Dealer Code of Conduct

Last updated: 11 September 2026

Sell My Car Essex Marketplace is committed to providing Sellers and Dealers with a professional, fair and trustworthy marketplace.

This Code applies to every approved Dealer and to its employees, buyers, appraisers, collection drivers, transport providers, contractors and agents.

Capitalised terms used in this Code have the meanings given in the Dealer Terms and Conditions.

The Code at a glance

Dealers must:

1. Behave professionally, honestly and fairly.
2. Complete their own Vehicle checks before making an offer.
3. Submit only genuine offers they are willing and financially able to honour.
4. Treat an Accepted Offer as a firm commitment, subject only to inspection confirming that the Listing was materially accurate.
5. Contact the Seller promptly after acceptance.
6. Arrange inspection and collection for a mutually agreed, reasonable time.
7. Provide reasonable notice of delays or changes.
8. Request a revised price only for a genuine material discrepancy.
9. Explain and calculate any adjustment fairly.
10. Never pressure or intimidate a Seller into accepting less.
11. Pay the Seller directly at collection.
12. Allow the Seller to confirm cleared funds before taking the Vehicle, keys or documents.
13. Deal with outstanding finance correctly.
14. Purchase only for the approved dealership connected to the account.
15. Use Seller information only for the relevant transaction.
16. Keep business and verification information accurate.
17. Record the correct transaction outcome.
18. Accept responsibility for employees, drivers and agents.
19. Pay applicable Marketplace commission and fees.
20. Cooperate with complaints and investigations.
21. Provide the Seller with a proper Vehicle purchase invoice or receipt.
22. Complete the handover and change-of-keeper information correctly.
23. Keep completed purchases and No Deal outcomes accurately updated.
24. Pay invoices promptly and remain within the account’s purchase and credit limits.
25. Use manual and automatic bidding honestly and independently.
26. Never participate in an auction ring or coordinate bids with another Dealer.

1. Professional conduct

Dealers and their representatives must treat Sellers, our team and members of the public honestly, fairly and respectfully.

Aggressive, threatening, intimidating, abusive, discriminatory or harassing conduct is prohibited. Dealers must not pressure a Seller to complete a transaction or accept a lower price.

Disagreements should be handled calmly. If a situation cannot be resolved safely and professionally, the Dealer should leave and contact us.

2. Dealer information and account use

Dealers must provide complete, accurate and current business, identity, insurance and contact information.

Accounts may only be used by authorised people acting for the verified dealership. Dealers must not share access with another business or allow an unapproved third party to purchase through their account.

3. Checks before offering

Dealers are responsible for reviewing the registration, photographs, description, mileage, MOT, service history, disclosed faults, outstanding finance and other available information before offering.

Dealers alone are responsible for completing all HPI, provenance, finance, mileage, valuation and commercial checks reasonably expected of a competent motor dealer before submitting an offer. Dealers must not rely solely on Listing Information or on information supplied or displayed by the Marketplace or a third-party provider. This includes checking whether the Vehicle has ever been recorded as an insurance write-off or category Vehicle, including Category A, B, S or N or an earlier write-off category.

Information already available before offering must not later be presented as a newly discovered reason to reduce the price.

4. Genuine offers

Every offer must represent the amount the Dealer genuinely intends and is financially able to pay.

Dealers must not submit speculative, misleading or artificially inflated offers, manipulate bidding, collude with another Dealer or offer on behalf of an undisclosed third party.

A Dealer must not agree with another Dealer to refrain from bidding, bid in a particular way, divide opportunities, rotate winners or share a Vehicle after purchase as part of an auction ring. Automatic Bids are permitted only where they are generated under that Dealer’s own Maximum Bid instruction. The Marketplace never bids itself or on behalf of a Seller.

5. Accepted Offers

An Accepted Offer is a firm commitment by the Dealer to purchase for the accepted price, subject only to inspection confirming that the Vehicle was materially described accurately.

A Dealer must not withdraw or reduce an Accepted Offer because it changed its mind, incorrectly valued the Vehicle, failed to review available information or wishes to improve its margin.

6. Communication and collection

Within one Working Day after acceptance, the successful Dealer must propose up to three reasonable collection dates through the Marketplace. The Seller may choose a date or indicate that they are not yet sure.

The Dealer must not try to identify or contact the Seller outside the Marketplace before a collection day is agreed. Only after a collection day is agreed will the private message thread open and the parties’ permitted contact and business information be shared.

The message thread must be used only to agree collection timing and address. Dealers must not request or send bank-account details, payment-card information, finance login details or other unnecessary personal information through it.

The Dealer and Seller must agree a reasonable inspection and collection time. Dealers must not arrive unexpectedly or repeatedly change arrangements without good reason and reasonable notice.

Anyone attending must be properly authorised, identifiable, licensed and insured.

7. Inspection

The inspection is intended to confirm that the Vehicle materially matches the Listing Information.

Normal age-related wear and matters already disclosed or reasonably visible should not be used to reopen the accepted price without a material, demonstrable effect on value.

8. Price adjustments

A revised price may only be proposed for a significant, previously undisclosed discrepancy that could not reasonably have been identified before offering and genuinely affects value.

The Dealer must explain the issue, provide photographic evidence, calculate the adjustment fairly and propose it through the Marketplace. Nothing changes unless the Seller accepts the revised price through the dashboard or the Marketplace records an outcome under the Dealer Terms.

