Seller Terms

1.How selling works

Trader.co.uk is a marketplace. When you list a car, we act as your agent to help sell it — we list it, run the auction or sale, take the buyer's payment, and help with collection. We don't buy your car or own it. The sale is a contract between you and the buyer. We charge the buyer a platform fee for running the sale.

2.Private seller or trade seller?

If you're an ordinary person selling your own car, you're a "private seller" and you keep all your normal consumer rights. If you sell cars as a business (including as a sole trader or a company), you're a "trade seller" and full business terms apply.

You must register as the right one. If you're really a trader but sign up as a private individual to get a better deal, you lose any consumer protection, we'll treat you as a trader anyway, and we may suspend your account.

3.Your car, your responsibility

Everything you tell us about the car must be true — who owns it, the mileage, the description, the photos, the history, and whether there's any finance on it. You must own the car or be allowed to sell it. If your listing is wrong, misleading, or hides something, that's your responsibility and a fee may apply. We don't check or verify your car's details — that's on you.

4.When the sale becomes binding

Once a buyer wins your auction, buys it now, or you accept their offer, you have a binding sale and you must go through with it. Selling "as seen" is fine in a trade-to-trade sale, but it never covers lying about the car or hiding faults.

5.How and when you get paid

The buyer pays into a secure account held by our payment provider — we don't hold your money. You'll see the funds straight away, but you can't draw them down until the buyer has collected the car and confirmed they're happy. Don't hand over the keys until the platform tells you the funds are ready to draw down. Once you draw down, the money usually reaches your bank within a day.

If you're a sole trader or private seller, once your total sales pass £2,500 you'll need to verify your identity before drawing down more. Companies are verified on every sale. (These checks are set by our payment provider and may change.)

6.VAT (trade sellers only)

If you're VAT-registered and the car is VAT-qualifying, you issue the buyer a VAT invoice — not us. Most used cars sell under the margin scheme or with no VAT; either way the VAT side of the car is your responsibility, not ours.

7.Collection and if the buyer doesn't play ball

Collection and handover follow our Collection & Handover Terms. If the buyer doesn't pay or collect in time, you can choose to charge storage or cancel — the platform helps with whichever you pick. You can refuse to let a car be driven away if it's not safe or legal to drive.

8.Chargebacks

A chargeback is when a buyer reverses a card payment through their bank, sometimes after they've taken the car. If you're a trade seller, you're responsible for chargebacks on cars you've sold, and we can recover what's owed from you. If you're a private seller and you've done everything right, you are NOT on the hook for chargebacks — that risk sits with the trade buyer.

9.Don't go around the platform

Once we've introduced you to a buyer, don't take the deal off-platform to dodge our fee. There are charges if you do.

10.When we can step in

We can suspend, restrict, or remove your account or listings if you break the rules — for example false information, non-payment of what you owe, fraud, or safety concerns. Any dispute about the car is between you and the buyer; we're the marketplace, not a judge, and our liability to you is limited (set out in the full terms).

1.Introduction

These Seller Terms & Conditions ("Seller Terms") apply when you list, describe, offer, sell, or hand over 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 together with the Platform Terms of Use, the Fees & Payments Schedule, the Auction Rules and the Collection & Handover Terms.

In these Seller Terms, "Seller" means you (whether a Private Seller or a Trade Seller); "Buyer" means the person or business who purchases or commits to purchase your vehicle; and "Vehicle" means the vehicle you list. Capitalised terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Platform Terms.

Phase 1 scope: in Phase 1 the Buyer is a Trade Buyer (a business). Your sale is therefore a business-to-business sale. Where you are a Trade Seller selling to a Trade Buyer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not apply to the sale. Different provisions will apply in Phase 2 if and when sales to consumer buyers are enabled.

1A.Seller Types and How These Terms Apply

Two types of Seller. These Seller Terms apply to two types of Seller: a "Private Seller" (an individual selling their own Vehicle otherwise than in the course of a business) and a "Trade Seller" (a sole trader, partnership, or company selling in the course of a business, including a motor trader). Most of these terms apply to both. Where a clause states a different position for Private Sellers, that modified position prevails for Private Sellers.

Consumer rights preserved — for genuine Private Sellers only.

