Carfax Inc

Review: On 7-7-13 I posted my 2012 Subaru for sale. On 7-9-13 I had a man look at the car and agree to purchase the auto. He pulled a CarFax and it showed my auto went to NJ to a dealer and had over 14,000 miles on it. Error; the car never left Coloado and has 457 miles on it. I sent a request to CarFax Consumer Research #[redacted] on 7-12-13 showing the actual mileage, to this date 7-31-13 I have never heard from CarFax regarding this huge issue they have caused for me. I lost the sale of my car and spent two days on the phone with the dealer in NJ trying to get this straightened out. CarFax has shown neglience in their lack of cntacting me. I can not believe a company does not have a customer service phone number, where you can get issued resolved and help.Desired Settlement: I want a phone call explaining what happened, an appology, reimbursement for the $39.99 CarFax I had to run to see the error and some type of compensation for the loss of the sale of my car due to their lack of assistance. Money exchanged hands when th CarFax was purchased, thus a contract and they failed to follow through with the contract.

Consumer

Response:

I will remove damages over the $39.99 for the CarFax reimbursement. They need to explain their actions and lack of follow-up.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

On July 18, 2013, CARFAX sent the following email to the

customer:

Good Morning,

Thank

you for contacting CARFAX.

The

odometer reading was removed in reference number [redacted]. Can you please clarify

what the error is with the length of ownership? Upon reviewing the Vehicle

History Report it appears to reflect accurately at 1 year 3 months.

Thank

you

Resolution

Manager

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: There was no appology, it costt the sale of my car, why did they never respond to the complaint I filled with them (their website says they respond in one business day), they did not agree to reimburse me the the $39.99. The response was a total sham. Unacceptable, they did nothing to resolve or answer.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

CARFAX can only report the information reported to

CARFAX. If a service facility

incorrectly enters the wrong mileage for a vehicle, it can show up on the

CARFAX Report. I do apologize for the

delay in removing the incorrect odometer reading. I could not locate the CARFAX account

purchase, but a refund can be requested through the below form:

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: They have failed to explain why they never responded to Case #[redacted], their website says they respond the next business day. Also, the car never has left Colorado who did they get a report of a car in NJ with 14,700 miles, [redacted] Subaru swears this is a CarFax issue? Please explain the lack of response to my case, it cost me the sale of my car and I need an answer. I have applied for a refund, not much of a help at this point!

Regards,

Business

Response:

**. [redacted], I was attempting to respond to this complaint, [redacted], but it is no longer listed on the website. **. [redacted] stated that she did not receive a response to her case and also requested a refund. The refund was requested on 8/20/2013 and issued the next day on 8/21/2013. However, the research request disputing the odometer was concluded on 7/18/2013, the odometer was removed, and the customer was emailed on 7/18/2013 at 9:05 AM notifying her of the resolution. Thank you for the opportunity to address this concern. [redacted]Manager, Product Support and Data EscalationsCARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I am very disappointed with their response, they did not send me a response on 7-15-13. To date I have never received a response to my complaint. Their deceptive practices are unprofessional. I am done with CarFax, I will tell everyone I meet my experience!!!!

Regards,

Review: I have multiple problems with this service. The site promises unlimited reports but it then does limit the number of searches by VIN to 5 which is all you can search on for cars with dealers. They don't have plates. Unlimited means without limits. The site also does not say anywhere that it limits you to a single month. Again, my searches were limited to a single month. It says that NO WHERE on the page advertising the plans. It is clearly deceptive. It also promises a Money Back Guarantee if Not 100% Satisfied - No Risk!. That guarantee is only good if you perform less than two searches. How could I possibly know if I am satisfied with a service until that service is complete? No, I am not satisfied. I looked up vehicles owned by two family members and huge events were not listed. One, and entire engine was replaced on an Azera by the dealer through a recall. Another the vehicle was involved in a 6 car accident with multiple police reports and major repairs through a dealership and claimed on insurance. That's 2 out of 2 major issues that it didn't have accurate information on. I also ran about 15 searches and only have access to a handful of those in my account. I don't know where the others went or how to find them.Desired Settlement: I would like the Money Back Guarantee if Not 100% Satisfied - No Risk! or the unlimited part to be honored. I either need enough searches to cover buying a car (including VIN searches) or I want my money back. I am still not satisfied with the service given the huge gaps in reporting but at least that would be better than nothing.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

As our order page at www.carfax.com

states, with the Unlimited plan you can run an unlimited number of CARFAX

Reports by U.S. license plate only for 30 days.

We also give five CARFAX Reports by VIN for free as a courtesy, but the

plan is for license plate searches for private party sales vehicles. This information is on the order form, in the

customer agreement (which the customer is required to read and accept before

processing their order); it is also emailed to them in their receipt email and

is shown in the account upon logging in.

CARFAX does not offer or advertise and unlimited plan by VIN.

The Money Back Guarantee, as listed in the Customer Agree

and accepted by the customer upon placing their order, allows for a refund if

less than three CARFAX Reports have been run on the account. After two CARFAX Reports, it should be

obvious whether this service is right for the customer or not. One does not wait to eat the entire sandwich

before returning it to the waitress for a refund, as they should be able to

tell within a few bites whether or not it is right for them. In this case, the customer ran six CARFAX

Reports, a value of $239.94, and therefore we will not be able to issue a

refund for the account.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Review: Carfax is misleading.

I purchased a $40,000 vehicle in December 2012, when I went to trade it in I found out there was an accident march 2012. When I made the purchase the accident did not appear, and it had been 8 months already. Should Carfax update their information I wouldn't not paid that or purchased the vehicle. I also took a loss when I traded it in. They advertise very visibly how to buy smart but they should disclose visibly also on not rely or trust/depend on Carfax.

I told a loss on my purchase and a loss on my trade in for trusting and relying on Carfax.Desired Settlement: Fair Monetary compensation for my loss because of their lack of disclosing accurate information when they state on their website "avoid buying a lemon..." and "Make sure you get the best deal on your certified used vehicle..."

Hold Carfax responsible for my loss.

Business

Response:

The CARFAX Vehicle History Report is a dynamic service that is

updated regularly with information received from current and new data sources.

Sources of accident data are not required to report information to our company,

so the reporting of events is based on a source's willingness to participate

with us and when they begin providing information to us thereafter. Since not

all accident sources provide information to CARFAX, we continuously contract

with new data sources for historical events in addition to receiving additional

records from our existing sources that can date back several years. We understand

your concerns regarding the timing involved but despite our best efforts,

sources can take up to several years before agreeing to supply their data while

others may never report information to CARFAX. When we receive new information

from participating sources, we work as quickly as possible to update the

information on our report.

