Help
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, write to hello@secondhandsam.co.uk and include the registration.
I paid but I can't see my report.
Check the inbox of the email address you used at checkout, including the spam or junk folder. The email contains a link straight to your report.
If it hasn't arrived, email hello@secondhandsam.co.uk with the registration and the address you paid with, and we'll re-send it.
I've lost my link.
Same route — email hello@secondhandsam.co.uk with the registration and the address you paid with. Links last 12 months from purchase, and we can issue a fresh one within that time.
I entered the wrong registration.
Email hello@secondhandsam.co.uk with what you paid for and what you meant to type. We'll re-issue the report on the corrected registration once, free of charge — rebuilding a report costs us almost nothing, so there's no sense charging you twice for a typo.
Repeated corrections on the same purchase, or a correction to an entirely different car you've decided to look at instead, count as a new report.
Is this an HPI check?
No. We do not check finance, theft, write-off or insurance history. Nothing in a Sam report tells you whether the car is stolen, on finance, or previously written off.
What we do: predict which parts are likely to fail the next MOT, and what that is likely to cost, from DVSA testing data. Use both — a provenance check for the car's legal status, Sam for what it's going to cost you to keep on the road.
Where does the data come from?
The car's own history comes from the DVSA MOT History API. The comparison rates come from published DVSA MOT testing data, which contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Second Hand Sam is not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA or DVLA.
How up to date is it?
This car's own MOT history is fetched live at the moment the report is generated, so it is as current as DVSA's records.
The comparison tables behind the scores are rebuilt weekly.
Do you store my data?
No account, no stored report, no retained vehicle data. We don't keep the report, the MOT data behind it, your email address or the registration you looked up.
The link in your email carries its own signed proof of purchase, so the report is rebuilt from scratch each time you open it. Payment details are handled entirely by Stripe and never reach us. The only record we keep of a purchase is Stripe's own payment record and a note of the payment reference and the time we emailed your link.
Can I get a refund?
Digital content normally carries a 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Because the report opens immediately after payment, you tick a box at checkout confirming you want it straight away and accept that you lose that right once it opens. That consent is recorded with the payment.
That said, if the report didn't work, we got the car wrong, or something on our side failed, email hello@secondhandsam.co.uk and we'll sort it out.
Is this mechanical advice?
No. It's statistical information derived from open data — what happened to similar cars at their next MOT. It is not a substitute for a physical inspection by a qualified mechanic, and it can't see the car in front of you.