Contents

1 HPI Check - used car shock

1.1 Category D, vehicle history check
1.2 Trading Standards

2 HPI Check summary

2.1 Condition summary
2.2 Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM)
2.3 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

3 HPI Check Guarantee

3.1 Terms and conditions
3.2 Claims

4 HPI Check and additional car check company contact details

4.1 HPI Check telephone number and address
4.2 Vehicle Inspection Company

HPI Check - used car shock

Father of three Mr.Y got a nasty surprise when he tried to sell his family estate car. My.Y bought a Renault Laguna from a car sales company in 2004. He really liked the car and thought the garage had check out its data history inspection because he'd seen adverts in the local paper which said HPI and HPI Checks.

HPI is one of a number of organisations who'll check insurance check databases so you can find out your car's data vin history on inspection- whether it's ever been written off or if there's any outstanding finance on it. But the car sales company hadn't done the HPI check or otherwise. When Mr.Y went to sell the car he got an offer of £6,800 from a buyer in Cardiff. The buyer pulled out when his HPI check on the car history check inspection data revealed it was a 'Category D write-off'.

Category D write-offs are cars which vin insurance history companies have decided on inspection it is not economical to repair. But it is perfectly legal for dealers to repair them check and sell them on. The repaired cars might be reliable and run like an undamaged car but according to data history experts, their value can be up to 50% lower.

Car dealers do not have to tell you that a car is a write-off but Trading Standards say that if they advertise the HPI Checks ' it's reasonable to expect them to carry out the HPI HPI check and to tell you if you find anything wrong in the HPI check of the car'sdata history.

Mr.Y remembers seeing vin adverts for the HPI check in the newspapers but when company x asked the car sales company about this they sent us an advert which appeared in the local paper around the time Mr.Y bought the car, which had no mention of the HPI check. However when we did our own HPI check back through the papers from the time Mr.Y bought his car we found two data history check adverts which did mention the vin HPI checks.

The company did not want to talk to company x about the adverts but did tell us that they hadn't carried out the HPI Checks because the car had come from a reliable source.

Mr.Y says the car sales company offered to buy the car from him for £5,000 after he complained - but the company deny this. They initially told us they had offered him the average of three 'trade price' quotes from other garages - which they admit would be lower than the private sale price he would have got. However as we filmed the item - two weeks after we first got in contact with them - they told us they had offered him more than £6,000 for the car from the start. But they have now withdrawn all offers because Mr.Y had 'gone down the wrong way' in contacting company x.' Reproduction of an article from an external website reporting on car data check inspection and HPI Check. Orignal names in the car check article have been substituted.

HPI Check Summary

HPI work to ensure that the data we receive and manage is the best available but no data source is perfect. That's why your HPI vehicle check includes the HPI Guarantee. Subject to the HPI Guarantee Terms & Conditions, the HPI inspection Guarantee provides up to £30,000(£15,000 for written off vehicles) reimbursement of financial loss you suffer arising from inaccurate or incomplete information we supply to you as part of the HPI Check. As you'd expect from HPI, the cover is the most comprehensive available today.

Here is a summary of the main conditions:

You need to carry out the HPI Check yourself, before you buy the vehicle - the Guarantee is not transferable. You must supply us with the history data, Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) and the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to be eligible for maximum cover available under the HPIhistory. The HPI history will not apply if we advise you that the VRM does not match the VIN, so make sure the information you supply is accurate (pay particular attention to '5's and 'S's, '2's and 'Z's VIN).

Before you buy the vehicle, you must make sure that all vehicle VIN details provided by HPI match both the vehicle and its accompanying paperwork, and notify us of any data discrepancies. As a minimum, you must obtain and check the V5 registration document with us, using our Document data Check facility, prior to purchase. You must check that all the VIN markings on the vehicle match each other and the corresponding V5 registration document. You must keep and produce to us on request a written receipt for your purchase, signed by the seller, containing the key information needed to identify the seller and the vehicle (e.g. the seller's name and address, the identity and mileage of the vehicle purchased, the date of purchase and the amount you paid). If you are buying the vehicle privately, you must buy it from the keeper, at the address shown on the V5. You must also check the identity of the seller. You must buy the vehicle in a reasonably prudent manner (for example - claims will not be considered if you have paid 30% below the retail market value).

HPI Check Guarantee.

If you are buying the vehicle privately, you must buy it from the keeper, at the address shown on the V5. You must also check the identity of the seller. You must buy the vehicle in a reasonably prudent manner (for example - claims will not be considered if you have paid 30% below the retail market value). The cover provided is based on the car's value. In the case where HPI provides incorrect VIN data affecting vehicle title (such as theft or outstanding finance), the HPI Guarantee terms and conditions will cover up to £30,000, either in compensation or the costs needed to obtain good title to the vehicle (at HPI's discretion). In the case where HPI provides incorrect data affecting the vehicle's condition, the HPI car data Guarantee will cover up to £15,000 or 50% of the market value of the car, whichever is the lower. The HPI Guarantee does not cover the vehicle's descriptive information (including import status, VIN ), mileage, value, V5 registration document data check,s mileage or if the loss has arisen as a result of a fraudulent transaction. The HPI Guarantee is valid for two years from the date of the check. The vehicle must be bought and registered in mainland Britain (i.e. it excludes Northern Ireland). If it has been imported, HPI does not guarantee its data history prior to arrival in this country. If you make a claim under the HPI used car history Guarantee, we reserve the right to inspect the vehicle and to make the final decision as to its condition and value. You are advised to consult the full HPI HPI Guarantee Terms & Conditions for full details of the cover provided.

HPI Check and additional car check company contact details

Private vehicle history data inspection check companies
The DVLA history data provides information on the registration of vehicles to certain companies for consumer protection and anti-fraud purposes.

Please be assured that no individual name or address details are provided on inspection.

The information may be added to by companies with details from the police, finance and insurance companies. The companies below are able to provide a vehicle checking service for the public and motor trade. 2013

For information on prices including the HPI Check and other products you should contact them directly.

Auto Trader Vehicle Check, 41-47 Hartfield Road, Wimbledon, London, SW19 3RQ. Telephone: 0844 470 4923 Fax: 0844 470 3708.
Experian, Talbot House, Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5HF. Telephone 0800 234 999. Fax: 0115 934 4105.
HPI Check telephone number and address Dolphin House, P O Box 61, New Street, Salisbury, SP1 2TB. Telephone 01722 422 422. Fax: 01722 412 164.
SMMT, Pipers Business Centre, 220 Vale Road, Tonbridge, TN9 1SP. Telephone 01732 373 002. Fax: 01732 373 001.
Vehicle Inspection Company (UK) Ltd, CDL House, Hindley Street, Stockport, SK1 3LF. Telephone: 01436 821206 Fax: 01436 821 875.

Year 2013, April, May, June.