HPI Check - Beware ! ....... HELP PLEASE

[Thestig1973]

I bought an Edition 30 from a dealer in October 2009, the dealer supplied the car with a HPI certificate dated September 2009 and all was clear.

Last weekend i was getting a trade-in valuation at a dealers who did a HPI report, this showed my pride and joy was a Cat D write off in May 2009. 

Ive spoken to HPI who advised me the previous insurer registered the Cat D in November 2009.... 6 months after the write off, and one month after i bought it.

The dealer i purchased from advised me to speak to Trading Standards, as when he sold the vehicle it was HPI clear.

Trading Standards advised me that i cant sue HPI for inncorrect information as my legal contract is not with them.

Its the same story if the previous insurer is at fault for taking 6 months to register with HPI database, again my legal contract is not with them.


My last hope is to ask the finance company to assist or give them the car as technically they own it, although then i would loose the few thousand deposit and cash ive paid monthly for the last 17 months !

I find it difficult to beleive i seem to have no legal rights at all. I have no idea why the car was deemed Cat D and i can see no signs of accident damage, but its now worth a fraction of what i paid for it


GUTTED !!!

[vRS Carl]

Ouch.

I'd be on to Citizens Advice and failing that a good Lawyer. But you hear of this sort of thing all too often (though usually with stolen vehicles)

Gutted for you mate as that must be a sickening blow.

[Thestig1973]

Cheers mate....tried Citizens advice first who advised us to contact Trading standards

HPI say i could possibly claim off them if i personally paid for did the HPI report...... so how many of us would see a dealers HPI report and then pay for another ?

[MAT ED30]

got a solicitor mate who i will ask if you want  was it a vw dealer?

[Thestig1973]

Any advice would be appreciated Matt

It wasnt a main dealer

[MAT ED30]

  my wife is a solicitor and someone in her office does this type of stuff so will get her to ask about it for you 

[Thestig1973]

Fantastic...Cheers Matt 

[Richn83]

Well if HPI say you can claim if you did the test yourself then surely the dealer can claim since they did the HPI check as part of the service in selling the car to you.

[MAT ED30]

U have pm

[stealthwolf]

What was the outcome of this?

[cos im worth it]

That is proper bad crack that, gutted for you and hope you get sorted mate, typical that they all wash there hands and want nothing to do with it now.

[Redev]

Horrible to hear that, hope someone takes responsibility for this one. I'm surprised there isn't some regulation stating that the car is recorded as a write off before being sold as salvage? You'd think that after all these years that loophole would have been closed.

Good luck mate

[Phil Miller]

sorry to hear this mate, one thing tho normally when a car is a write off if its repaired it has to have a VIC test and it will also say on the V5 down the bottom of the front page in the notes bit, and normally the insurer does this before they pay out, hope it all gets sorted mate

[Becca88]

This really sucks. We use Experian in the group I work for and you'd be supprised how much false information are linked to vehicles and what information doesn't show on these checks I.e we Experian checked a vehicle and it wasn't showing as sn import but Audi uk didn't supply the vehicle and their records show it's an import... Experian quite often have write offs on vehicles which customers have owned from new and has never had any bodywork done etc somehow they mix vehicles up etc which is a pain in the butt and quite worrying. If you like you could pm me the registration number and I could check it on Experian as it is different to HPI ... Just so you can have an extra piece of information 

[SimonBash]

Well if HPI say you can claim if you did the test yourself then surely the dealer can claim since they did the HPI check as part of the service in selling the car to you.

This is spot on, happend to me (few years ago, 5 I think) and the dealer bought the car back off me at current market price and claimed against HPI as he pays for their service.