A motorist is furious after forking out more than £15,000 for a novelty number plate.
Kevin James, 60, has since been informed he overpaid £10,000 on the registration plate "MA55 AGE," a nod to the profession of his partner Michaela, who was a masseuse. He claims Regtransfers – the supplier that he bought the number plate through – told him the item could be worth as much as £30,000 in the coming years. When he tried to sell the plate for that figure, there was no interest and a dealer gave him a valuation of £5,000 to £6,000.
Mr James, from Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales, had invested a large portion of his inheritance into the plate, following his father's death. The semi-retired roofing surveyor said: "I tied all my money into that thinking I would double my money. There are a lot of vulnerable people out there looking at that website and I want the whole world to know it's unfair what Regtransfers are doing. They've no intention of giving me my money back. They say the deal's done.
"It's affected my life and my lifestyle. I could have invested that money in a savings account and got 5% interest. I have ended up losing my home, moving in with a friend in a housing association, and my lifestyle is nowhere near what it was before."
With the registration plate in a lock-up, Mr James has expressed his ire at the company off which he bought it (Mark Lewis)Mr James had been thinking of putting the plate on a motor home and moving to Bournemouth with Michaela but she died of coronavirus in 2021. "This MA55 AGE plate is a sad memory and a lot of bad luck," he said. "The worst thing I ever did was invest in this."
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The plate had been sold at a DVLA auction in 2006 for £4,200. A Regtransfers spokesman said: "[The registration] was never owned by Regtransfers but was sold on behalf of a third party. In such cases the owner decides the sale price, not the broker who facilitates the transaction."
Mr James says he paid the £15,132 figure after "knocking down" a sales rep from an £18,000 asking price. He regrets not getting an independent valuation at the time. For a couple of years he advertised it online with a £30,000 asking price, and wondered why he received zero interest, before eventually getting the valuation that left him horrified.
After the investment went wrong, Mr James moved out of his rented home in Dinas Powys and into a housing association property in Llanharan. Mr James, who is battling cancer of the skull, is struggling with his health and relying on benefits to survive. The plate itself is not on a vehicle. "It's in a lockup of mine with all my house contents since 2018 when I lost my home," he said.
Mr James says he has obtained independent valuations of other number plates offered by Regtransfers, including "10 KJ" and "6 KJ", which the supplier is offering for £55,000 and £70,000 respectively. According to the dealer that gave Mr James a valuation they are worth £14,000 and £30,000 respectively. "Regtransfers are overvaluing these plates," said Mr James. "It's not a good investment."
The MA55 AGE number plate is a nod to Mr James' partner (Mark Lewis)A Regtransfers spokesman told Wales Online: "We do not give financial or investment advice. We do, however, provide general information about the prices that the sales of similar numbers have achieved either in general terms or where specific information is already in the public domain. This enables potential purchasers to judge whether they see a potential return if they buy for investment.
"We also publish articles promoting the investment potential of private plates. These articles are>
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