Review: I was in a process of trading in my 2009 subaru impreza which bought brand new. when the guy at the dealership ran my car fax (confident that nothing wrong with it since i'm the only owner) he comes back telling me that my vehicle had an accident back in 2010 and 2011 and showed me the copy of the car fax. I told him that is impossible and i'm the only owner of the car and that my insurance can be a proof that there was no accidents on the car. Its really [redacted] me off that this carfax is giving inaccurate informations! so I went back home trying to get contact carfax I emailed them about it since they dont have any phone numbers (go figure probably too many consumers complaining they can't deal with them they had to cut their customer service numbers) until now I dont have any answer or someone contacting me. this is a rip off and you guys are huge JOKE! I need this resolve ASAP since I need to trade in my car! my case number is #[redacted]Desired Settlement: I need my car fax to be updated and removed of the accidents that never occurred! and improve your stupid customer service!!!

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

We appreciate the opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

The State of [redacted] reported an accident (just one) to CARFAX for this vehicle. CARFAX is currently working with [redacted] to verify the accident and will notify [redacted] directly through case # [redacted] once research concludes.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Review: Carfax advertises unlimited searches but does not clearly disclose that is only for 30 days unless you happen to click on the small print that says see detailsDesired Settlement: Be upfront about timeframe.

Business

Response:

CARFAX resolved this matter directly with the customer by issuing a full refund on July 9, 2014.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: Carfax is useless, I know they can't know everything but there are hundreds of thousands or cars sold every week at auctions that have been in very severe accidents w/ clean titles but yet when you car fax the vin a lot of the vehicles show no wear or tear. This is a problem for the costumer who is trying to protect themselves and very innocently buy a expensive, I should say, report that those not show the important events and details of a lot of the cars that have been totaled. I am working to gather a group of people to take a class action law suit and stand up to this unjust company charging costumers too much for unimportant information as well as open complaints with the Revdex.com to get to the bottom of this.Desired Settlement: Quick

Business

Response:

Every CARFAX Vehicle History Report and our website are very clear about what information CARFAX can provide. Details are outlined below:

Review: On the CarFax website, there are 3 options: $39.99 for 1 report, $49.99 for 3 reports, $54.99 for unlimited reports. I selected option 2, $49.99 for 5 reports. However, CarFax charged me $53.99. When I tried to contact them, there was no phone number listed to call to dispute. Instead, the website said to submit an email for my dispute. After I submitted an email in regards to them charging me incorrectly, I received an email from [redacted], Consumers Affair Analyst, writing to me,

"Hi [redacted].

Thank you for contacting CARFAX.

Are you aware that the 30 day unlimited account allows you to run a unlimited number of reports using the plate number only. The account also allows you to run 5 VIN reports."

To me, CarFax basically did a bait and switch. When I purchased, I did not pay for the unlimited package. I picked the $49.99 option. However, they overcharged me and won't respond to my email for the dispute.Desired Settlement: I want them to refund me for the overcharge. It is ridiculous that they bait and switch. I am in the process of contacting my credit card company to stop payment to them.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

The customer states they purchased the $49.99 option, but

were charged $53.99. As was explained to

the customer via email on 10/16/2013 at 9:25 AM, the customer did order the

$49.99 package and was charged as follows:

$49.99 + $4.00 NY state sales tax (8%) = $53.99.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Thank you for your investigation. I never got that email in regards to the tax. Now if they had just answered my complaint in the first place when I had asked about the charge, I wouldn't have gone to the Revdex.com. Instead, the marketing department kept trying to upsell their product. Regardless, thank you again [redacted] for your help.

Regards,

Review: My vehicle was involved in a wreck in July 2013. It was repaired by an approved repair shop and paid for by my insurance company. I have all of the documentation to prove this. I was going to trade the vehicle in November and was offered 21,000 for a trade-in value. I was honest and upfront with the dealership about the car being wrecked. When they pulled a car fax report it stated that the vehicle was totaled so they dropped the trade in value about $5,000. to 16,000. Not only was I embrassed that it seemed I was being dishonest but $5,000 is a lot of money to me.

I emailed (because this is the only way to contact Carfax) that their information was incorrect and it needed to be changed. They informed me that in a police report box 6 was checked and they could not change this information unless I provided them a police report or that they would request one. This all happened in December and I received another email yesterday that they did get a police report and it showed that the vehicle was totaled so until we got the police report changed they would not change the report.

As a consumer I am furious that I cannot sell my own car and that I am responsible for correcting the information that they are giving out, which is false information. I would also like to know when a police officer became certified as an insurance adjuster. This should not be a part of his job to determine the damage to a vehicle and I don't feel that this company should be allowed to use information that has not been verified. An opinion from a police officer is not verified proof of the damage to a car.

As I have researched this issue I find many complaints that have been posted about this company. I understand that most insurance do not release personal information so they cannot get the right information about anyone's vehicle.

Do I have any rights as a consumer because this company is putting out false information about me? It has cost me time and money to correct something that is their error, not mine.Desired Settlement: I would like to see someone investigate how a company can give out false information and why they are allowed to use information from a database as a fact. The consumer is responsible for correcting this information?

Consumer

Response:

I want this company to stop giving out false information about me.

Business

Response:

The CARFAX Vehicle History Report states, accurately, that an accident report was written for this vehicle and that the damage severity chosen by the police officer was “totaled.” CARFAX is accurately reporting the information from the police report. This damage severity is not the same as an insurance company designation of Total Loss. Note that the CARFAX Report states “No total loss reported to CARFAX.”

CARFAX did not write the police report and did not fabricate the damage severity listed on it. CARFAX is in no position to determine if an official document is in error; only the issuing agency, the police department, has the authority to do so, and if the damage severity is in error, only the police department can correct it.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

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 6 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 this. They cannot change a police report because it has already been filed. I understand that most insurance companies will not release personal information. In 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 reported. How 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,

Business

Response:

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 2011

[redacted], including problems, may not have been reported to CARFAX. Use

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

07/19/2013. . . Vehicle reported totaled.

Details about the

accident or damage event when reported to CARFAX (e.g. severity, impact

location, airbag deployment) are included on the Vehicle History Report. CARFAX

recommends you obtain a vehicle inspection from your dealer or an independent

mechanic.