1. (a) Genuine Private Sellers. If you are a genuine Private Seller — a natural person selling your own Vehicle otherwise than in the course of a business — nothing in these Seller Terms removes or diminishes any statutory right you have as a consumer. Any term applies to you only to the extent permitted by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other consumer-protection law, and if any term (or part of a term) is found unfair or unenforceable against you, the remainder of these Seller Terms continues to apply.
2. (b) Trade users are not consumers. This protection applies only to genuine Private Sellers. It does NOT apply to Trade Sellers or to Trade Buyers, who contract with Trader.co.uk on full business-to-business terms, do not deal as consumers, and are not entitled to any consumer-protection treatment under these Seller Terms, the Buyer Terms, or any other document in the Terms Suite. The full force of these terms — including the chargeback indemnity, liquidated damages, and recovery rights — applies to them without limitation.
3. (c) No protection for false status. The consumer protection in paragraph (a) is available only to those genuinely entitled to it. If you register, present, or hold yourself out as a private individual when you are in fact acting in the course of a business — or otherwise misrepresent your status to obtain treatment, fees, or protection not available to you — you are not a Private Seller for the purposes of these Seller Terms, you obtain no consumer protection under them, and you will be treated as a Trade Seller (or, as applicable, a Trade Buyer) on full business terms with retrospective effect. In addition: (i) any consumer-protection limitation that would otherwise have applied is void as against you; (ii) you remain fully liable under every term as a trade user, including the uncapped chargeback indemnity and liquidated damages; (iii) you indemnify Trader.co.uk against any loss, cost, or liability arising from your misrepresentation of status; and (iv) we may suspend, restrict, or remove your account and recover any sums due by the means set out in these Seller Terms. This paragraph operates together with clause 3 (Honest categorisation and our re-categorisation right).

2.Appointment of Trader.co.uk as Your Agent

This clause is the foundation of your relationship with us. Please read it carefully.

Appointment. By listing a Vehicle on the Platform, you appoint Trader.co.uk as your disclosed agent for the limited purpose of facilitating the sale of that Vehicle. This includes publishing your listing, conducting the auction or Buy Now process, introducing Buyers, initiating payment through our regulated payment service provider (the "PSP"), and administering collection and handover.

Authority to conclude at your set parameters. You authorise Trader.co.uk to conclude the contract of sale on your behalf by accepting a qualifying bid or Buy Now commitment that meets or exceeds the price parameters you set (including any reserve price or Buy Now price). When that happens, a binding contract of sale is formed automatically between you and the Buyer, without further action by you. This is how an auction or Buy Now sale completes.

Limits of authority. Our authority is limited to the parameters you set. We are NOT authorised to: accept a price below your reserve or set parameters; vary the other terms of sale; give any warranty, representation, or assurance about the Vehicle on your behalf; or accept, compromise, or settle any claim or dispute on your behalf. Although we conclude the sale as your agent, Trader.co.uk is not a party to the contract of sale, which is between you and the Buyer (see clause 6).

We are not the buyer or seller. Trader.co.uk does not buy your Vehicle, does not sell it as principal, and never takes ownership or possession of it. You remain the seller and the owner until title passes to the Buyer under the contract of sale.

Remuneration. In Phase 1 our platform fee is charged to the Buyer, as set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule. We may also charge you the seller-side fees set out in that Schedule (for example the Misrepresentation Fee). Our role as your agent does not entitle us to any share of the sale proceeds beyond the fees expressly set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule.

No fiduciary or advisory duty beyond facilitation. We act for you only for the facilitation purposes described above. We do not provide you with valuation, legal, tax, or commercial advice, and we do not guarantee that your Vehicle will sell or achieve any particular price.

3.Who Can Sell, and Seller Categories

To list a Vehicle you must register and pass the verification applicable to your Seller category (see the Platform Terms and the KYC/KYB Policy). The Platform recognises the following Seller categories:

Honest categorisation. You must register under the correct category. Registering as a private individual, or in any incorrect category, to avoid trade obligations or to obtain terms, fees, or treatment not available to you is a breach of these Seller Terms. We may re-categorise you as a Trade Seller where there are objective indications that you are selling in the course of a business (for example, you are VAT-registered for vehicle sales, operate as a motor trader, or list multiple Vehicles as part of a commercial activity), and we may suspend, restrict, or remove any account registered under an incorrect or misleading category. Your category affects your legal obligations and the fees that apply.

