▸ Finance & Write-Off · UK Network
writeoffcheck.com is for a specific problem rather than general research. The record is the starting point; what follows is what the record means for your position and what the sensible next move looks like. Write-off checks across the UK MIAFTR database. Cat A, B, S and N total-loss markers, instant results. The material below assumes you want the reasoning as well as the result.
Data sourced from DVLA, MIAFTR, contracted stolen-vehicle data and the UK lender register at lookup time.
Typical lookup completes in under one second from the UK.
Built and supported in the UK as part of the consumer side of the network.
If the report shows nothing of concern, ask to see the V5C in person and compare the VIN on the document to the one stamped on the chassis and printed on the dash. If the report flags something, raise it directly: a Category N write-off is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but a seller who claims a car has no history when MIAFTR shows otherwise is telling you something important about the rest of the conversation.
Hire purchase ends with ownership once the final payment clears. PCP leaves a balloon payment that must be settled or refinanced before title passes. Lease and contract hire never confer ownership at all, so a private seller offering a leased vehicle cannot pass good title under any circumstances.
The dashboard VIN, the door-pillar VIN sticker, the chassis-stamped VIN and the V5C must all match. Ringers commonly miss one of those four. A torch and a phone camera at the viewing are usually enough to verify; the check provides the DVLA-recorded VIN to compare against in advance.
/ Brand consolidation
writeoffcheck.com is now part of Expert Car Check — the consolidated UK vehicle-data platform that several of these older brands have joined. The data sources are unchanged: DVLA's vehicle record, DVSA's MOT history, MIAFTR for write-offs, contracted UK data providers for stolen-vehicle markers and the UK lender register for outstanding finance. The team and the support contact are the same. What's changed is that the work that was previously spread across several smaller brands now sits in one place, which keeps response times tight and the underlying registers maintained against current DVLA schemas. Bookmarks and historic links to writeoffcheck.com continue to resolve here. If you were referred to writeoffcheck.com by a previous report, broker or print listing, this is the right page — there is no further redirect to chase.
Visit expertcarcheck.com →/ Common questions
Yes. Cat S and N vehicles typically attract a 20-40% premium loading. The category marker is permanent and declaration is mandatory at every renewal.
A: vehicle must be crushed entirely. B: bodyshell destroyed, mechanical parts may be reused. S: structural damage, repaired. N: non-structural damage, repaired. S and N are legally insurable and roadworthy once repaired.
Bank transfer from your own account to an account in the registered keeper's name, at the address on the V5C. Cash handovers away from the registered address and seller-suggested escrow services are recurring features of vehicle fraud.
A UK lender has an open agreement against the vehicle. The agreement legally follows the car, not the seller. Buying under outstanding finance can leave the new owner liable to repossession even if they bought in good faith.
/ Also in finance & write-off
Write-off? Find out.
Cat A, B, S or N? Find out.
See whether a UK car carries a stolen-vehicle marker on the register we query.
Loans, PCP, HP and logbook finance — all in one search.
Free finance check, no card.
Check for outstanding finance on any UK vehicle
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One field. A typical lookup completes in under a second, using the same UK vehicle records relied on by trade buyers and insurers.