The Seller is free to reject a revised price. If no agreement is reached, the outcome must be recorded as No Deal.

If the Seller does not respond, the Marketplace may send a reminder after one day and review the evidence after two days. If the Dealer marks the Vehicle as Bought while a revision is pending, the revision is withdrawn and the sale is recorded at the accepted price.

Invented faults, exaggerated deductions and collection-day haggling are prohibited.

9. Payment

The Dealer must pay the Seller directly during the agreed collection process using a secure and traceable payment method.

The Seller must be allowed to confirm personally that cleared funds have reached the relevant bank account before releasing the Vehicle, keys, V5C or other documents.

A transfer receipt or screenshot is not proof that funds have cleared. A Dealer must never pressure a Seller to release a Vehicle before payment is confirmed.

10. Outstanding finance

Where outstanding finance is disclosed, the Dealer must verify the settlement figure, pay the finance provider where required, retain evidence and pay the remaining balance to the Seller as agreed.

The Dealer must not take possession without properly addressing outstanding finance.

11. Purchase invoice and handover documents

At completion, the Dealer must provide the Seller with a clear Vehicle purchase invoice or receipt in printed form or another format the Seller can save.

It must include:

• the Dealer’s legal and trading name;
• the Dealer’s business address and contact details;
• company and VAT numbers where applicable;
• the Seller’s name;
• the Vehicle registration and VIN where recorded;
• the Vehicle mileage at handover;
• the date of purchase;
• the final agreed purchase price;
• the amount paid to settle outstanding finance and the recipient of that payment;
• the balance paid directly to the Seller;
• the payment method; and
• confirmation that the Dealer has taken possession of the Vehicle, keys and listed documents.

The invoice or receipt must identify the Dealer—not Sell My Car Essex Marketplace—as the purchaser.

The Dealer must provide the correct business details needed for the Seller to notify DVLA of the sale or transfer to the motor trade. The Dealer must not prevent or discourage the Seller from completing the DVLA notification promptly.

Before driving or transporting the Vehicle away, the Dealer must ensure that the driver and Vehicle movement are properly licensed, authorised and insured and that any trade plates are used lawfully.

12. Approved dealership only

Vehicles may only be purchased for the approved dealership associated with the account.

Purchasing secretly for another trader, business, individual or unapproved third party is prohibited. Any authorised buying arrangement must be disclosed to and approved by us in advance.

13. Staff, drivers and agents

The Dealer is responsible for all employees, appraisers, drivers, transport companies, contractors and representatives acting on its behalf.

A breach by any of those people will be treated as a breach by the Dealer.

14. Seller information

Seller information may only be used to assess and complete the relevant Vehicle transaction and comply with legal obligations.

It must be kept secure, restricted to authorised people and not used for unrelated marketing, sold, published or shared unnecessarily.

15. Commission and circumvention

Dealers must pay all applicable Commission Fees and accurately report completed purchases and final prices.

Dealers must not ask a Seller to cancel, complete privately, record a false No Deal, hide a revised price or use another person or business to avoid a fee.

Dealers must keep accepted transactions updated and pay Marketplace invoices by their due dates. A Dealer may be prevented from making further offers if it reaches its permitted number of unresolved purchases, reaches its unpaid-invoice or credit limit, or has an overdue invoice.

The standard limits are:

• Tier 1: three open won Vehicles or two unpaid invoices;
• Tier 2: five open won Vehicles or three unpaid invoices; and
• Tier 3: seven open won Vehicles or four unpaid invoices.

Reaching either limit may pause further bidding until sufficient transactions are completed or cleared invoice payments are allocated to the account.

A Dealer must not submit a false transaction outcome merely to release capacity and continue bidding.

16. Transaction outcomes

Dealers must record the correct outcome:

• Sold at accepted price when the original accepted amount was paid;
• Sold at revised price when a genuine discrepancy resulted in a voluntarily agreed different price; or
• No Deal when no purchase occurred.

The dashboard actions Bought, Propose a revised price and No deal correspond to Sold at accepted price, Sold at revised price and No Deal in the Dealer Terms.

Reasons and prices must be recorded honestly.

17. Reviews

Dealers must not create, buy or arrange fake reviews, offer undisclosed incentives, pressure Sellers to change honest reviews or retaliate against reviewers.

18. Complaints and investigations

Dealers must cooperate with reasonable requests for messages, inspection evidence, payment information, finance-settlement evidence and purchase records.

Information supplied during an investigation must be accurate and complete.

19. Consequences of breach

Depending on seriousness and frequency, we may:

• issue guidance or a warning;
• remove live offers;
• restrict bidding;
• apply additional monitoring;
• suspend an account;
• remove Dealer approval;
• recover unpaid fees; or
• report suspected fraud or unlawful conduct to relevant authorities.

Serious conduct, including intimidation, fraud, deliberate fee avoidance, misuse of personal information or taking a Vehicle without payment, may result in immediate suspension.

20. Reporting concerns

Questions or concerns should be sent to:

Email: marketplace@sellmycaressex.co.uk
Telephone: 01245 922 095
Address: Suite 2 Regency House, Station Road, Harold Wood, Romford, Essex, RM3 0BP

21. Changes to this Code

We may update this Code when our processes, service standards or legal obligations change.

The latest version will be published with the updated date shown at the top. We may notify Dealers of material changes and require acceptance before further offers are submitted.