Terms of Service

These terms apply whenever you instruct Bassett & Partners LTD to prepare a vehicle valuation report or to assist you with registering a vehicle with the DVLA. By sending us your details and asking us to proceed, you accept them.

Our service

We prepare independent, written UK market valuation reports for vehicles, for purposes including HMRC import, DVLA registration, insurance, probate/inheritance tax, and to support divorce or separation discussions. Our reports are independent supporting documents based on the vehicle's UK market value. We also prepare retrospective valuations, which give the market value as at a past date (see "Retrospective valuations" below). We do not act as an expert witness, we are not instructed under CPR Part 35 or FPR Part 25, and we do not attend court or tribunal hearings.

What we need from you

To prepare your valuation we ask for the vehicle's details (make, model, VIN, mileage, registration year, fuel type, number of previous owners), photographs, and any relevant condition or history information. Your report is prepared on the basis of what you give us. You're responsible for making sure it's accurate and complete. If it later turns out to be inaccurate or incomplete, we may need to revise the report, and additional charges may apply.

Pricing and payment

Valuations start from £95. DVLA registration assistance is priced per vehicle. The exact price depends on the vehicle and the complexity of the case, and is always confirmed to you in writing before any work begins, and no hidden extras are added afterwards. We raise an invoice once the price is agreed, and work only starts once that invoice has been paid in full.

Turnaround times

We aim to deliver most reports within hours of receiving everything we need from you. This isn't a guaranteed deadline: unusual, rare or complex vehicles can take longer, and we'll tell you if that's the case.

Cancellations and refunds

• If you cancel before we've started researching your vehicle, we'll refund your invoice in full.
• Once research or report writing has started, the fee is non-refundable, because that work has already been carried out. This does not apply if you are a consumer and cancel within 14 days: see "Your right to cancel (consumers)" below.
• If we're unable to complete a valuation (for example, because we don't consider ourselves qualified to value the specific vehicle), we'll tell you and refund you in full.
• For DVLA registration assistance: we start work as soon as you have paid, so the fee is non-refundable, except where the consumer right to cancel below applies.

Your right to cancel (consumers). This section applies to all our services. If you are buying as a consumer, you can cancel within 14 days of the day we agree the contract, without giving a reason. To cancel, tell us by email at bassettpartner@gmail.com. We start work only once you have paid and asked us to proceed, so by paying and asking us to proceed you expressly ask us to start work within the 14 days. If you cancel after we have started, you pay a proportionate amount for the work done up to the time you told us you were cancelling, and we refund the rest. Once the service has been fully performed (for example, once the report has been delivered), you lose the right to cancel. By asking us to proceed you confirm that you understand this. This section does not limit any other right you have by law, and where it applies it takes priority over the points above.

DVLA registration assistance

As well as valuation reports, we offer an assistance service for registering a vehicle with the DVLA, for example a vehicle imported into the UK. We are an assistance service: the DVLA decides whether a vehicle is registered, not us.

What we do. We tell you which documents and details the DVLA asks for in your case. We prepare the DVLA application forms and check your documents for completeness and consistency, so that they match what the DVLA asks for and avoid delays or queries that can be avoided. Where the vehicle needs an approval test or inspection, we book it in your name, and you then take the vehicle to the test centre.

What you do. You give us accurate and complete information about the vehicle, and the original documents we ask for, promptly. You sign what needs your signature, and you tell us straight away if anything changes or if you find that something you told us was wrong.

What is not included in our fee. DVLA fees, vehicle tax, test or inspection fees (such as an MSVA), VAT or duty where due, MOT and any modifications the vehicle needs are set by third parties, are not part of our fee, and are paid by you in addition, directly to the body concerned.

What we cannot guarantee. The DVLA, and the test centre where a test is needed, decide on their own, on their own timescale. We do not guarantee that a vehicle will be registered, that it will pass a test or inspection, or any date or processing time. We are responsible for preparing your application with reasonable care and skill.

Fees and delivery. Once you have paid, we start work immediately, so our fee is not refundable (unless the consumer right to cancel in "Cancellations and refunds" applies). Our services are delivered in accordance with the law imposed by UK and foreign authorities.

