Editorial · Standards

Editorial Standards: Sourcing, Fact-Check and Corrections Policy

Sourcing policy

The site cites primary sources only. The full list of source authorities used across WriteOffCars.co.uk content:

Association of British Insurers (ABI): Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motorised Vehicle Salvage (current version V12, published 28 May 2025).
GOV.UK: DVLA guidance on written-off vehicles, scrappage and SORN; primary-legislation publication.
Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB): Vehicle Salvage & Theft Data register (formerly MIAFTR; migrated 24 November 2025).
Thatcham Research: vehicle repair methodology and EV Blueprint (March 2026).
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA): MOT and roadworthiness guidance.
Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors (IAEA): AQP training and competency framework.
DVLA Freedom of Information returns: historical statistics where primary published data isn’t available.
Environment Agency: Authorised Treatment Facility regulation and end-of-life vehicle guidance.
Primary UK legislation and Parliamentary records: for legal and regulatory status questions.

What’s not cited:

Competitor buyer sites (the major UK car-buying platforms).
Aggregator comparison sites and lead-generation marketplaces.
Secondary blogs, opinion pieces and unverified industry commentary.
Press releases used in place of primary documents.

When a primary source isn’t available for a given claim, the claim is softened to reflect that. Industry-estimate ranges (premium uplift bands, resale discount ranges) are flagged as ‘industry estimates suggest’ rather than presented as exact figures. When evidence is thin, the page says so.

The temptation in this market is to round numbers up to memorable figures and present them as fact. We don’t. If the underlying data is a range, the page carries the range.

Fact-check cadence

Three cycles apply to WriteOffCars content. Every page is on a routine six-month re-verification cycle. The ‘last verified’ date in the frontmatter records the most recent check, and pages with stale dates are queued for review before any further amendment.

Status tracker pages run on a quarterly cycle instead. These exist specifically to record the current state of regulatory documents (the current ABI Code version, MIAFTR/VS&TD migration status, V13 progress), so a quarterly check matches their function.

The third trigger is the heaviest. Any new ABI Code version produces a full rewrite of every Code-referencing page, not a patch. The Code was last republished in May 2025 (V12); the next anticipated revision is V13, with no confirmed date.

Between cycles, ad-hoc verification runs when a primary source publishes new guidance or when a Parliamentary written answer changes the regulatory position.

Reviewer credentials

Technical content covering ABI Code categorisation, AQP standards, MIB processes, DVLA write-off notification and Environment Agency ATF rules is reviewed against IAEA-trained Appropriately Qualified Person standards. Reviews after 31 July 2025 account for the updated V12 question bank framework.

Legal and insurance content (premium impact, regulatory status, consumer rights on settlement) is cross-checked against the published Code, primary legislation, and Parliamentary records where the question is one of statutory footing.

The named reviewer for the site is Martyn Logan.

Correction policy

Errors flagged to corrections@writeoffcars.co.uk are reviewed within five working days. The review compares the flagged claim against the primary source the page cites (or should have cited).

Outcomes:

Confirmed substantive error. The page is corrected, and a dated correction notice is added at the foot of the page recording what was wrong, what it was corrected to, and the date of the change. Substantive means anything that changes the meaning of a factual claim: incorrect dates, wrong figures, misattributed sources, outdated regulatory position.
Confirmed minor error. Typos, formatting glitches, broken internal links and similar are fixed silently without a notice. The ‘last verified’ date in the frontmatter records the change.
Disputed claim. Where the flagger’s source and the page’s source disagree, the editorial team adds context to the page acknowledging the disagreement and cites both. If a primary source is later published that resolves the disagreement, the page updates to reflect it.

Correction notices stay on the page indefinitely. They aren’t archived or removed when the page is later re-verified.

Editorial independence (Phase 1)

Editorial independence in Phase 1 means no commercial relationship influences what gets written or what gets left out.

The operator (Operator Licence Ltd) doesn’t carry advertising on WriteOffCars.co.uk. There’s no affiliate programme. The site doesn’t recommend specific car buyers, insurers, salvage yards, or history-check providers. Where a category of service comes up in content, the page describes how the category works rather than naming a provider.