4.Your Responsibilities and Warranties

Each time you list a Vehicle, you represent and warrant to Trader.co.uk and to any Buyer that:

• you are the legal owner of the Vehicle, or you have full lawful authority to sell it;
• the Vehicle is free from any undisclosed finance, hire purchase, PCP, logbook loan, or other security interest, and any such interest will be settled before handover;
• the Vehicle is not, to your knowledge, stolen, cloned, scrapped, recorded as written-off, or otherwise unlawful to sell, except where lawfully disclosed in the listing;
• your description, photographs, and disclosures are accurate, genuine, unedited, and not misleading, and you have disclosed all known defects and material issues;
• the mileage and vehicle details you provide are accurate to the best of your knowledge; and
• you will provide the V5C or valid proof of ownership, and all keys where available, at handover.

Trade Seller → Trade Buyer (B2B). Where you are a Trade Seller and the Buyer is a Trade Buyer, the sale is a business-to-business sale. You and the Buyer are free to agree that the Vehicle is sold "sold as seen / as inspected", and statutory implied terms may be limited to the extent permitted by law (including under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977). This does not permit misdescription or fraud (see clause 7).

5.VIN, V5C and Vehicle Validation

Your warranty and responsibility. You warrant that the VIN matches the Vehicle and that the V5C and all documents and identifiers are genuine, accurate, and unaltered. You must provide clear images of the VIN and V5C and must not obscure, alter, or manipulate any document or identifier. You bear full responsibility and liability for any discrepancy, inaccuracy, or manipulation.

We do not verify VIN/V5C accuracy. Trader.co.uk does not check, verify, or guarantee that the VIN matches the Vehicle or that documents are genuine. We may (but are not obliged to) remove or suspend a listing where a concern comes to our attention. The absence of any check or challenge by us does not reduce your responsibility or imply any verification by us.

6.How a Binding Sale Is Formed

A binding contract of sale is formed between you and the Buyer when: the Buyer places the winning valid bid at auction close; or the Buyer commits via Buy Now; or you accept a Buyer's offer (where offers are enabled). The detailed mechanics are in the Auction Rules.

Once a binding sale is formed, you must complete it in accordance with these Seller Terms, the Auction Rules, and the Collection & Handover Terms. Trader.co.uk is not a party to that contract and cannot compel either party to perform it, but may apply the fees and consequences set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule where a party fails to perform.

7.Misdescription and Misrepresentation

Material misdescription. If a sale fails or is reasonably disputed because your listing was intentionally misleading, materially false, or omitted a known material defect, a Misrepresentation Fee (as set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule, currently £120) may be charged, and your account may be suspended or removed. This is without prejudice to any claim the Buyer may have directly against you.

Recovery of fees you owe. Where you owe Trader.co.uk any fee under these Seller Terms or the Fees & Payments Schedule (including the Misrepresentation Fee and any cancellation or relist fee), you authorise Trader.co.uk to recover it by either (a) charging the payment card you hold on file, or (b) instructing the PSP to deduct the amount from sums otherwise payable to you in your Platform wallet. Any such deduction is limited to fees owed to Trader.co.uk for its own services and is not taken from the proceeds of sale of any Vehicle. Until an outstanding fee is paid, we may prevent you from listing further Vehicles.

Nothing in these Seller Terms limits your liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any statutory liability you owe to a Buyer.

8.Post-Sale HPI / Marker Changes

Where the Vehicle is recorded as clear on the relevant vehicle-data check at the time of sale, and a marker (for example a stolen marker, write-off marker, finance marker, police interest, or insurance claim) arises AFTER the sale completes, then as between you and the Buyer the Buyer bears that risk and you hold no liability for it, EXCEPT where you knew or ought reasonably to have known that the marker was pending or that the underlying circumstance existed at the time of sale. We timestamp checks to evidence the position at the time of sale.

Trader.co.uk plays no role in any dispute. The allocation of HPI/marker risk — and any other dispute between you and the Buyer, including any dispute about misdescription, misrepresentation, the condition, quality, roadworthiness, or title of the Vehicle, the sale, or payment — is solely a matter between you and the Buyer. Trader.co.uk does not adjudicate, mediate, assess evidence, or determine any such dispute, and bears no liability in respect of it. We may provide timestamped check data and transaction records only, as a neutral record, to assist the parties.

9.How and When You Are Paid

Payment via the PSP — no funds held by Trader.co.uk. The Buyer pays into the regulated payment service provider (the "PSP"). Trader.co.uk does not hold, receive, or control the proceeds of sale. Funds are held by the PSP and shown to you in your Platform wallet.

Funds visible on payment, but not yet available to draw down. As soon as the Buyer pays, the funds are displayed in your Platform wallet. This gives you confidence to arrange handover. However, the funds are NOT available to draw down at this point, and are not transferred to you automatically.

