Carfax Inc

The CARFAX order page states clearly that the Unlimited Reports plan is unlimited using only the U.Slicense plate CARFAX does not offer or advertise an unlimited-by-VIN plan

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Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I canceled on July 2, never used their service any the month of july..so I would be paying for nothing,because as I said all alone their customer rep said I could cancel at anytime..they still won't send me or play for me our recorded conversation,because if they do ,they will see I am correct...that's what I want to resolve this issue the conversation between their lying rep and myself...as I said it's not a matter of money it's that I have always done to my customers as I say,it appears to me carfax don't...I was told before I ever signed up with them,that carfax was a bunch of crooks,that they would get you in the long run,I guess that's true...well gentleman see you on court day.....I have a son who is an attorney,so my legal fees will be free
Regards,
*** ***

VINSmart is a reseller of NMVTIS data NMVTIS does not collect or report accident information, and therefore, no one will see any accident records on any NMVTIS report for any vehicle CARFAX does not release data from its records; however, the accident was reported to CARFAX by the state for this vehicle The only reason why the state can no longer provide the police report is that the police report has been purged due to age

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Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
How can your company not be responsible for the information it is putting out? Where does it actually say on the carfax report that the information you are providing is only the opinion of a police officer? The Virigina state police will confirm to you that box checked on the police report is only an opinion, they have no training to make a determination as to the damage of a vehicle, only insurance companies can do thisThey cannot change a police report because it has already been filed. I understand that most insurance companies will not release personal informationIn your response it is clear that the information comes from a police report but when a car dealership looks at the report where is that listed? Obviously they are not aware your report is only giving information as an opinion I find it very interesting that in your reply you say the report states the car is totaled but no total loss is reportedHow can the car be totaled if no total loss was reported? Even your report contradicts itself. Your reply to me was very clear where the information came from but is the report you sell to companies just as clear? Again I have written documentation to disprove your report
Regards,
*** ***

CARFAX Vehicle History Reports are compiled using the
unique 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN) for each vehicle. Upon entering a license plate into CARFAX’s
website, CARFAX uses the current U.Slicense plate number to look up the most
recent VIN using
DMV information The
customer is asked to verify the year, make and model before ordering the CARFAX
Report. In this way, using the license
plate returns the same CARFAX Vehicle History Report as using the VIN. On the CARFAX homepage, both VIN and license
plate boxes are also available prior to reaching the order page.
The CARFAX order page shows “Step Select Your Package.” The customer is then presented with three
options in the product selection box, outlined as follows:
CARFAX Report $/ Report / Valid for Days
CARFAX Reports $/ Reports / Valid for Days
Unlimited CARFAX Reports only $/ Unlimited Reports
by U.SLicense Plate / Valid for Days
The and Reports plans do not specify in the product
selection box whether the CARFAX Reports can be run by VIN or by license plate
because both options are available for those plans. However, the Unlimited CARFAX Reports plan
specifies that the license plate is required to run CARFAX Reports. The plan does include Reports by VIN for
free, but the customer is not purchasing any VIN searches in this plan, as it
is for license plates only
The Customer Agreement on the order page, to which the
customer must agree before asking us to place their order, also states that “You
acknowledge and agree that vehicle license plate and state information is needed
to run each CARFAX Report under this Planyou may run unlimited CARFAX
Reports for your personal use only in connection with the purchase of a vehicle
from a private party and/or the sale of a vehicle to a private party.”
These details are also provided to the customer in the
purchase confirmation page, the receipt email, and listed upon logging into the
account

CARFAX removed the accident record in question and sent the
customer the following email on 4/16/
Good Morning,
My name is A___ and I was asked to review your case regarding the
Texas
Accident.
According to the police report this VIN is listed as being involvedHowever,
after digging deeper into the content of the police report I am convinced the
accident does not belong to your vehicle and the VIN was noted by the officer
in error.
Based on this I was happy to remove the accident from the Vehicle History
Report as requestedI do recommend you contact the Houston Police Department
and ask them to correct the police report by removing your VIN as being
involvedThis will ensure the information is corrected on all levels.
I recently sent you a separate email with a 14-day link to access and print the
updated CARFAX Vehicle History ReportPlease allow about 15-minutes for the
update to process.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything further I
can do to help.
Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to work with you, it was my
pleasure and I hope you have a wonderful day
Sincerely
CARFAX, Inc

CARFAX shows accident/damage/total loss for all three of those vehicles

CARFAX.COM,warning , carfax does not have a phone number to call with problems, and they do not respond to there own support sites!They take your money fast enough.BUT THATS ALL THEY KNOW HOW TO DO!!!!!NOW I WILL HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER DAYS OR MORE TOGET MY MONEY BACK!!NOT AT ALL HAPPY WITH CARFAX .com.ALL TALK and HYPE!!!no help in buying carsthe one I wanted is now long gone THANKS CARFAX for DAYS of aggervation and more to come! DO your self a favor and do not get involed with this group of money grabers