Editorial decisions sit with the editorial team. They are made without commercial input.

If commercial features are added in later phases, they will be visually separate from editorial content and clearly labelled. The editorial independence position will be re-stated under whatever updated terms apply at that point.

For team and mission context, see about WriteOffCars.

Scope: when these standards apply

Every page on WriteOffCars.co.uk is subject to these standards. The ‘last verified’ date and re-verify cycle appear in the frontmatter of every page. Pages that don’t carry these markers haven’t been ratified yet and aren’t part of the published canon.

The standards apply equally to category explainers, comparison pages, decision guides, status trackers, and the trust pages themselves (this page included). There’s no tier system. A page on Cat A’s destruction process is checked against the same primary-source bar as a page on EV battery write-off provisions.

How to flag an error

Email corrections@writeoffcars.co.uk with the page URL, the specific claim you believe is wrong, and where possible a primary source that supports the correct version. Acknowledgement comes within five working days. Most corrections are resolved within ten working days; complex regulatory disagreements take longer.

Broader feedback should go to editor@writeoffcars.co.uk instead. The two addresses route to the same editorial team but help triage incoming messages.

FAQ

What does 'primary sources only' mean in practice?

It means every factual claim on every page is traceable to a named primary-source authority: the ABI Code itself, GOV.UK, the Motor Insurers' Bureau, Thatcham Research, DVSA, IAEA, the Environment Agency, primary legislation, or a Parliamentary record. Secondary sources (other blogs, aggregator sites, opinion pieces) aren't used as evidence.

Why don't you cite competitor buyer sites or aggregators?

Two reasons. First, those sites are usually downstream of the primary regulatory documents that WriteOffCars cites directly, so citing them adds a step rather than evidence. Second, Phase 1 editorial independence rules out commercial promotion.

How do I know a page has been recently verified?

The frontmatter of every page records a 'last verified' date and a re-verify cycle. The most recent verification date also appears in the EEAT block at the top of the page body. A page with a stale date is queued for review and won't be amended in the interim except for substantive corrections.

What happens when the ABI Code is updated?

A new ABI Code version triggers a full rewrite of every Code-referencing page on the site, not a patch. The Code was last republished as V12 in May 2025. The next anticipated revision is V13, with no confirmed date. When V13 publishes, the rewrite cycle starts.

How do I report a factual error?

How long until I get a response to a correction request?

Acknowledgement within five working days. Most corrections are resolved within ten working days. Complex regulatory disagreements (where the flagger and the page cite different primary sources) take longer.

Do you remove old correction notices?

No. Correction notices stay on the page indefinitely. They aren't archived or removed when the page is later re-verified. The correction history is part of the page's record.

Who reviews technical content on the site?

Martyn Logan is the named author and reviewer for every page. Technical content (categorisation rules, AQP procedures, ATF processes, MIB and DVLA notification rules) is checked against IAEA-trained AQP standards. Legal content is cross-checked against the published Code, primary legislation and Parliamentary records.

What does 'IAEA-trained AQP standards' mean?

The Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors (IAEA) is the primary UK training body for Appropriately Qualified Persons (AQPs), the assessors who apply the ABI Code to written-off vehicles. IAEA refreshed its competency-based question bank for the V12 Code on 31 July 2025. The site's technical content is reviewed to that standard.

Does WriteOffCars accept paid placements or sponsored content?

No. The site doesn't carry paid placements, sponsored content, advertising or affiliate links in Phase 1. If commercial features are added in later phases, they will be visually separate from editorial content and clearly labelled.

Will the editorial standards change as the site grows?

The sourcing policy and corrections policy are stable commitments. The cadence may shift if the operator can resource more frequent verification. If commercial features are added in later phases, the editorial independence section will be re-stated under updated terms, with the change clearly logged on this page.

Do these standards apply to user-generated content?

The site doesn't publish user-generated content in Phase 1. There are no comment sections, no user submissions, and no guest posts. Email correspondence sent to the corrections or editorial addresses is treated as confidential editorial input, not published content.