Do not hand over the keys until funds are available for draw-down. You must not release the Vehicle or hand over the keys until your Platform wallet shows the Buyer's funds as received and available for draw-down.

Draw-down unlocks after Buyer confirmation. Once the Buyer confirms the sale is complete and actions acceptance on the Trader app (acceptance), your funds become available for draw-down and you should release the keys. The funds are NOT transferred automatically — you must actively draw them down (withdraw them) from your Platform wallet. The draw-down action only becomes available after Buyer confirmation.

Clearing time. Once you draw down, funds typically reach your bank account within 24 hours, and up to 72 hours. Timing is controlled by the PSP and banking systems; Trader.co.uk does not control, accelerate, delay, or guarantee it and is not liable for delays.

Cumulative KYC threshold (sole traders and individual sellers). Once your combined sale proceeds through the Platform reach £2,500, you must complete identity verification (KYC) before any further draw-down. Your running cumulative total and this requirement are shown in your seller app/portal. This applies to sole traders and individual sellers; limited-company sellers are verified at onboarding. You must not delay a handover because you have not completed the KYC verification process.

Bank verification. You must provide and verify a bank account in your name (or your business's name) before draw-down. Payouts are made only to a verified, matching account. This can be done at any time from your Trader.co.uk account setup and will speed up the payment process if done before selling a Vehicle.

Limited-company sellers. Where the seller is a limited company, KYC and AML checks apply to ALL transactions before funds are released. The £2,500 threshold does not apply to limited-company sellers.

10.VAT Invoicing (VAT-Registered Trade Sellers)

When a VAT invoice is required. If you are a VAT-registered Trade Seller, you must issue a valid VAT invoice to the Buyer within 14 days of the sale where the Vehicle is sold as VAT-qualifying (standard-rated), or where the Buyer requests one. The invoice must comply with HMRC requirements.

Margin-scheme and non-VAT vehicles. Where the Vehicle is sold under the VAT Margin Scheme or is not VAT-bearing, no standard VAT invoice is issued; instead the appropriate document applies (a margin-scheme invoice or a sale receipt, as relevant). You remain responsible for issuing the correct document.

Platform support. The Platform will support you by providing pre-filled invoice drafts and the transaction data needed to issue the correct document. Any invoice or receipt for the Vehicle is your document and your legal responsibility; Trader.co.uk does not issue it on your behalf and is not responsible for its accuracy.

VAT status of the Vehicle. You are responsible for correctly determining and disclosing the VAT treatment of the Vehicle (standard-rated / VAT-qualifying, VAT Margin Scheme, or no VAT), and for accounting for any VAT due to HMRC. Trader.co.uk's platform fee is a separate supply by Trader.co.uk to the Buyer and is invoiced separately by Trader.co.uk.

11.Collection and Handover

All collections and handovers are governed by the Collection & Handover / Acceptance Terms, which apply to you and the Buyer. In summary, you must: have the Vehicle ready and accessible; provide the V5C/proof of ownership and all available keys; allow the Buyer (or their authorised collector) to inspect the Vehicle; and confirm handover through the Platform. The Vehicle is released to the Buyer only after Buyer acceptance, and risk passes to the Buyer at the point of acceptance / removal as set out in those terms.

You may refuse to allow a Buyer to drive a Vehicle away where you reasonably believe it is unsafe or unlawful to drive. Where this applies, you must disclose it when listing the Vehicle, and clarify and agree the collection method with the Buyer before arranging the handover, communicating it clearly to the Buyer.

12.Buyer Non-Payment or Non-Collection

If the Buyer fails to pay or collect within the times set out in the Buyer Terms and the Fees & Payments Schedule, you may (using the Platform tools) relist the Vehicle, make a second-chance offer to underbidders, or cancel the sale, in accordance with the Auction Rules. Any refund to a Buyer is handled by the PSP. Buyer-side fees already incurred (for example the platform fee, relist fee, or late fee) are retained by Trader.co.uk as its own income, as set out in the Fees & Payments Schedule; the balance of any sum paid by the Buyer is refunded to the Buyer by the PSP. Trader.co.uk retains only its own fees and never retains the proceeds of sale of a Vehicle.

13.Anti-Circumvention

Legitimate interest. Trader.co.uk invests in introducing Buyers to your Vehicles. We have a legitimate interest in being paid for introductions we facilitate. This clause protects that interest.

