Buyer Terms

1.How buying works

Trader.co.uk is a marketplace. When you buy a car, your contract is with the seller — not with us. We act as the seller's agent to help the sale happen and we charge a platform fee for running it. We're not the seller and we're not responsible for the car itself.

2.Who can buy

In this phase, buyers are trade buyers — businesses buying in the course of trade, not consumers. You must register honestly as a business and provide accurate details. You confirm you're buying for your business, so full business terms apply to you and consumer protections don't. If you misrepresent your status, you may be suspended and held to full trade terms.

3.Pay on time

You must pay within 24 hours of getting your invoice. Miss that and a late fee applies. If you still haven't paid 7 days after the invoice, the sale can be cancelled and a relist fee charged to the card you used when you bid or committed.

4.Check before you accept — then it's yours

Always inspect the car before you accept it — in person or through someone you send and trust. You accept either by confirming in the Trader app or by giving the seller your release code. Look after that code: giving it to someone counts as you accepting the car. Once you've accepted and taken the car, the sale is final and can't be undone through the platform. So check first.

On a normal (PSP) sale you have choices at collection: accept, raise a problem and agree a new price with the seller, or cancel. Once you accept, that's final.

5.Make sure it's road-legal

Tax, MOT, insurance and roadworthiness are your responsibility before the car goes on the road. We don't check or guarantee any of that.

6.Collection

You must collect within 7 days of paying. If you don't, the seller can charge storage or cancel. The car won't be released until everything owed is paid in full. Collection and handover follow our Collection & Handover Terms.

7.Some sellers settle directly

A few sellers handle their own payment outside our payment provider. The deal still works the same way — your contract is with the seller, we're still the seller's agent, and these terms still apply.

8.Chargebacks — please don't

Don't try to reverse a completed purchase through your bank. If there's a problem with the car, sort it out with the seller. If you buy from a private seller who has done everything right, you (the trade buyer) carry the risk of any chargeback — you can't claw the money back from a private individual. We can recover what's owed and may suspend your account if you misuse chargebacks.

9.If something goes wrong

Any dispute about a car is between you and the seller — you should resolve it directly. We're the marketplace, not a judge of disputes, and we're not liable for the car or what the seller does. Our liability to you is limited, as set out in the full terms.

1.Introduction

These Buyer Terms & Conditions ("Buyer Terms") apply when you bid on, commit to purchase, pay for, collect, or accept a vehicle through Trader.co.uk (the "Platform"). They form part of your agreement with Trader.co.uk Services Limited ("Trader.co.uk", "we", "us", "our") and must be read with the Platform Terms of Use, the Auction Rules, the Fees & Payments Schedule and the Collection & Handover Terms.

In these Buyer Terms, "Buyer" means you; "Seller" means the person or business selling the vehicle; and "Vehicle" means the vehicle you bid on or buy. Capitalised terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Platform Terms.

You buy from the Seller, not from us. You form a contract of sale directly with the Seller. Trader.co.uk acts as the Seller's disclosed agent to facilitate the sale and is not the seller of any Vehicle and not a party to the contract of sale. Separately, Trader.co.uk provides platform services to you, for which a platform fee may be charged (see the Fees & Payments Schedule).

Phase 1 scope: in Phase 1 Buyers are Trade Buyers (businesses), so your purchase is a business-to-business purchase. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not apply to your purchase. You buy on the basis set out in clause 7 ("as inspected").

2.Who Can Buy

To bid or buy you must register and pass the verification applicable to your Buyer category (see the Platform Terms and the KYC/KYB Policy). In Phase 1, Buyers must be Trade Buyers — either a UK-registered company (passing business verification) or a sole trader active in the motor trade (passing identity verification). You must provide accurate information and complete payment authentication via the PSP.

You are a trade user, not a consumer. You confirm that you are buying in the course of your business and not as a consumer, and that you are authorised to bind the business on whose behalf you bid or buy. As a Trade Buyer you contract with Trader.co.uk on full business-to-business terms, do not deal as a consumer, and are not entitled to any consumer-protection treatment under these Buyer Terms or any other document in the Terms Suite. The full force of these terms applies to you without limitation.

Honest registration. You must register under the correct status and provide accurate information about whether you are a business. Registering, presenting, or holding yourself out as a private individual, or in any incorrect status, to obtain terms, fees, or protection not available to you, or to avoid trade obligations, is a breach of these Buyer Terms. Where there are objective indications that you are acting as a trader, we may re-categorise your account as a Trade Buyer with retrospective effect, and we may suspend, restrict, or remove any account registered under an incorrect or misleading status.

No protection for false status. Any consumer protection under the Terms Suite is available only to those genuinely entitled to it. If you misrepresent your status to obtain treatment, fees, or protection not available to you: (i) you obtain no consumer protection and are treated as a Trade Buyer on full business terms with retrospective effect; (ii) any consumer-protection limitation that would otherwise have applied is void as against you; (iii) you remain fully liable under every term as a trade user, including the chargeback responsibility in clause 5A; (iv) you indemnify Trader.co.uk against any loss, cost, or liability arising from your misrepresentation of status; and (v) we may suspend, restrict, or remove your account and recover any sums due by the means set out in these Buyer Terms.