CARFAX depends on many

sources for its accident / damage data. CARFAX 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 INFORMATION. THEREFORE, NO

RESPONSIBILITY IS ASSUMED BY CARFAX OR ITS AGENTS FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN

THIS REPORT.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I don' t know where you are getting your definitions. According to insurance.com a "totaled" vehicle is a vehicle that the damage amount exceeds the value of the car, there fore an insurance company is not going to repair the vehicle. As I continue to explain to you, this is not the case. Can you give me a legal definiton of a totaled vehicle compared to a total loss? Your definition of totaled is different than most car dealers or insurance companies. When a car dealer pays for a Carfax report, which is information that your companies sells to them for a profit, the status is totaled and they inform you the price of your vehicle has gone down 5,000. dollars because the report says totaled. What do you think they are interpreting? They are not looking at your report and making the determination that Oh, well I need to get the car looked at by a mechanic because a carfax report, that will follow the car from owner to owner, is just one tool. Which is what your are implying. The way you report the information comes across as the car is totaled. Maybe because it is in big bold letters. Again I ask you if this information is displayed as clearly to a dealer as you seem to think, why would they reduce the price? Again, I have proper documentation to prove your report is wrong but a dealer or anybody else interested in the vehicle will not have access to the information and therefore the re-sale value is diminished. I can proof to them that the information is false but when they go to sell the vehicle themselves your report will be what they rely on. This is only one of the reasons that it needs to be corrected. Your procedure for correcting this information is flawed. I would really like to know how many police reports have been sucessfully changed for consumers to get this information off of your report. How many other consumers in Virginia are in the same situation as me because they cannot get a police report changed? Are they losing thousands of dollers also?

According to your represenative that I have been corresponding with Carfax is unwillingly to remove "totaled" from the vehicle report unless the police report is changed. As I have stated to you earlier the state police cannot change a report after it has been filed. I contacted the Virginia State Police and was told this information. So as a consumer I am stuck with your company reporting that the car has been totaled, which is false. So what other steps can be taken to get it removed?

You say that Carfax takes no responsibility for incorrect information that is provided. All other companies are held to a certain standard when making a profit for providing information. If you are relying on information you should be able to back it up with facts. The facts are a police officer made a judgement call about the vehicle and placed this information on his police report and you then are reporting it. The Virginia State Police will tell you that information on the report is only an opinion of the officer. They are not trained nor do they claimed to be trained in determining whether a vehicle is totaled or not.

Regards,

Business

Response:

The complainant states "If you are relying on information you should be able to back it up with facts. The facts are a police officer made a judgement call about the vehicle and placed this information on his police report and you then are reporting it." This is correct, and therefore the facts of this matter are not in dispute. At this point, I would like to say "case closed."

The police officer made a judgment call regarding the damage severity of the vehicle resulting from the accident and indicated this on his police police in accordance with his training and instruction. This police report is an official document and is part of public record. This publicly available information was reported to CARFAX, and the CARFAX Vehicle History Report very accurately states exactly these undisputed facts. The CARFAX Report states that an accident was reported to CARFAX and a damage severity of "totaled" is listed on the police report. This is not listed in "big bold letters." However, what is listed in "big bold letters" is the statement that the vehicle has not been reported to CARFAX by an insurance company as a total loss. The CARFAX Report also defines the damage severity in the glossary as: "SEVERE/TOTALED: The vehicle cannot be driven from the accident scene due to severe damage or an injury."

CARFAX has no way of knowing whether or not the police officer made an error. Only the issuing authority of an official document, in this case the police department, has the authority to determine if any errors exist in a public document. In CARFAX's experience, police reports are fairly easily corrected or supplemented when they are in error, and that if the police department cannot make a correction it is usually because the department is not convinced there is an error. Regardless of this, CARFAX cannot change the information until the police department changes its information.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

My complaint still stands because if you look in the dictionary the definition of a judgement call is: a decision that is based upon your opinion. Therefore it is an opinion you are reporting not a fact. It says no where on your report that the information you are supplying is only an opinion. The way the information shows up on your report it states that the car is totaled. Don't you want to report correct information? Isn't that what the basis of your company's reputation is? The fact is that I have paperwork from the insurance company that shows where they paid to have this car repaired. Case will not be closed until this information is removed from your report. The car was not totaled.

I do not appreciate your implications in your response that the police report will not be changed because it is not true about the damage. If it is so easy to get a police report changed, please let me know who I need to contact at the Virignia State Police and I will be glad to do so. I am ready and willing to get this fixed. We can resolve this matter. As I have stated to you previously, the VSP Sargent that I spoke with said a police report cannot be changed after it is filed. You also stated that the police officer made this judgement call according to his training. The Sargent specifically stated that they are not trained, nor do they claim to be trained, to determine the damage to a vehicle, it is only the opinion of the officer. Damage assesment is made by an insurance adjuster.

Futhermore I think you need to re-read your own report. You left out some very important information when you gave the definition of Severe/Totaled. The full defintion, according to the Carfax report, is "This level of damage often results in a Salvage or Junk Title. " So when your report shows that the vehicle is listed as totaled your definition gives the impression that the vehicle has a salvage or junk title. These implications prevent anyone from purchasing the vehicle because it hurts the value of the car.

I am willingly to resolve this complaint if you tell me how to get the information removed. If the Virginia State Police are telling me they cannot change a report after it is filed, not that they don't want to make a change, how can it be taken off the report? The issue is still that the car was not totaled and Carfax is reporting that the car is totaled.

Regards,

Business

Response:

**. [redacted],

In response to complaint [redacted], CARFAX can offer to add the repair order record to the CARFAX Report to show that the vehicle was repaired and to show the actual extent of damage to the vehicle. If the customer will provide the repair order from the body shop or insurance company, we will review it and add what details we can. We will then provide a copy of the CARFAX Report to the customer.

Thanks,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

The complaint is that CARFAX is reporting that the vehicle is totaled, which is totally untrue. I do not wish to give you the repair information for my vehicle for you to review. I do not see anywhere in your response that even giving you this information will result in the total being removed. Again, I am responding that I want to know how to get the vehicle status, which is listed as totaled, removed from the report. The process, as I understand it, is to get the police report changed. I attempted to do this with the Virginia State Police and they tell me a report cannot be changed after it is filed. My last request to CARFAX was to tell me how I needed to accomplish this, not to add the vehicle repair report. I want to know how I can get this information removed from the CARFAX report. If the report cannot be changed, how are consumers supposed to get the right information put out about their vehicle? The car was not totaled and this needs to be removed from the report. Surely your company has a process to correct the report when it has incorrect information that you are selling to the public and car dealerships.. The last response I received seemed to indicate that it shouldn't be a problem and that many people got this information corrected. All I ask was to get the same information so I can get this resolved. No where do I see in your response do you answer this question or are offering any information to get this corrected. As long as your report states that the car is totaled the value will be diminished. This is the basis for my compliant. the information on the report is incorrect. The information that you are asking for is something that your company cannot get because insurance companies do not give out information about their clients.

