The CARFAX Buyback Guarantee clearly states that it only covers brand registrations issued by a DMV The complainant has confirmed in their last response that Alberta did not issue a branded registration, they only flagged the vehicle as a salvage status, which is not covered by the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee
[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: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I am not a businessI am an individualI purchased a car actually one of five cars I was looking at, and I bought this car from a dealerThat why I choose to purchase the reportAgain I am not a businessI do not understand why carfax is saying that It is not true what carfax is statingI wanted to see the reports beforehand to make a better decisionI sought carfax would be the way to do thatAs it turns out carfax is not and now just playing with meVery disappointingI either want my money back or the remaining carfax reports, at least the report for the car I boughtThank You Regards, [redacted]
On 9/29/2015, I emailed the customer the following response:*** [redacted] has asked me to review your caseWhile we cannot release to you the information we have due to our contractual obligation with the source, we have verified that the reason the vehicle was sold at the auction under the structural damage announcement is it had structural damageI am sorry if that was not made clear to you previouslyWhile some minor damage to rear of the vehicle was mentioned, that was not the cause of the announcement; the vehicle sustained significant damage to its structure in other areasI appreciate that the car was repaired so well, but it did sustain structural damage and we cannot remove this from the CARFAX ReportRespectfully, [redacted] Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations
In the product selection box on the CARFAX order page, the products are listed as follows:CARFAX Report$ReportValid for DaysCARFAX Reports$ReportsValid for DaysUnlimited CARFAX Reportsonly $54.99Unlimited Reports by U.SLicense PlateValid for DaysThe day expiration is also listed in the Customer Agreement on the order page, in the purchase confirmation screen, the receipt email, and the expiration date is listed on the account Contacting customer support for CARFAX is simply, you just need to click on the "Help" button at the top and bottom of any CARFAX page The customer did contact our customer support team via live chat, and our response to the customer's question was, "That is correct, they do expire after days, but I'll be happy to grant an extension for you until 01-01-Will that help?" 12/15/ Complaint Website advertised $for the report and was charged $ There is no way to contact Carfax on the website and it seems a waste of time to try to contact Carfax Desired Resolution I would like the difference refunded This is a good way to lose customers and I will be writing reviews if not resolve shortly Consumer Business Dialog
The Total Loss was removed from the CARFAX Report on 7/30/and the customer was notified via email the same day The customer notified CARFAX of the error on 7/29/2015, and CARFAX verified directly with the insurance company that the total loss was reported to CARFAX in error
It appears that the complainant is suggesting that the problem was caused by a correctable failure on CARFAX's part, and that CARFAX does not work to improve its efficiency and accuracy. The CARFAX Vehicle History Report is constantly being updated with millions of new vehicle history records every day, and we work tirelessly to make our data as accurate as we can. Every CARFAX Report states that it can only report what has been reported to it, and that ownership information can only be estimated, to comply with privacy laws. When asked to verify information reported to us, we work as quickly as we can to verify it. In most cases, but not all, this can be done quickly - it depends on the DMV's turnaround time to get back to us. Again, I apologize (directed to the complainant) that we could not resolve this sooner and that the DMV could not get us the information we needed more quickly.