3.Your Responsibilities

You must: provide true and accurate information; bid or buy only if you intend to complete; pay on time; collect on time; inspect the Vehicle before accepting; satisfy yourself the Vehicle is lawful and safe before using it on the road; and treat Sellers and our staff respectfully.

4.Binding Commitments

When you place the winning valid bid at auction close, commit via Buy Now, or have your offer accepted (where offers are enabled), you enter a binding contract to purchase the Vehicle from the Seller. The detailed mechanics are in the Auction Rules. You cannot withdraw without the consequences set out in these Buyer Terms and the Fees & Payments Schedule.

Trader.co.uk is not a party to that contract and does not guarantee that the Seller will perform it. Disputes about the Vehicle or the sale are between you and the Seller (see clause 10).

5.Payment

Deadline — 24 hours. You must pay within 24 hours of the invoice being created. The invoice is created at the moment your offer is accepted, you submit Buy Now, or the auction closes in your favour.

Late payment fee. If you do not pay within 24 hours, a late payment fee applies, as set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule.

Cancellation and relist fee at 7 days. If you have not paid by the end of the 7th day after the invoice is created, the sale may be cancelled and a relist fee (as set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule) applies. You authorise Trader.co.uk to charge the relist fee (and any late payment fee) to the payment card pre-authorised when you bid or committed to buy.

Card pre-authorisation. When you bid or commit to buy, you authorise a pre-authorisation hold on your payment card and authorise Trader.co.uk to charge that card for late payment and relist fees if you fail to pay. These are Trader.co.uk's own fees for its platform services and are not the proceeds of sale of any Vehicle.

Payment method. Except for direct-seller sales (clause 6), payments for the Vehicle are made through the regulated payment service provider (the "PSP"). Strong Customer Authentication may be required. Trader.co.uk does not receive, hold, or control the proceeds of sale.

5A.Chargebacks and Payment Disputes

Do not use chargebacks to reverse a completed sale. Where you have bought a Vehicle and it has been supplied to you as described, with good title, and you have collected it, the sale is complete. You must not use a chargeback or payment reversal through your card issuer or bank to attempt to reverse a completed and accepted purchase. Any genuine dispute about the Vehicle is a matter between you and the Seller and is dealt with under clause 10 (Disputes).

Purchases from Private Sellers — you carry the payment-dispute risk. Where you buy from a Private Seller (an individual selling their own Vehicle), you acknowledge that the Private Seller does not bear the risk of any chargeback or payment reversal once they have performed their obligations and handover is complete. As the Trade Buyer, you carry the risk of, and are responsible for, any chargeback, payment reversal, or clawback arising on that purchase, together with any related PSP fees and Trader.co.uk's reasonable administrative costs. You must not seek to recover any such amount from the Private Seller who has performed.

Our recovery rights. Where a chargeback, payment reversal, or clawback arises on a purchase you have made, you authorise Trader.co.uk to recover the full amount owed (including related fees and costs) by any one or more of: (a) charging the payment card or payment method you hold on file; (b) deducting it from sums otherwise payable to you; and (c) invoicing you directly for immediate payment, payable within 7 days. We may also suspend or restrict your account pending resolution.

Cooperation. You must cooperate promptly and fully with Trader.co.uk and the PSP in dealing with any chargeback or payment dispute, including providing the evidence required within the PSP's timescales.

6.Direct-Seller (Off-PSP) Purchases

Some sellers settle directly. Some Sellers operate their own payment and settlement arrangements and do not take payment through the PSP. Where you purchase from such a Seller (a "direct-seller sale"), you pay that Seller directly and not through the PSP wallet. Your invoice will show the Seller's details (not PSP details) and the Platform will make clear that the purchase is a direct sale.

What stays the same. For a direct-seller sale, the contract of sale is still between you and the Seller, Trader.co.uk still acts as the Seller's disclosed agent, and these Buyer Terms still apply. Trader.co.uk does not receive or hold the proceeds of a direct-seller sale.

Platform fee. No separate buyer platform fee is charged by Trader.co.uk on a direct-seller sale. (For PSP marketplace purchases, the platform fee applies as set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule.)

7.Inspection and Acceptance

Mandatory inspection. Before accepting, you (or your authorised collector) must inspect the Vehicle, including its exterior, interior, engine area, mileage, documents, keys, and any disclosed or undisclosed defects.

How acceptance happens — the Trader app and the release code. Acceptance is actioned through the Trader app, by the Buyer or the Seller as applicable to the transaction (the specific handover process for your purchase is set out in the Collection & Handover Terms and is shown to you at payment/booking). You will be issued a release code. The release code is your authorisation to release and accept the Vehicle. Where you are not present, your authorised collector (for example a recovery agent) may present the release code on your behalf.