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Car fax is not standing behind their wordHonestly in the future I will make sure that I don't refer to Car fax for any informationI would come out better asking a person on the street about the condition of a car versus Car faxCar Fax buy back guarantee is not worth the paper it's written onI will also make sure to let everyone who is thinking about using Car Fax to spend their time and money elsewhere Car Fax is a total and complete ripoff in the whole sense of the word
Regards,
*** ***

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***Thank you for the timely reply from CarFax Inc..
However, I am rejecting that response because: t has failed to directly address my original complaint nor offer to take the requested corrective action.Both parties agree upon what the CarFax website and customer agreement say.
What remains unresolved is correction to the manner in which that information is presented by CarFax Incand the compensation to all of its customers who may have been mislead by it including selfCarfax Incadmits that all vehicle information - the "CARFAX" Report" - is ultimately derived from the VIN regardless of whether the Plate or the VIN is supplied by the customerCarfax Incalso admits that the third paid option states " Unlimited CARFAX Reports only $/ Unlimited Reports by U.SLicense Plate / Valid for Days"The mutually agreed upon facts presented are that "CARFAX" reports are generated by VIN and "Unlimited CARFAX Reports" cost only $ Therefore, the first part of the advertised offer cannot mean anything other to the customer than "Unlimited CARFAX Reports (which can only originate from the VIN) cost $54.99"This is supported by the mutually agreed-upon fact that the two lesser cost offers provide VIN-only based information look upsImplying that the VIN is basic to all offers.
The third option also adds "/Unlimited Report by U.SLicense Plate"Yet nowhere in that advertised option or within the customer agreement is the key word "Only" or other statement clarifierThat omission makes the "Unlimited Report by U.SLicense Plate" an 'inclusive' statement to the $"CARFAX Reports" offer rather than 'exclusive' or limiting statement The "Unlimited Reports by U.SLicense Plate" phrase in no way restricts the original "Unlimited CARFAX Reports" offerThis means that in legal English parlance the two statements taken together as an offer can only be interpreted by the customer as "Unlimited CARFAX Reports for $54.99" (which are admittedly generated by VIN) also'include' "Unlimited Reports by U.SLicense Plate"
Nowhere does the third option or customer agreement verbiage state that there are ONLY five VIN-based look upsThat omission of the qualifier "ONLY" or any other VIN limit clarification also reinforces the offer's value interpretation of there being "unlimited" VIN-based look ups for $Clearly CarFax Inccould simply employ a better use of the English language to clarify the extent of what is being offered for sale on their website Adding the qualifying words "VIN Reports Plus" to the third option could easily rectify any misunderstanding made between CarFax Incand the targeted customerThe fact that the corporation has chosen not to act, even when made aware of their advertising language ambiguity, can only be interpreted to mean that CarFax Incis intentionally misleading the customer for its own unwarranted monetary gain.The U.Sand International legal community have both set fort h laws and guideline regulating the'Truth in Advertising' to handle such explicit product deception and intentional customer exploitation.
I have spent over eight hours of my time now working through the Revdex.com to help encourage CarFax Inccorrect its advertising mistakes, reimburse its misled consumers, and re-establish its business integrity within the competitive global marketplaceIt is now time for CarFax Incto acknowledge their short comings here, uphold my originally suggested action steps of recompense, and once again become a better broker of trust within the business community
Regards,
*** ***

A “Total Loss” is defined
as an insurance company purchasing a vehicle as a result of a damage claim. Since a total loss has not been reported to
CARFAX, the CARFAX Report accurately states “No total loss reported to CARFAX.” A total loss is not the same as the police
report’s damage severity reported as “totaled.”
It should be undisputed that the police report lists the damage severity
as totaled, and that this damage severity of totaled was reported to CARFAX, and
that the CARFAX Report thus accurately states that the vehicle was reported to
CARFAX with the damage severity as totaled.
Therefore, the CARFAX Report does not contradict itself at all when its
states that the damage severity of “totaled” was reported to CARFAX, but no
total loss is reported to CARFAX.
To find out what the
CARFAX Vehicle History Report is reporting to customers, including dealers, one
need look no further than the CARFAX Vehicle History Report, which states the
below
This CARFAX Vehicle
History Report is based only on information supplied to CARFAX and available as
of [the date and time of the CARFAX Report]Other information about this
*** *** **, including problems, may not have been reported to CARFAXUse
this report as one important tool, along with a vehicle inspection and test
drive, to make a better decision about buying your next used car
Accident reported on
07/19/Vehicle reported totaled
Details about the
accident or damage event when reported to CARFAX (e.gseverity, impact
location, airbag deployment) are included on the Vehicle History ReportCARFAX
recommends you obtain a vehicle inspection from your dealer or an independent
mechanic
CARFAX depends on many
sources for its accident / damage dataCARFAX can only report what is in our
database on [the date and time of the CARFAX Report]New data will result in a
change to this report
SEVERE/TOTALED: The
vehicle cannot be driven from the accident scene due to severe damage or an
injury
Have this car inspected
by a mechanic prior to purchase
Use this tool, along with
a vehicle inspection and test drive, to make a better decision about your next
used car
CARFAX DEPENDS ON ITS
SOURCES FOR THE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF ITS INFORMATIONTHEREFORE, NO
RESPONSIBILITY IS ASSUMED BY CARFAX OR ITS AGENTS FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN
THIS REPORT