False or incomplete information. If information or documents you give us turn out to be inaccurate, incomplete or false, we may stop work, and the fee is not refunded.

Retrospective valuations

A retrospective valuation is a written, independent opinion of a vehicle's market value as at a past date that you give us, for example for use in a dispute or claim with a seller, a dealer or an insurer. The report states that date. It is based on market evidence relevant to that date, and on the documents and information you give us. These terms apply to it together with the rest of this page.

Desktop only. We do not inspect the vehicle. We rely on the documents, mileage, specification, condition and history you give us, and you are responsible for making sure they are accurate and complete. If they turn out to be wrong, the value in the report may be wrong. We may reissue the report on corrected information, and additional charges may apply if the original information was inaccurate or incomplete (see "What we need from you" above).

Date and basis. The valuation date is the one you give us, and the report states it. Any assumption we make about the vehicle's history or condition is stated in the report, for example that it is valued as if it had a clean history because you asked for that. We give one valuation basis for one date per instruction. A second basis or a second date is a separate instruction and has its own fee.

What this is not. We are not expert witnesses. The report is not an expert report under CPR Part 35 and contains no statement of truth. We do not attend court, hearings or mediation, we do not answer questions from the other side, and we do not act for you or negotiate with any dealer, seller, insurer or court. We give no legal, financial or insurance advice, and no view on whether you have a claim, what you should claim, or how a claim will be decided. Working out the amount of any claim is for you. Whether a court or any other party accepts the report, or needs permission before it can be used, is outside our control.

Who can rely on the report. The report is prepared for the client named in it, for the purpose stated in it. Nobody else may rely on it. You may show it to the other party, an insurer, an ombudsman or a court, but that does not give them a right to rely on it, and we owe them no duty.

No promise of outcome. We do not promise that any dealer, insurer, court or ombudsman will agree the value, accept the report or pay anything.

Cover letter. You can ask for a short cover letter that explains the method we used. If there is a charge for it, we confirm it to you in writing before any work begins.

Payment and delivery. We issue the report once your invoice has been paid in full. We usually deliver within one working day of payment and of receiving everything we need from you. This isn't a guaranteed deadline, and we'll tell you if a case will take longer.

Cancelling. See "Cancellations and refunds" above, including the consumer right to cancel.

The "Limitation of liability" section below applies to this service. We prepare every retrospective valuation with reasonable care and skill.

Nature of a valuation

A valuation is a professional opinion of market value, not a guarantee of the price a specific vehicle would achieve on an actual sale. Two similar vehicles can genuinely sell for different prices because a particular buyer values something (provenance, colour, a specific specification, or simply wanting that exact car) differently to the general market. Our report gives you a reasoned, evidence-based opinion of value using comparable vehicles and the information you provide; it cannot and does not promise what any individual buyer or seller would agree to pay.

How third parties may use your valuation

Your report reflects our independent professional opinion of market value at the time it's prepared, based on the information available to us. A valuation is generally considered valid for 6 to 12 months, depending on how the market for that vehicle moves. We can't guarantee that any third party (such as HMRC, an insurer, or the DVLA) will accept a given valuation for a given purpose, though our reports are prepared with those standards in mind.

Limitation of liability

We prepare every report with reasonable care and skill. Because a valuation is an opinion rather than a guaranteed outcome (see "Nature of a valuation" above), our liability for any claim arising from a report, including a claim that the value stated was too high or too low, is limited to the fee you paid for that report. We are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss (for example loss of profit, or a change in tax owed as a result of relying on the report), or for losses arising from information you gave us that was inaccurate or incomplete, or for a third party's decision not to accept a valuation for a particular purpose. For DVLA registration assistance, our liability is limited to the fee you paid us for that service, and we are not liable for fees or charges set by the authorities, or for delays or decisions of the DVLA, a test centre or any other authority. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under English law.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with your report or with our service, contact us at bassettpartner@gmail.com and we'll look into it directly with you.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Any change will apply to work instructed after the date it's published here.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

Contact

Questions about these terms: bassettpartner@gmail.com. Bassett & Partners LTD, company number 15737912, registered office 9 Glencarron Way, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 7EF.