Can you check if a Van is private or company owned?

ShiWarrior · 5 May 2017 at 19:42

Just wondering if it is possible to find out if a Van is either privately owned or company owned ?

I don't think it is possible to the public but i thought id ask

andybird123 · 5 May 2017 at 22:40

ShiWarrior said:
Just wondering if it is possible to find out if a Van is either privately owned or company owned ?

I don't think it is possible to the public but i thought id ask

Anyone can find out who the owner of a vehicle is, you just have to submit a request to DVLA, obviously any request is recorded so if said vehicle gets mysteriously damaged then whoever made the request would be an obvious suspect, but other than that plenty of legal reasons someone might need to find out so yeah it can be done

[TW]Fox · 5 May 2017 at 23:30

andybird123 said:
Anyone can find out who the owner of a vehicle is, you just have to submit a request to DVLA

This is not true, they will not give out information without a legitimate reason.

andybird123 · 5 May 2017 at 23:38

https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla

There are loads of "reasonable reasons" and the forms are right there to download, the OP hasnt specified why he wants to know so its up to him to decide if his purpose is reasonable or not

I actually pointed out in my post that you would need a legal reason, so your quoting me out of context to say the same thing was a bit pointless. The OP was under the impression that a "member of the public" can't do it full stop, but that isnt the case. Anyone can submit a request.

[TW]Fox · 6 May 2017 at 08:37

You said anyone can find out, this is not true, only people with legitimate reason can find out and the list of acceptable reasons is not exactly huge.

ShiWarrior · 6 May 2017 at 08:42

Ok thanks guys

andybird123 · 6 May 2017 at 09:27

[TW]Fox said:
You said anyone can find out, this is not true, only people with legitimate reason can find out and the list of acceptable reasons is not exactly huge.

anyone can find out, as in you don't need to be the police/insurance/parking company, a member of the public can make an enquiry - hence the OP saying

ShiWarrior said:
I don't think it is possible to the public but i thought id ask

I said;

andybird123 said:
plenty of legal reasons someone might need to find out so yeah it can be done

You quoted half a sentence (making it out of context) and repeated the exact same thing I said at the end of my sentence, you just said the same thing I said but told me I was wrong

[TW]Fox · 6 May 2017 at 09:31

Because you are wrong! I agree anyone can make a request but that's not the same as finding out. Only proportion of those who make a request will actually find out, so it's just not correct to say anyone can find out. They can't.

Jokester · 6 May 2017 at 09:38

Anyone can find out, they just need a valid reason like andybird123 said in his first post.

andybird123 · 6 May 2017 at 09:46

[TW]Fox said:
Because you are wrong! I agree anyone can make a request but that's not the same as finding out. Only proportion of those who make a request will actually find out, so it's just not correct to say anyone can find out. They can't.

I know you are wrong beause Ive done it. Someone ran me off the road and I had a damaged wheel. I had dashcam footage, police werent interested and refurbing a wheel would have been less than my excess so pursued it privately - didnt have a crime reference or insurance details so literally just put that it was due to an incident and they didnt ask for any proof at all.

If you went on after and used that info for non-legal purposes they would nail you to the wall, but getting someones home address from their reg plate is as simple as filling in a form and paying the £3.

I'll refer you back to my whole sentence that says "plenty of legal reasons so yes it can be done".

[TW]Fox · 6 May 2017 at 10:13

Jokester said:
Anyone can find out, they just need a valid reason like andybird123 said in his first post.

People without a valid reason can't find out.

So no, anyone can't find out. Most reasons people have are not valid. Most of the time when people post these threads the reason they have isn't as valid as they might think. The DVLA don't just hand out personal data to anyone.

Andybird was involved in an accident - of course that would be a valid reason. We've no idea what the OPs reason is. It's an odd request, he doesn't want to know who he just wants to know if it's a company or not...

andybird123 · 6 May 2017 at 11:04

Which is exactly what I said :rolleyes:

The OP was under the impression "public" couldn't submit a request. They can. Which is what I said. You said DVLA would refuse most requests, but in my experience they dont ask for any proof that your reason is genuine. Mine was, but they didnt check.

Jokester · 6 May 2017 at 11:22

*Homer reversing through a hedge gif*

ShiWarrior · 6 May 2017 at 13:30

Andy, I didn't quote you that was on my opening message , but thanks everyone for your posts. I was hoping that I could find out without a valid reason, as there's a van with the same driver that never moves his car every year, he just turns the engine on for 10 mins about once a month or two, and he leaves it on the road and his van, both are insured and both have tax and mot, so I was curious to see if the van was his or not

[TW]Fox · 6 May 2017 at 13:32

ShiWarrior said:
Andy, I didn't quote you that was on my opening message , but thanks everyone for your posts. I was hoping that I could find out without a valid reason, as there's a van with the same driver that never moves his car every year, he just turns the engine on for 10 mins about once a month or two, and he leaves it on the road and his van, both are insured and both have tax and mot, so I was curious to see if the van was his or not

Of course the DVLA won't give you personal details of somebody because you're a bit nosey as to whether it's his van or not

The only way to find out is to ask him!

andybird123 · 6 May 2017 at 13:36

ShiWarrior said:
Andy, I didn't quote you that was on my opening message

no mate, I was talking to Fox

Diagro · 6 May 2017 at 13:54

ShiWarrior said:
Andy, I didn't quote you that was on my opening message , but thanks everyone for your posts. I was hoping that I could find out without a valid reason, as there's a van with the same driver that never moves his car every year, he just turns the engine on for 10 mins about once a month or two, and he leaves it on the road and his van, both are insured and both have tax and mot, so I was curious to see if the van was his or not

Just apply for the details saying there was an accident?
Little white lie.. you get what you want

Em3bbs · 6 May 2017 at 15:02

ShiWarrior said:
Andy, I didn't quote you that was on my opening message , but thanks everyone for your posts. I was hoping that I could find out without a valid reason, as there's a van with the same driver that never moves his car every year, he just turns the engine on for 10 mins about once a month or two, and he leaves it on the road and his van, both are insured and both have tax and mot, so I was curious to see if the van was his or not

So, actually Fox was right in this case. Everyone else better join Jokester and Homer in the hedge.

Jokester · 6 May 2017 at 15:04

Em3bbs said:
So, actually Fox was right in this case. Everyone else better join Jokester and Homer in the hedge.

Apart from no one said anything that was incorrect...

other than Fox taking a quote out of context and then arguing about it when it was pointed out he had done so.

Em3bbs · 6 May 2017 at 15:10

"Anyone" can also look up a numberplate and address on the PNC. Unfortunately they have to train for years to become Police officers first.

If anyone took the question out of context it wasn't fox. In fact, he was the only person to actually get the context correct.