A structural damage record was reported to CARFAX by its data source On May 15, 2015, the customer contacted CARFAX disputing the record and provided the repair estimate in support of her claim On May 22, 2015, CARFAX notified the customer that her own document shows structural damage
in several places The repair order shows structural repairs were necessary on the following lines:
Line 23, hours to repair the right rocker panel
Line 31, hours to section the right quarter panel
Line 41, hours to repair the inner quarter panel, wheel house and dog leg
Line 64, hours to pull the right rocker panel and pre-pull the dog leg
CARFAX never received the mentioned letters from the insurance company or body shop, but it does not matter; these repairs are structural in nature by any standards The vehicle sustained hours of repairs and replacement of structural components; CARFAX will not remove the structural damage from the CARFAX Report

The CARFAX Vehicle History Report accurately states that the vehicle was involved in the accident, and that the trailer being towed was damaged This accurately reflects the information reported to CARFAX by the police department, as confirmed by the police report If the police report
lists the vehicle as involved in error, it must be corrected by the police department

*** ***,
CARFAX’s response to complaint *** would be that the police department reported his vehicle to CARFAX in the accident, CARFAX verified with the police department that it was reported in error and has since been removed. CARFAX cannot prevent police departments from reporting an error to CARFAX
Thanks,
Vince
*** ***
Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations
CARFAX, Inc

CARFAX sent the customer the following email on 2/23/2015:
Hi ***,
"">I just heard back and was able to remove the Total Loss from the report as requested! I recently sent you a separate email with a 14-day link to access and print the updated CARFAX Vehicle History ReportPlease allow 15-minutes for the change to reflect within the reportPlease let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything further I can do to helpThank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to work with you, it was my pleasure and I hope you have a wonderful day Alexa

CARFAX can only report the information reported to us by our sources, which include motor vehicle departments and service facilities If the vehicle owner believes information has been reported to CARFAX in error, there is a simple process to initiate a research request with CARFAX The
vehicle owner can access our Help Center by visiting our website, www.carfax.com, and clicking the "Help" button at the top or bottom of the page In the Help Center, halfway down the page in the Contact Us section is a link "Submit a Request to Fix a Report" which brings the customer to the Data Research Request form Once the form is completed, the case will be assigned to a Resolution Manager who will contact the customer directly I have also included a link directly to the Data Research Request form belowhttp://support.carfax.com/c_datarequest

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: the heart of the problem is the definition of the word "CARFAX report"According to your website "Every CARFAX Report contains information that can impact a consumer's decision about a used vehicleSome types of information that a CARFAX Report may include are:
Title information, including salvaged or junked titles
Flood damage history
Total loss accident history
..."
When you offer "Unlimted CARFAX Reports", customers expect unlimited CARFAX reports as defined on your website
I am attaching a screenshot of your website where you defined what is a "CARFAX report" and the order page and the link between them
I still want a full refund since I was subjected to deceptive advertisement
Regards,
*** ***

This customer signed a three-month contract covering the months of May, June and July of 2014, with a 30-day notice required for early cancellation The customer provided a less than 30-day notice, and is therefore responsible for paying for the month of July If the customer has any
questions about the terms, they can consult their contract

Response:
The complainant points out that the Unlimited plan does not include a statement on the five VIN limit. This is correct, because, as the order page does clearly state, this is a license plate-only plan. The customer is not purchasing any VINs under the unlimited plan and thus should not expect to be able to look up any CARFAX Reports by VIN. We do include five VIN lookups as a courtesy, which means these are included for free, and thus are not advertised or mentioned at all on the order page. This complaint is centered around an assumption made by the customer, and is not regarding anything CARFAX offered or advertised. The order page is clear that it is a license plate only plan, and is even more clear in the Customer Agreement, to which the customer read and accepted before placing their order. There is nothing we can offer this customer, as we do not offer or advertise an unlimited by VIN plan

CARFAX records indicate that the customer had contact CARFAX for numerous reasons over the last several years, but a request for cancellation had never been made, and thus no credits are due The Ad Pack program has now been canceled as of April 1, 2014, and the customer should consult with
their account manager should they have any questions