Must we supply the spare key for a car which was written off but has actually been resold?

My daughter had an accident where the insurers wrote off her car. We were under the impression the car was being scrapped, but it turns out a dealer has rebuilt it and sold it on and we are now being hounded for the spare key. Is this legal? What should I do? There was also a private number plate on the car but we sent the letter from the insurers to DVLA and now have the plate on the new car. How does this affect the original car which has been sold on? Should I send them the spare key? If the car was repairable why did the insurers not repair the car as opposed to writing it off?

Asked on 15 July 2010 by karenmary

Answered by Honest John
You can sell the spare key for £100, but you are under no obligation to give it to whoever now has the car because you relinquished keepership of it on the grounds that it would be written off. Far too late to save the cherished plate though. That had to be done before the car was written off.
Similar questions
My partner will be looking to sell her car in the near future and is struggling to find out how to deal with number plates. She bought her current 2012 Corsa brand new. It has only ever had a private plate...
Three years ago my wife gave up driving through illness and I sold her car, which had a cherished number plate. I kept the number on a Retention Certificate but it was, of course, in her name as the owner...
Can I transfer the private reg from a car I put into storage (SORN) five years ago? It had an MoT when put into storage but hasn't had one since. The car could be recommissioned and MOTd quite quickly...
 

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 12% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ21 to save on an ALA policy

See offer