I would be willing to send you a letter from my insurance company stating that the car was never totaled and it has been repaired, if you are willing to remove the the vehicle was totaled from your report.

Regards,

Business

Response:

A letter from the insurance company indicating that the vehicle was not totaled will not be helpful in this case because (a) the CARFAX Report is already stating that the vehicle was not reported totaled by an insurance company ("No total loss reported to CARFAX"), and (b) the insurance company is not the source of the "Vehicle reported totaled" text; it is the police report, which has been verified by the both of us. We both agree that the police report does list the damage severity as "totaled," and we both agree that the insurance company has not reported a total loss to CARFAX. Therefore, the CARFAX Report is accurately reporting the information provided to CARFAX by the police department.

Review: on carfax web page this is what is listed from there site this is copy and past.

Unlimited CARFAX Reports

only $54.99

Unlimited Reports by U.S. License Plate.

I did five and carfax said I had reached the limit. acording to there we site it said for 54.99 I would have unlimited car fax reports and unlimit on state tag reports. they mislead me on the advertisment. I should have unlimited carfar reports. got to the main we site where you buy the product. it is not hard to see there intent.

SelectedDesired Settlement: since I did not find the right car and was still looking and was mislead about the service . I can not find the car I was looking for I had several cars on my list at 30 cars on diferent car lots.I think the did wrong and mislead on there web site a lie.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

CARFAX offers three packages on its order form: a single

CARFAX Vehicle History Report by VIN or license plate; five CARFAX Reports by

VIN or license plate; Unlimited CARFAX Reports by U.S. license plate for 30

days. As the customer pasted from the

order page into their complaint, it clearly states that the unlimited plan is

by U.S. license plate. As a courtesy,

the plan also includes five searches by VIN, but it is a license plate only

plan.

Since the customer ran more than two CARFAX Vehicle History

Reports, the account does not qualify for a refund.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Review: I have requested the recorded conversation which they have from their sales associate,and myself [redacted],at [redacted] about what was said I could do while trying carfax service..all they want to do is say I owe them money for an extra month of service that I cancelled,and did not use..I want this issue resolved,I feel I do not owe this last bill,and its a matter of principle more than money,because I will do as I say and I expect the same from carfax..I was a customer of theirs over a year,and never missed a payment..please help me get this resolved..thanks..Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Other (requires explanation)

I want them to say I don't owe this last bill I received,and resolve the matter as paid...

Business

Response:

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.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: I was told by their rep that signed me up,that I could cancel after one month if I desired to,and he also told me that my service ran through June,not July..They claim they record conversations,I have asked them to play the recording to me between the rep and myself,and they won't do that,I only wish I had recorded my conversation with him,but I don't have that capability...I have never not paid a bill,or invoice that I owe,my credit score is perfect,this is a matter of what I was told by their company rep...They may have a contract that I signed,but I know what I was told by their rep...sounds to me like they need to train their reps better when they are calling customers and trying to sign them up on a contract that is different from what the rep explains to you....

Regards,

Business

Response:

The customer did not request to cancel until July, therefore, the customer is responsible for July charges.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

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,

Review: Hello,

I have a compalin against Carfax incorrect vehicle report.

I went to dealer yesterday to sell my car and dealer ran Carfax report where it shows that my car is"TOTAL LOSS VEHICLE". I am moving out of country in next 2 weeks and now none of the dealer would like to buy my car because car fax has an incorrect information for my vehicle.

The carfax report shows " 12/04/2010 - TOTAL LOSS VEHICLE - VEHICLE DECLARED A TOTAL LOSS BY AN INSURANCE COMPANY COLLISION DAMAGE REPORTED" .

In 2010, I had [redacted] insurance and I found out all claims for that date and it was minor damage report and I talked to [redacted] representative and she informed me that they had not reported "total loss vehice" infomation to carfax because it was a minor damagewrth $344 and on 12/04/2010 for claims to insurace was not considered as a TOTAL LOSS VEHICLE.

My vehicle VIN # [redacted].

2010 [redacted] insurance claim for12/04/2010 ---CLAIM #[redacted]

I really wanted carfax to fix this problem ASAP.

THANKS

[redacted]Desired Settlement: I really wanted carfax to fix this problem ASAP (within a week).

Business

Response:

This has been resolved today directly with the customer.

Review: I went to a dealership to buy a car with trade-in-my current car. They showed me a carfax report on my car that had wrong information about the title, the number of owners. I have been the only owner since I bought it in 2006 and I have a clean title in my possession. Carfax reports that my title is salvage and it has had 3 owners, which make the trade-in-value of my car worthless. Carfax doesn't have any phone numbers on their website to contact them . I filed a dispute 3 days ago via their website and so far have not heard back form them. My hands are tied in trying to resolve this issue which should not even be an issue in the first place.Desired Settlement: I would like for them to fix the issue as soon as possible so I can buy a new car and trade-in my car for what it is truly worth. We are having a baby and a month and a half and because of Carfax wrong and illegal information we cannot proceed with what needs to be done in the preparation.

As a business they should have their contact information available for consumers, and representatives should addressing the issues consumers may have. If they report wrong information on cars, how a consumer can trust in their information about purchasing a car?

Business

Response:

CARFAX receives electronically -submitted data records from over 80,000 data sources, and loads these records directly into its Vehicle History Report database as they are received. Because CARFAX does not receive any paper documents or perform any data entry, an error made by a data source may occasionally display on a CARFAX Vehicle History Report.All data disputes are handled in the order they are received. I see that the customers dispute was acknowledged on 10/30/2014 and was notified the same day that her research was initiated and that her dispute was being researched and she will be contacted the moment an update is available.

Review: I purchased my car 6/18/2013. I went to trade it in today and the dealership would not take it because car fax reports that is was damaged in an accident. Carfax claims that the car was involved in a rear end collision that resulted in damage on 7/24/13. This never happened and I was not even in the state that this report stated. I contacted car fax and it could be up to seven days before they even look at my claim because they are backed up, well no wonder because they post lies. The dealership will not take the car either way now. This situation is a headache and makes me guilty until proven innocent. This is a service that I do not want nor do I care for it and yet it has screwed me. This is false information that is preventing me from trading it in.Desired Settlement: I feel that they should be forced to apologize and change their [redacted] way of handling things or their reputation should be damaged from this inconvenient false information that they provided. Then I want my car's record changed, accurately, and they should offer me their guarantees for free to ensure that I can trade the car in.

