the advice given by the AA, the RAC and gov.uk. So what makes you better qualified to advise than any of them?

Joe_Horner

patman99 wrote: »

Even faked MOTs can show up on the DVSA database.
A good example of how easy it is to fake MOT tests has to be the Essex couple done earlier this year for undertaking a large number of fake MOT tests.

They simply used the same car 2 or more times to give the MOT some kind of 'validity' on the system. All they did was use the reg no. of the car they needed the MOT certificate for, then add in an advisory or two in order to avoid detection.

They only got caught when someone at the DVSA spotted an issue with the timings of the MOT tests.

True, but that requires a bent testing station.

Printing a completely-indistinguishable-from-real paper "certificate" needs a 50k download, a word processor program, a sheet of cheap A4 paper and an inkjet.

Nodding_Donkey

NewUserHere wrote: »

Op careful what you read from posters around here... Most of them make things up as they go along

My Irony-o-Meter just exploded.