Terms & Conditions

1. About us

Browse Cars is a trading name of FindPlates Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 17091909). Our registered office is in England and Wales.

By using browsecars.co.uk you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to these Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree, you must not use the site. You must be at least 18 years old to use Browse Cars.

We may update these Terms at any time by publishing a revised version on this page. The version in force when you use the site applies.

2. What Browse Cars is

Browse Cars is an online platform where private individuals advertise used vehicles for sale and communicate with potential buyers. We provide the listing and messaging tools and nothing more.

We are not a party to any sale. We do not own, inspect, store, transport or take possession of any vehicle. We are not a dealer, broker, agent, auction house or finance provider. Any contract for the sale of a vehicle is made directly and solely between the buyer and the seller. We are not responsible for that contract or its performance.

3. Definitions

• "We / us / Browse Cars" — FindPlates Ltd, trading as Browse Cars.
• "You / user" — any person who accesses or uses the site.
• "Seller" — a user who advertises a vehicle for sale.
• "Buyer" — a user who contacts a seller about a vehicle.
• "Listing" — an advertisement for a single vehicle.
• "Content" — any text, photograph, message or other material a user submits to the site.
• "Paid feature" — an optional service you pay for, such as listing renewal, promotion, or a vehicle history check.

4. Your account

You may hold one account. You must provide accurate, current and complete information, including your real legal name and home address, and keep it up to date. We ask for these details so that we can support identity verification.

You are responsible for all activity that takes place under your account. Tell us immediately if you believe your account has been accessed without your permission. We may suspend or close an account that breaches these Terms.

5. Private sellers only

Listings are for genuine private sales of a vehicle you own or are legally authorised to sell. Motor traders and dealers may not list vehicles without our prior written agreement. We may remove trade listings and close accounts used for trade activity without notice.

If you are in fact acting in the course of a business, you — not Browse Cars — are responsible for complying with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and all other law that applies to a business seller.

6. Listing rules

When you create a listing you must:

• advertise one vehicle per listing;
• give accurate details — make, model, year, mileage, specification and price;
• describe the vehicle's condition and history honestly, including known faults, outstanding finance, write-off history and import status;
• use your own clear photographs of the actual vehicle — no stock images, watermarked images, or images you do not have the right to use;
• set a genuine asking price;
• not post misleading, duplicate, placeholder or fake listings;
• have the legal right to sell the vehicle.

You are solely responsible for the accuracy and legality of your listing.

7. Listing term and paid features

A listing runs free of charge for a fixed period (currently 30 days), after which it expires. You can renew an expired listing.

We may offer paid features such as listing renewal, promotion ("boost") and vehicle history checks. Each paid feature is described at the point of purchase. Payment is processed by Stripe. Prices may change; the price shown at the time of purchase applies to that purchase. Paid features are non-refundable once they have been delivered or used, except where the law gives you a right to a refund.

8. Vehicle history checks

Where offered, a vehicle history check is compiled from third-party data and is provided for information only, on an "as is" basis. It is not a guarantee or warranty about any vehicle. It does not replace your own inspection, an independent mechanical inspection, the free MOT history at gov.uk, or a check you commission yourself. A history check is charged to the buyer.

9. No payment handling, no escrow

Browse Cars does not process, hold, or transfer any money between buyers and sellers. All payment for a vehicle is arranged and settled directly between the parties, away from the platform. We provide no payment protection, escrow or guarantee of any kind over those payments.

Never send a deposit or payment for a vehicle you have not seen in person, to someone you have not met. Requests to pay in advance, by bank transfer to "hold" a car, or via gift cards or cryptocurrency are common signs of a scam.

10. Messaging

Our in-platform messaging is the contact channel between users. Phone numbers and email addresses are not shown to other users. You must not use messaging to send spam, abuse, threats, scams or unlawful content, or to market unrelated goods and services.

We may review message content where it is necessary to investigate a report, prevent fraud, comply with the law, or protect users. Keep conversations relevant to a potential sale on the platform.

11. Trust and verification

Identity verification and two-way buyer and seller ratings are core to how Browse Cars is designed. You agree that we may take reasonable steps to verify your identity, and that we may limit or withhold features from accounts that are not verified. You must not create fake or duplicate profiles, manipulate ratings, impersonate anyone, or attempt to defraud another user.

12. Your content

You keep ownership of the text and photographs you upload. You grant Browse Cars a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, store, resize, display and distribute that content for the purpose of operating, promoting and improving the marketplace. This licence ends when you delete the content or close your account, except for copies retained in backups or required for legal reasons. You confirm you own or have permission to use everything you upload, and that it does not infringe anyone's rights or break the law.

13. Acceptable use

You must not:

• use the site for any unlawful purpose or to facilitate fraud;
• scrape, bulk-download, index or access the site by automated means without our written permission;
• harvest or collect other users' personal data, or use contact details obtained through the platform for marketing;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the site, other accounts, or our systems, or disrupt the service;
• upload malware or anything designed to harm the site or its users.

14. Removing content and closing accounts

We may remove any listing, message or other content, and may suspend or close any account, at our reasonable discretion — including for suspected fraud, trade activity, inaccurate or misleading listings, abuse, or breach of these Terms. Where it is practical and lawful to do so, we will tell you why.

15. Disclaimers

The site is provided "as is" and "as available". We do not verify listings, vehicles, sellers or buyers, and we do not endorse any listing. We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free.

Any dealing with another user is entirely at your own risk. Before buying, carry out your own checks — inspect the V5C logbook and confirm the keeper's identity and address, check the MOT history at gov.uk, run a finance and write-off check, view the vehicle in person, and take a test drive only with valid insurance.

16. Liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be excluded or limited under English law. Your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected.

Subject to the paragraph above, Browse Cars is not liable for:

• the condition, description, mileage, safety, roadworthiness, legal title or existence of any vehicle advertised;
• the acts or omissions of any buyer or seller, including non-payment, non-delivery, or misrepresentation;
• any loss arising from a transaction or communication between users;
• loss of profit, income, data, goodwill or opportunity, or any indirect or consequential loss;
• any failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control.

Our total liability to you for all claims arising in any 12-month period is limited to the greater of (a) the total fees you paid us in that period and (b) £100.

17. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify Browse Cars against all claims, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your listings, your content, your sale or purchase of a vehicle, your use of the site, or your breach of these Terms.

18. Privacy

We handle personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy, the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

19. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version is always on this page. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

20. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and any dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of its courts. If any provision is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest continue in full effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.