Business

Response:

The accident was reported to CARFAX by Oklahoma. We have ordered a copy of the police report to check for errors and will contact the customer directly once the police report arrives.

Review: The company is falsely advertising my vehicle as being in an auto accident. The fact of the matter is that a drunk bicyclist hit my car on the wheels while I was waiting to pull into the main street. He called the police just to extort some money out of me. The police cleared me of any wrong doing and let me go without filing any charges against me. They inspected the car and found no damage to it.

I advertised my car for sale but the buyer pulled up a carfax report which shows that my auto is involved in an accident. I contacted carfax.com and they investigated the matter and offered to put the verbiage "car had no damage" in their report but refuse to pull the accident listing.

the accident listing is adversely affecting the sale of my vehicle drastically bringing down its value.Desired Settlement: I want carfax.com to remove my car from their database as being involved in an accident.

Business

Response:

Review: Carfax is inaccurately reporting that my vehicle has been involved in a collision. I have contacted them numerous times via their website and email to advise them of the error. I have provided them with documentation from my auto insurance company and from the police department that wrote the original incident report. My vehicle was damaged by a runaway shopping cart. They have so far refused to change the report, even though is is completely inaccurate. I need to sell my car and the Carfax report is making it impossible for me to get a fair price for the car. I have done everything humanly possible to fix this issue and Carfax refuses to engage.Desired Settlement: Change the Carfax report to reflect the truth. REPORT THE TRUTH! That my car has never been involved in a collision. For Carfax to continue to report that my car has been involved in a collision is tantamount to libel and fraud, as the information they publish benefits their customers at the expense of the seller with no regard for whether the information reported is true or not.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

Review: I put my vehicle information in, hoping to obtain a carfax report. Carfax.com took my credit card information and billed me for 54.99 when I clearly purchased one carfax report for the 39.99. That was mistake number 1. When I went to view my carfax report after my confirmation email, carfax.com asked me for a user name and password. When I put my information in, it says invalid, or failed. When I try to contact their customer service, they don't exist. When I tried to get a refund for service that wasn't provided, it said failed try again later. So now I've paid for unlimited carfax when I only signed up for one. My account doesn't exist, I didn't receive a report, but they received their money just fine??? Two hours I've spent on this computer searching through their help questions and sending emails and calling them. No answering service, no customer support, no CARFAX REPORT!!Desired Settlement: I want my money back. This is false advertising, and the company is untrustworthy. I feel I have to change my account information at my bank institute because of how shady this company is. Very disappointed.

Business

Response:

The customer purchased the $54.99 Unlimited package from CARFAX on May 7. In the evening, we received their email asking for help logging in, and instructions were provided 8:09 AM the next morning. The customer wrote back on May 8 requesting a refund, and CARFAX responded about an hour later issuing a full refund. For future reference, CARFAX customer support can be reached by visiting our website, www.carfax.com, and clicking the Help button at the top of the page, or the Help link at the bottom of the page.

Review: I signed up my business with CarFax in September. I was using CarFax on monthly bases,was quoted a rate of $99 and was supposed to be billed accordingly. I have never received an invoice or a bill from CarFax or a courteous phone call as a notification that my bill was past due or unpaid. Every week I received phone calls from the company's sales department trying to upsell me or sell me another product. NO one ever mentioned that my business was not in good standing with CarFax until I received a phone call from collections agency notifying me that my account with CarFax was turned over to collections and I owed $870. When I called CarFax to get to the bottom of the issue, I uncovered that the invoices were sent to an incorrect address for 6 month. I also uncovered that I was billed $149.99 a month. IN the month of February, I no longer had access to CarFax but they still charged me a flat fee of $144.55 .After addressing it to sales manager that handled my account, she told me that they weren't going to take the responsibility for their mistake and told me that going forward I must deal with the Collections Agency directly and they will not be adjusting the invoices.Desired Settlement: I will pay $99 for the 5 month I had the account. I would like my account to be taken out of collections and adjusted to good standing. I want them to take responsibility for the incorrect billing and terrible customer service. I would like a letter stating that this was an error on their part so I can make sure that was no irreversible damage to my or my business' credit rating.

Business

Response:

The contract the customer filled out indicated the billing address was a PO box in MA, and further indicated the monthly price of $149.90. There was no error on CARFAX's part, and the customer will have to bring their balance in full with the collections agency before their account can be returned to good standing. Any further questions the customer should have must be directed to the collections agency or their CARFAX account manager.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:The only address that I have for my business is [redacted] NV. It was a mistake on CarFax part to sent the invoices to the incorrect address. I am not sure why they would send it to the PO Box in Mass. I am requesting for the Revdex.com to get involved and help a small business resolve a wrongful billing on the part of CarFax. CarFax employees contacted my business on number of occasion for sales calls, but not once the billing error or delinquency was mentioned. I would like a CarFax representative to contact me directly at ###-###-#### to resolve this issue. The price I was quoted was $99 a month and I was wrongfully charged for the month of February when I no longer had access to CarFax account.

Regards,

Business

Response:

The customer entered in the billing address, not CARFAX. This is what they entered as a billing address:

Review: This concerns a loss of $6,000 we incurred as a result of an incorrect CARFAX report.

On 24 July 2013, my wife, [redacted], and I went to a local car dealer, [redacted] Toyota, to trade-in our 2005 Toyota 4Runner on a new vehicle. We negotiated for a vehicle and agreed to a price with the dealer. The dealer quoted a trade-in value of $10,000 for our 2005 4Runner.

The 4Runner needed repair and was not safely drivable without repair. The dealer told us that the $10,000 trade-in value reflected the need for repairs.

The dealer went to assemble the necessary sales papers. He then came back with a CARFAX report that showed our trade-in vehicle is a total loss. The dealer then revoked the typed contract (not yet signed) and offered $4000 for our 2005 4Runner. My wife and I had no knowledge that our 4Runner was a total loss. We attempted to contact CARFAX and our car insurance company while at the car dealer, but were unable to reach either party due to the time being after their business hours

Since we did not want to repair our trade-in vehicle yet still needed a vehicle, we accepted the revised dealer offer. We figured we could correct the problem afterward.

We have contacted CARFAX and been told that they will NOT communicate with us or accept any corrective information. Their stated reason is that it is not their policy to process research requests for non-owners.

