Terms of service
The rules for using Behind The Badge: what the information is and isn’t, what you can post, and what happens when someone breaks the rules.
Last updated
About these terms
These terms cover behindthebadge.io and the Behind The Badge app for iPhone and Android, together “the service”. By using the service you agree to them, and if you don’t agree, please don’t use it. How we handle personal data is in the privacy policy.
What the service is
A free way to see what’s publicly known about a vehicle from its registration: its specification, motor tax, NCT dates and, for UK vehicles, MOT history, with comments from other people. You don’t need an account to look a car up. You need one, through Google or Apple, to comment, and you must be 16 or over to have one.
How far to trust it
Vehicle details come from other sources: motorcheck.ie, motortax.ie and the DVSA’s MOT history service. Some figures, such as running costs and when the next NCT is due, are our estimates, and “possibly a Garda car” is only a guess from a motor tax exemption. We show what we find, but we can’t promise it’s complete, up to date or right.
Before you rely on it, and before you buy a car especially, check anything that matters with the official source or a full vehicle history check. Comments are other people’s views, not ours.
Who we’re not
Behind The Badge is independent. It isn’t part of, endorsed by or acting for motorcheck.ie, motortax.ie, the DVSA, An Garda Síochána or any other police service, or any car maker. Their names appear only to say where information comes from.
Comments
What you can’t post
Comments are public. They show your name unless you post anonymously, and anonymous comments are still tied to your account and follow the same rules. Don’t post:
- abuse, harassment, bullying or threats;
- hate speech, or attacks on people for who they are;
- personal details about anyone, including a car’s owner or driver: their name, address, phone number, workplace, or photos of them;
- sexual, violent or otherwise obscene content;
- anything unlawful or defamatory, or that infringes someone else’s rights;
- spam, advertising, or claims you know to be false.
Zero tolerance
We don’t tolerate abuse. Comments are filtered automatically before they’re published, we remove anything that breaks these rules, and we close the accounts of people who break them, without warning.
What you post
You’re responsible for what you post. It stays yours, and you give us permission, free of charge, to show it on the service for as long as it’s there. You can delete your own comments, and your account deletes all of them.
Reporting and blocking
To report a comment, use the menu beside it and choose Report comment. To report a wrong vehicle record, use the link at the foot of its page. Reports come to us, not to the person who posted.
We act on reported comments within 24 hours: we remove anything that breaks these terms and, where it’s called for, close the account that posted it. You can also block someone from the same menu so that you no longer see their comments. For anything urgent, email support@behindthebadge.io.
Using the service fairly
Don’t scrape the service, overload it, get round its rate limits or security, or use it to break the law or to harass anyone. We can block access that does.
Your account
Keep the Google or Apple account you sign in with secure, as anything posted from your account is your responsibility. You can stop using the service and delete your account at any time. We can suspend or close an account that breaks these terms.
Our responsibility
The service is free and provided as it is. We may change it, or stop offering parts of it. As far as the law allows, we aren’t liable for loss caused by relying on its information or on comments, or by it being unavailable.
Nothing in these terms limits liability that the law doesn’t allow to be limited, or takes away your rights as a consumer.
The law that applies
These terms are governed by the law of Ireland, and the Irish courts deal with any dispute about them. If you live elsewhere in the EU or in the UK, you keep the protection of your own country’s consumer law and can bring a claim there.
Changes to these terms
When these terms change, we’ll update them here and change the date at the top. If a change matters, we’ll make it clear on the website and in the app before it applies. Using the service after that means you accept the new terms.
Contact
Questions about these terms, or something to report: support@behindthebadge.io.