Restriction. Where Trader.co.uk has introduced you to a Buyer (or a Buyer to you) through the Platform, you must not, for a period of six (6) months from that introduction, complete or attempt to complete a sale of that Vehicle (or another Vehicle) to that Buyer off-Platform with the purpose or effect of avoiding the fees that would otherwise be payable through the Platform. You must not solicit or accept solicitations to transact off-Platform to avoid fees.

Liquidated damages. If you breach the restriction above, you agree to pay Trader.co.uk, as liquidated damages, a sum equal to the platform fee and any seller-side fees that Trader.co.uk would have earned on the circumvented transaction (as calculated under the Fees & Payments Schedule), plus reasonable administrative costs. The parties agree this is a genuine pre-estimate of Trader.co.uk's loss and protects Trader.co.uk's legitimate interest in fee revenue from introductions it has facilitated; it is not a penalty.

14.Chargebacks and Payment Reversals

Private Sellers — you are not liable for chargebacks. If you are a Private Seller, this clause 14 does not make you liable for chargebacks or payment reversals. Where you have performed your obligations (you supplied the Vehicle as described, with good title, and completed handover), the risk of a Buyer chargeback or payment reversal is not borne by you; it is dealt with under the Buyer Terms and rests with the Trade Buyer. The remainder of this clause 14 applies to Trade Sellers.

The risk (Trade Sellers). A Buyer pays for the Vehicle through the payment service provider (the "PSP"). A Buyer may, through their card issuer or bank, raise a chargeback or payment reversal after the sale has completed and after you have been paid, including after the Vehicle has been handed over and the funds drawn down. Any such dispute concerns the Vehicle, which is your supply, not Trader.co.uk's platform services.

Your liability. You are liable for, and you indemnify Trader.co.uk against, the full amount of any chargeback, payment reversal, or clawback relating to a Vehicle you have sold, together with any chargeback or reversal fees charged by the PSP and Trader.co.uk's reasonable administrative costs of dealing with it. This applies whether the chargeback arises before or after handover, and whether or not you have drawn down the funds.

Our recovery rights. Where a chargeback, reversal, or clawback occurs, you authorise Trader.co.uk to recover the full amount owed (including fees and costs) by any one or more of the following: (a) deducting it from funds held in, or payable into, your Platform wallet, including the proceeds of other transactions; (b) charging the payment card or payment method you hold on file; and (c) invoicing you directly for immediate payment. You must pay any invoiced amount within 7 days.

Suspension and holds. Pending resolution of a chargeback or reversal, we may suspend your ability to draw down funds, place a hold on funds in your Platform wallet up to the disputed amount, and block your account from listing or drawing down until the matter is resolved and any amount owed is paid.

Before handover. Where a chargeback or reversal is raised before the Vehicle has been accepted and handed over, the funds remain held securely by the PSP, are not released to you, and the transaction is handled in accordance with these Seller Terms and the PSP's rules.

Cooperation. You must cooperate promptly and fully with Trader.co.uk and the PSP in dealing with any chargeback, including providing evidence of the sale, the Vehicle's condition, and the handover, within the timescales the PSP requires.

15.Suspension, Restriction and Removal

We may suspend, restrict, or remove your account or any listing at our reasonable discretion, including (without limitation) for breach of these Seller Terms or any document in the Terms Suite, 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.

16.Liability Between You and Trader.co.uk

Nothing in these Seller Terms limits or excludes either party's liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be limited by law.

As your disclosed agent for facilitation only, Trader.co.uk is not liable for the acts or omissions of any Buyer, the formation or performance of the contract of sale, or PSP performance or timing. Trader.co.uk's total liability to you is subject to the cap in the Platform Terms (the higher of the fees you paid in respect of the relevant transaction and £250).

You are responsible to the Buyer for the Vehicle and your obligations under the contract of sale. You will indemnify Trader.co.uk against claims, losses, and costs arising from your breach of these Seller Terms, your misdescription of a Vehicle, your lack of title or authority to sell, or your breach of any law.

Chargeback indemnity uncapped (Trade Sellers). If you are a Trade Seller, your indemnity to Trader.co.uk extends to (and is not limited in respect of) any chargeback, payment reversal, or clawback relating to a Vehicle you have sold, together with associated PSP fees and our reasonable administrative costs, as set out in clause 14 (Chargebacks and Payment Reversals). This liability is not subject to any cap. This uncapped chargeback indemnity does not apply to Private Sellers, who are not liable for chargebacks under clause 14.

17.General

Relationship with other documents. These Seller 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 Seller 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 Seller Terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. This does not affect the contract of sale between you and the Buyer.

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