We learned that CARFAX tagged our 4Runner as a total loss as a result of an accident the prior year. We received written reports from both our insurance company and the car repair company that our 4Runner is not and was not a total loss.

Fact, contacts, and supporting data:

1. Our trade-in vehicle: 2005 Toyota 4-Runner, VIN [redacted],

2. Car Dealer where trade-in was made: [redacted] Toyota, [redacted], phone: ###-###-####

3. Car [redacted] Agent: [redacted], agent, [redacted], [redacted], Phone: ###-###-####

4. Car repair company: [redacted] Auto Works, Attn: [redacted], [redacted], Phone: ###-###-####

5. We have a copy of the CARFAX report showing the total loss vehicle status

6. We have an electronic letter from [redacted] that our 4Runner is not and was not a total loss

7. We have an electronic letter from [redacted] Auto that our 4Runner was repaired, delivered back to us and was not and is not a total loss and was not documented as such.

We are now concerned that, by trading in our 4Runner, that we have de facto accepted CARFAX's assertion of the total loss. If we hadn't traded in the vehicle, we would have a loss in renting a vehicle while we worked through CARFAX's corrective action process. While we never had a relationship with CARFAX, it is their false accusation that has caused us loss.

We would appreciate any assistance you can provide. CARFAX wants us to have the dealer submit the corrective action paperwork and refuses to deal with us.Desired Settlement: At this time, we have lost both an actual value of $6000 in the trade-in value of our car and a false belief by the car dealer that we lied on the condition of our 4Runner. Thus, we would prefer $6000 in cash and a written apology sent to the car dealer so that our reputation is restored.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

The complainant states

that they chose to sell their vehicle for an alleged $6,000 loss because an

insurance company reported a total loss to CARFAX, and are apparently looking

to CARFAX to offer reimbursement. The

complainant states that the vehicle was worth $10,000, which included a severe

repair it required, but they accepted $4,000 on trade under an assumption that

they could get more money for the vehicle after they sold it. The complainant also alleges that “We have

contacted CARFAX and been told that they will NOT communicate with us or accept

any corrective information. . . .and refuses to deal with us.”

In order to properly

address this complaint, there are several other factors to consider.

According to actual sales

data, this vehicle on average is worth about $10,000 as a trade-in. However, this vehicle was not in average

condition. For one, it needed a very

serious repair, which, according to the CARFAX Report, was related to the

differential and axles – a very costly repair.

The vehicle was also in a very serious accident, involving a concrete

barrier, which caused almost $8,000 worth of damage and caused structural damage

to the vehicle. The insurance company

believed the vehicle was going to be totaled, began a total loss valuation and

sent that record to CARFAX as a total loss.

The basis of this claim is that the insurance company later decided to

repair the vehicle instead of total it, but the fact remains that the accident

was very serious. Any dealer would have

detected these severe problems upon a vehicle inspection and does not need a

CARFAX Report to tell them of this. Based

on this alone, I find it reasonable that a dealer would only offer $4,000 for

the vehicle, regardless of the CARFAX Report.

If the dealer did offer $10,000 at first, it is more likely that the

condition of the vehicle, based solely on the inspection, would be the cause of

the revised offer, and the CARFAX Report simply confirmed what the dealership

had already detected.

While the complainant is

only disputing the Total Loss, that is not the only piece of information on the

CARFAX Report, and one cannot make the claim that the total loss was the sole

reason for the alleged revised offer. The

severe accident is also listed on the CARFAX Report, as well as the serious

repairs needed. The CARFAX Report also

includes information that historically increases a vehicle’s value, such as a

concise odometer history, service records, emissions, use type, 1-Owner, just

to name a few. In fact, the CARFAX

Report at the time actually recommended that the vehicle was worth $570 more

than its book value. I also noticed that

the CARFAX Report the complainant provided was generated five days after the

vehicle was sold, so one cannot be certain that the CARFAX Report actually was

considered as part of the sales offering at the time.

There may have been other

factors considered at the time as well, such as a discount on the next vehicle,

incentives and special offers, tax breaks, etc., that cannot be valued. Whatever the reasons, the complaint decided

that it was worth it to them at the time to take the $4,000 for the trade

versus trying to contact CARFAX first. Selling

the vehicle to the dealer at $4,000 was no doubt as part of a contract, and it

is not reasonable to believe that, after the vehicle was sold under contract,

it would have allowed for some type of additional refund back to the complainant

pending a removal of information from a CARFAX Report. Our records indicate that the vehicle was

sold to the dealership on July 19, 2013, but the complainant did not first

contact CARFAX until July 24, exactly 15 minutes after the provided CARFAX

Report was generated and five days after the vehicle was sold. CARFAX returned the complainant’s call the

next day and provided instructions for them to dispute the total loss. It wasn’t until July 25 that the complainant contacted

the insurance company to request information regarding the status of the claim,

six days after the vehicle was already sold.

The complainant was informed several times that a data correction form

was needed for CARFAX to investigate any claims, and CARFAX did not receive a

data correction form until August 22, 2013, and it was not from the

complainant. Because research is still

pending, I do not yet know yet whether or not the total loss reported to CARFAX

by the insurance company was done so in error.

CARFAX was very

responsive to the complainant’s requests.

The first contact attempt was a voicemail left on July 24, to which

CARFAX returned the call on July 25 and followed up by an email afterwards. The complainant then replied to the email and

CARFAX’s response was six minutes later.

The last correspondence was an email from the complainant after business

hours on the night of August 12, and CARFAX’s response was actually three

minute before the start of business the very next day, at 8:57 AM.

CARFAX receives

information electronically from thousands of sources and loads that data

directly into its database. CARFAX

receives no paper copies of documents and does not perform any data entry. The CARFAX Report clearly states that it is only

as accurate as the information provided by its sources and may contain errors,

and thus should always be used along with a vehicle inspection and test drive. The

CARFAX Report also factually states that a total loss was reported by a data

source; it does not state that the vehicle was totaled, and makes not

guarantees about the data’s accuracy. Therefore,

CARFAX has no liability if a data source reports information in error, and in

this case, CARFAX has no agreement or contract with the complainant and thus

has no responsibilities to the complaint.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

1. Carfax's response presents itself as knowledgeable of the exact damage our vehicle and presents opinion contrary to the insurance company that repairs could be effective so as to retain the vehicle's value.

2. Carfax's response presents itself as knowledgeable as to the vehicle's repaired value then assesses the vehicle as effectively a "Total Loss."