Responsibility for your release code. You are responsible for keeping your release code secure and for the actions of anyone to whom you provide it. Use of your release code to collect the Vehicle is treated as your authorisation and your acceptance, whether actioned by you or by a person you have given the code to.

Your choices at collection (PSP sales). On a PSP sale, after inspecting the Vehicle at collection you may, in the Trader app, choose to: (a) Accept — the sale is final, risk passes to you, and the funds are released to the Seller; (b) Dispute / renegotiate — propose a revised price with a reason, which, if the Seller accepts, completes the sale at the revised price with the difference refunded to you (no cancellation or relist fee applies to a mutually agreed renegotiation); (c) Cancel — subject to admin review, with the consequences in the Fees & Payments Schedule; or (d) make no decision — the transaction is placed on hold for admin review. These doorstep options exist before acceptance; once you accept, the sale is final (see Finality below). On a direct sale, any renegotiation is handled manually with the Seller at collection.

Finality. Once the Vehicle is accepted (by confirmation in the Trader app and/or use of the release code) and removed, the Vehicle is sold in its then-current condition. The sale is final and cannot be reversed through the Platform. "Sold as seen" and the no-recourse position apply from the point of acceptance. You cannot make claims against Trader.co.uk in respect of the Vehicle.

Refunds and verification. Where a refund is due to you (for example on a cancellation or a renegotiated partial refund), the PSP may require you to complete identity verification before the refund is released. The PSP's current requirement is verification where the cumulative refund exceeds £2,500 or you are a limited company; this is set by the PSP and may change. Your funds remain held securely by the PSP until any required verification is complete.

8.Roadworthiness, MOT, Tax and Insurance

Trader.co.uk does not guarantee, inspect, test, or confirm the roadworthiness of any Vehicle. A Vehicle may be unroadworthy, without a valid MOT, untaxed, uninsured, unsafe to drive, or sold as a non-runner or for spares/repairs.

You are solely responsible for ensuring the Vehicle is legal and safe before it is driven on the road, including MOT, tax, insurance, and roadworthiness. We strongly recommend using a recovery truck or transporter for collection unless you have verified the Vehicle is roadworthy and legal to drive.

Trader.co.uk has no liability for any loss, damage, penalty, or harm arising from a Vehicle being driven while unroadworthy, untaxed, uninsured, or otherwise unlawful.

9.Collection and Storage

Collection window — 7 days. You must collect the Vehicle within 7 days of payment.

After 7 days — seller's choice. If you have not collected within 7 days of payment, the Seller may, at their discretion, either: (a) charge storage at £75 per week (or part week) from day 8, payable before release; or (b) cancel the sale. A Seller may choose to cancel rather than store (for example where they have no space to store the Vehicle). The Platform facilitates whichever the Seller elects.

No release until paid. The Vehicle will not be released until the purchase price, any platform fee, any storage, late, or other fees, and any other amounts owed are settled in full.

All collections and handovers are governed by the Collection & Handover / Acceptance Terms, which apply to you and the Seller and set out the specific handover process for your purchase.

10.Disputes

Any dispute about a Vehicle or a sale is between you and the Seller, who must resolve it directly. Trader.co.uk does not mediate, adjudicate, assess evidence, or provide compensation, and bears no liability in respect of any such dispute. We may, at our discretion and without obligation, provide transaction records or timestamped check data as a neutral record to assist the parties.

11.Conduct and Platform Rules

You must not: abuse, threaten, or harass Sellers or our staff; attempt chargebacks without proper cause; avoid or attempt to avoid fees, including by transacting off-Platform to circumvent fees (see the anti-circumvention provisions in the Platform Terms and Seller Terms); create fake or duplicate accounts; or manipulate auctions (including shill or coordinated bidding).

We may suspend, restrict, or remove your account or any bid at our reasonable discretion, including (without limitation) for breach of these Buyer Terms, failed verification, fraud, AML/sanctions concerns, safety or legal concerns, non-payment of sums due, or where we reasonably consider it necessary to protect the Platform, other users, or our legitimate business interests. Where lawful and practicable we will give notice, but we may act immediately where the circumstances reasonably require.

12.Liability

Nothing in these Buyer Terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be limited by law, or for any failure to provide our platform services with reasonable care and skill.

As the Seller's disclosed agent and not a party to the sale, Trader.co.uk is not liable for the condition, roadworthiness, mileage, quality, description, title, or legality of any Vehicle; the acts or omissions of any Seller; the formation, performance, or breach of the contract of sale; or PSP performance or timing. Subject to the first paragraph of this clause, our total liability to you is capped in accordance with the Platform Terms (the higher of the fees you paid to Trader.co.uk in respect of the relevant transaction and £250).

13.General

Relationship with other documents. These Buyer Terms are subject to the order of priority in the Platform Terms. The Fees & Payments Schedule prevails on all fee amounts.

Changes. We may update these Buyer Terms; material changes will be notified. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

No third-party rights. Except as stated in the Platform Terms, no person other than you and us may enforce these Buyer Terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. This does not affect the contract of sale between you and the Seller.

Governing law. These Buyer Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.