Review: It has come to my attention that there are many instances where the data provided by Car Fax is wrong. The error could come from a minor typo, but because of the importance of a car fax report when buying a selling a vehicle, it can cost consumers thousands of dollars. Because of the severity of the issue, I would expect a more attentive response from a customer service stand point, and more urgency displayed in resolving the issue. Instead, Carfax provides little to no communication on the issue, which leaves consumers feeling hopeless in correcting the error.

For me personally, when looking at new cars and getting mine appraised, the Carfax report stated that I had been in a rear end accident that deployed the air bag while I was the owner. This is absolutely not true, and according to the dealer cuts the value of my vehicle in half. I have submitted Case # [redacted] to resolve this error. I suspect that it is either a typo of the date and this happened before I owned the vehicle. Or this is a typo in the VIN number and never happened to my vehicle.Desired Settlement: I would like to see communication in regards to my case as well as a correction to my carfax report. Then, thinking big picture, I would like to see an improved customer service process to make sure these issues are handled accordingly.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

CARFAX receives its information electronically from over

75,000 sources of information. CARFAX

does not receive paper copies of documents and does not perform any data

entry. CARFAX, thus, can only display

the vehicle history records reported to CARFAX as they are received. If a source makes an error, for example if a

police department enters an accident on the wrong date, that information may

display on a CARFAX Report. Because

CARFAX does not inspect vehicles or create its own history records, CARFAX has

no way of knowing whether or not a mistaken has been made until it is brought

to our attention.

The customer filled out our data correction form the evening

before Independence Day. Due to the

holiday and the weekend it preceded, the time between first contacting CARFAX

and first contacting the Revdex.com was less than one business day, and CARFAX’s

response to the customer was less than two business days, due to the backlog.

CARFAX is still researching the accident record with the

police department and will notify the customer directly once the police

department responds to CARFAX’s request.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I understand that I may have been quick to escalate the issue. But, you can not blame me given the reputation of Car Fax not resolving issues. On 7/9 I was informed that it would take 1 to 2 business days, it has now been over 2 weeks and I still have not heard anything in regards to a resolution. I recognize that they may be waiting to hear back from the police department, but this directly effects my ability to buy a car and could potentially cost me thousands of dollars. Please follow up with Car Fax and push for a resolution by the end of the week.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

This matter has been resolved with the customer as of July

23, 2013.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Review: When I tried to trade in my 2009 Ford Escape to a Honda dealer, they pulled the CarFax report. There were some minor errors (work performed in places I’ve never been to), but the thing that has cost me a lot of time and money is CarFax’s report that on 3/13/13, my car was a “Total Loss Vehicle” - Vehicle declared a total loss by an insurance company. Collision damage reported.” The only source listed as “Michigan - Damage Report.”

I was able to contact the Ford Dealer in PA that listed work done on 12/1/11 because they had that contact info listed. My concern is that dealer did have the correct VIN number. Since I’ve never been in PA, and even their report shows me in [redacted] TX 2 days previous having a safety inspection, this is an obvious mistake. That company is investigating and said it may be a mistake in the copying of the VIN number. But there is no contact or identifying information listed for the Michigan Damage Report. I was in Michigan in 2011, and the work reported there is correct, but I have not been back there since September, 2011.

I filed an online Request for Report Research on 4/27/13 with CarFax. They list no phone number or other way to contact them and another red flag was raised when the Honda dealer said that even though they have account with CarFax that costs a lot of money, they can’t get calls returned from CarFax and they hear from customers all the time with errors on their car reports that never have success in getting CarFax to do anything about it. I did get a canned email in response saying they would respond “as soon as possible.” No reassurance there for me. Here is the case number they sent me: [redacted]. Reference number: [redacted].[redacted]:ref

But that Honda dealer suggested I get with my insurance company who could verify there have been no claims, and also my lender who could verify it’s not a salvage title, that might help. However, even when I got that documentation today and provided it to Honda, they still could not offer a reasonable trade in value ($12,500 per Ford dealer, but that was only if I traded with them) because of the CarFax report.

He suggested I take it to the Car Max dealer for appraisal. The report they ran from AutoCheck was correct with none of the errors that CarFax had. However, once they heard about the CarFax report, they said they could not buy the car because consumers erroneously believe everything CarFax says. He wished me luck in getting them to change anything.

This morning I faxed the documentation from my lender and my insurance company, but I still have not had any response from CarFax. I don’t understand how Revdex.com can still give this company an A+ rating. There are so many horror stories and complaints against CarFax and even though Revdex.com may be satisfied with them, consumers who have had this kind of experience with them certainly are not. Even 20/20 did an expose on them. They have a virtual monopoly and have so many uninformed consumers fooled, so why do they care? I know you don’t care to hear about about how much time, money and delay in travel plans this has cost me for 4 days now. But I hope that Revdex.com will at least investigate this and let me know if anything can be done on my behalf.

Thank you,

[redacted] ###-###-####Desired Settlement: They remove the incorrect information from the CarFax report on my vehicle and apologize for their reprehensible behavior and non-response to consumers.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

We appreciate the

opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint.

CARFAX has contacted the

customer as recently as May 6, 2013, and has researched this and verified that

an insurance company has reported the VIN has a total loss. CARFAX is a VIN-based reporting system, and

thus the record will remain on the CARFAX Report.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Even though they finally gave me the name of the insurance company ([redacted]) who reported it as being totaled in [redacted], MI, there are more than one [redacted] agencies there. I wrote CarFax on May 3 asking for the specific agency and on May 6 they said they were not provided that phone number. So the burden is on me to spend more time calling around to these agencies to try to find the one who mistakenly reported it.

The letter from my insurance company showing there were no claims at all on my car (except a small rock chip repair on the windshield) and a letter from my lien holder verifying I do not have a salvage title was not enough for them to even investigate the [redacted] claim. I think that given the seriousness of this mistake and the time and money this has cost me, there should be more of an effort to rectify this matter by CarFax, since consumers are still duped into believing their information when deciding on buying a car.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]: We appreciate the opportunity to offer the following response to the subject complaint, and apologize for any delays in our response. The total loss was not reported to CARFAX by any particular insurance sales agent, but, rather, by [redacted] the corporation. I suggest **. [redacted] start her investigation by contacting [redacted] through their main phone number, according to their website, 1-800-[redacted] ([redacted]). If [redacted] did report the total loss in error, it will need to be corrected by [redacted]. CARFAX does not own the vehicle and does not have any personal knowledge of it, and therefore cannot request a correction to [redacted]’s records. Respectfully, [redacted]Manager, Product Support and Data EscalationsCARFAX, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

So let me make sure I have this right:

CarFax insists they have a right to retain erroneous information by

simply saying they got the report from [redacted] corporate and they apparently

don’t have to verify this information or give us any way to dispute it.

As they said in their reply of 5/13/13, “CARFAX has contacted the

customer as recently as May 6, 2013, and has researched this and verified that

an insurance company has reported the VIN has a total loss. CARFAX is a

VIN-based reporting system, and thus the record will remain on the CARFAX

Report.”

It makes no difference that I have written documentation from my own

insurance company that I’ve never had a claim on my record, and from my lender

that the title is not salvage? So even

though the VIN number that was reported is my VIN number, it is obviously not

my car that was totaled on 3/13/13.

And per my 5/2/13 communication

with [redacted] at CarFax following my early contact with them:

“I have concluded my research for case number [redacted] and

based on everything I received, your VIN was listed as being totaled by an

insurance company due to the accident on 03/13/2013. Per our 3rd party insurance verification

source, your vehicle was declared a total loss due to an accident that occurred

in [redacted], MI. Also, the federal

governments National Motor Vehicle Information System has information about

your vehicle being a total loss. They show that [redacted] in [redacted], MI were the ones that declared the total loss. I will need a letter from [redacted], on their

letterhead stating that your vehicle was not declared a total loss or in an

accident on 03/23/2013.”

On 6/15/13, I did contact

[redacted] at ###-###-####. I spoke to [redacted] in their Claims Department. He told me

[redacted] does not file claims by VIN numbers and keeps no record of them in

their system. I would have to have the

claim number or at least the name of their insured. Of course I don’t have that as CarFax either

doesn’t have it or won’t reveal it. It

is enough for them to say that it was corporate [redacted] that gave them the

information, but they don’t have to reveal any details about that source or how

to contact them to refute it?

[redacted] further

commented that “I already know that CarFax information is usually wrong and

their reporting sources suck.” Of course

by this time, I also already know that.

After getting your

response today, I spoke with Deandre at the [redacted] Michigan Total Loss

Department (###-###-####). He also

confirmed that even though [redacted]’s system does verify the VIN number, it is

not indexed that way. He agreed that the

mistake in copying the VIN number was probably CarFax’s.

He did say that he

would try to see if by looking at all total loss claims filed on 3/13/13 if he could

find the report that way, but said it was still like looking for a needle in a

haystack. I do believe [redacted] is at least trying to be helpful.

I must also also express

my disappointment with the role the Revdex.com has played thus far. By simply passing on my messages to CarFax

and their responses from them to me with no intervention, I don’t get what kind

of protection to consumers you actually offer.

Also, my responses

to the Revdex.com have been timely (within 1-2 days of your communications). Your message to me says I should respond “in

written form within 10 days.” Yet CarFax

took almost two months to respond to my last timely rejection of their response and this appears to be okay with you.

Does not the Revdex.com or

even CarFax not see the ridiculousness of this situation and how the cavalier

attitude of CarFax has impacted not only me but thousands of others I see

complaining about the same or similar circumstances on so many websites? CarFax does not have to reveal their sources

enough to verify or dispute them, and they refuse to rectify the mistake when

documents from absolute authorities proving their information wrong are

provided.

I am again attaching

the full Letter of Experience from my insurance company and the copy of title (not

salvage) and report from Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. It’s inconceivable to me that you would take

CarFax’s word that their unverified source is more definitive than these

official records.

I have no recourse with [redacted] at this point because the way in which they index accident reports differs from the VIN method that CarFax uses. They said they would be glad to rectify the mistake if they could just find it. But CarFax can just hide any potential mistake made by them by just saying that [redacted] did it and not even give [redacted] a chance to even check it out? Surely they have some other record of this report other than generic "[redacted] corporate." If not, that's even more outrageous!

How long will this

back and forth go on before the Revdex.com will actually make a ruling and at least

force CarFax to reveal more details about how to contact their source and get

this misinformation corrected?

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]:

Thank you for forwarding

the customer’s response.

The total loss was

reported by [redacted]. It was reported to

CARFAX, but [redacted] also provided it to other entities as well, including the

federal government’s National Motor Vehicle Title Information System and the

National Insurance Crime Bureau, to name a few.

CARFAX does not report to these agencies, which clearly shows that, if

the total loss was reported in error, the error is on the part of [redacted]. Even without a CARFAX Report, the buyer of

the vehicle has the ability to check with these other sources and still be

notified of the total loss, which would put the customer in the exact same

situation regardless of the CARFAX Report.

I am sorry if [redacted]

will not be able to look up the total loss by VIN; this is also no fault of

CARFAX. CARFAX verified the total loss

directly with the source, twice, and provided the insurance company to the

customer to investigate further, along with any other details available. Clearly CARFAX has been trying to help the

customer resolve this matter. CARFAX

cannot dispute the total loss with [redacted] because CARFAX does not know

whether or not it is in error; CARFAX can only report the information reported

to CARFAX, and verify any disputed information with the source, which CARFAX

has done, twice.

Not all total losses are

reported to the DMV and not all total losses result in a salvage history. This is usually based on the damage value of

the vehicle, but is separate from an insurance company’s decision to consider a

vehicle a total loss. A case where a

vehicle is totaled but the owner chooses to keep the vehicle, for example, would

not result in the insurance company taking title to the vehicle. If the other vehicle is at fault, then it

makes sense that the company insuring the damaged vehicle would have no record

of the total loss or any other claim.

Unfortunately, the documents provided do not cover the aforementioned

situations and cannot prove that the vehicle is free from a total loss claim. If the insurance company reporting the total

loss was the same that wrote the letter, or if the disputed record were a

salvage brand, then these documents could be accepted.

I have gone back to the source, for the third time, asking to research and

verify the total loss information, and explained that [redacted] was not able to

search their claims by VIN for the customer.

If [redacted] verifies that the total loss is correct, there is nothing

further CARFAX will be able to do. If

[redacted] verifies that the total loss was incorrect, I can remove the total

loss from the CARFAX Report, but I will not be able to remove it from any other

entity’s database. This has other

ramifications to the vehicle buyer, including a decrease in vehicle value

should the next buyer check one of these other databases, the insurance company

choosing not to insure the vehicle because it is listed as a total loss, and it

may even result in a salvage title should the DMV check [redacted] and discover the

prior total loss record, depending on the law of the state in which the vehicle

is set to be titled.

I will be in touch once I

hear back from the source.

Respectfully,

Manager, Product Support

and Data Escalations

CARFAX, Inc.