On June 23, 2016, CARFAX sent the following email to the complainant:Good Afternoon [redacted] , Thank you for taking the time to contact CARFAX, my name is Robin and I have researched your data dispute for you! I concluded your research request under reference number Research concludes that the 04/11/damage record is correct so we cannot remove it from the CARFAX Report, I'm sorry! Please note that there is a source, but we are not able to release their information due to contractual obligations with them, so that is why their information is not displayed on the CARFAX Report, I'm sorry! At this time, all of the information we are able to provide is currently on the CARFAX Report at this timeThank you for your time
Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:While I agree with CARFAX's assessment that they did inform me, in the absolute strictest legal sense, there is still a huge problem hereYes, I agree that their collective butts are covered by their legal jargonThere is indeed plenty enough words in the contract and on the website to say that I SHOULD have known what I purchasedHowever, when numerous people have been duped into believing they are buying something other than what they are buying, it's obvious there is a problemCARFAX preys on the psychology of the buyerIf I am NOT the only person who has interpreted their website and advertisements this way, then there is indeed a noticeable, and potentially measurable effect on potential customersIf this measurable effect translates to sales, and sales that would have otherwise been lost had the consumers more fully understood what they were purchasing, this can be reasonably asserted to be an unethical business practiceUnfortunately, the metrics needed to make such assessment are outside my ability to quanitfy; but, anecdotally it appears there are many people who have been confused by the way the CARFAX unlimited product is marketedEverything from font choice, type size, and word order, as well as imagery layout suggests a strong bias towards implying that VIN searches are CARFAX's primary service they sellI also feel that a random sampling of potential customers would illicit an agreementFurthermore, I think if CARFAX submitted their marketing materials to marketing programs in universities, they would likely agree the content heavily emphasizes the VIN search capabilityMy complaint stands, CARFAX is knowingly conducting a fraudulent form of businessThey are indeed covered LEGALLY, but it does not cover them ETHICALLYAs soon as my subscription ends I will fully terminate my relationship with CARFAX and encourage others to do the same Regards, [redacted] ***
[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.] Revdex.com: 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, [redacted]
When [redacted] purchased CARFAX Reports as a consumer, she agreed to the Customer Agreement, which states that running CARFAX Reports is for her personal use only and that commercial use would result in closing the account without refund and would result in a charge of $for every CARFAX Report run Her account alone has run 1,CARFAX Reports, which would result in being charged a total of $41, She also mentioned that her company, [redacted] , had other employees purchasing consumer CARFAX accounts and running CARFAX Reports for commercial use, and those CARFAX Reports can also be billed at $each While we do not intend to pursue this charge at this time, [redacted] and her fellow coworkers can sign up for a business account by contacting www.CarfaxBIG.com
CARFAX does not offer or advertise an unlimited by VIN plan The product selection box on the CARFAX order page states that the plan is unlimited using the license plate On 10/16/2015, CARFAX sent the following email to the customer:Most of our customers find that five VINs meet their needs, but in some cases, such as yours, five VINs aren’t enough to find your next used carTherefore I have added more VINs to your account to use until your purchase expires on 12/10/If you need any more VINs before then, please contact us again and we’ll be happy to add moreIf you would still prefer a refund instead of the extra VIN reports, please let me know and I will be happy to process a refund back to your cardPlease let me know if you have any questions
The customer purchased the Unlimited CARFAX ReportsThe order page lists the plan as "Unlimited CARFAX Reports / only $/ Unlimited Reports by U.SLicense Plate / Valid for days" and also states this on the order page under the Customer Agreement, to which the customer read and accepted before placing their order As a gesture of goodwill, the customer was given an additional twenty CARFAX Reports to run by VIN and was advised to contact us again if more VIN searches are required before the expiration date of 06-12-
[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: Carfax is saying that the vehicle was not just "stuck in the mud" yet the vehicle was never towed away to any facilityThey need to change the verbiage on the Carfax report to reflect the fact that vehicle was never damaged and was never towed away Regards, [redacted]
The customer purchased the Unlimited CARFAX Reports. The order page lists the plan as "Unlimited CARFAX Reports / only $54.99 / Unlimited Reports by U.S. License Plate / Valid for 60 days" and also states this on the order page under the Customer Agreement, to which the customer read and accepted... before placing their order. If the customer would like to discuss their account options further or to request a refund, he can contact our customer support team through our Help Center at: http://support.carfax.com/c_contactus Or contact us via live chat located at the bottom right of the same page.
From: [redacted] < [redacted] @ [redacted] .com>Date: Thu, Sep 1, at 2:PMSubject: Resolution to complaint # [redacted] To: " [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org" < [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org> [redacted] –This is to inform you that my complaint against CarFax, Inc has been resolved on August 31st, by one of their resolution managers Thank you,***
CARFAX does not offer phone based customer service however we do offer e-mail and live chat customer service A person using the customers account contacted CARFAX on 03/11/at 9:am via live chat concerning a password reset and the issue was resolved in minutes seconds The customer can contact CARFAX again via live chat to go over their account options or to request a refund http://support.carfax.com/ The live chat option is located at the bottom right of the page
[redacted] [redacted] On April 27, 2017, CARFAX sent the complainant the follow response via email: [redacted] We understand that errors are made sometimes, which is why we have our research team in place to analyze records and ensure data accuracyResearch concludes that the damage record is correct which is why we cannot remove it from the Report as we only remove incorrect recordsWe are not able to provide our sources' information regardless of who is requesting it, I'm sorry! Thank you for your time [redacted] Best regards, Vince L
Date: Mon, Dec 18, at 3:PMSubject: RE: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania complaint # [redacted] .To: " [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org" < [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org> [redacted] ,This was resolved directly with the customer on 11/28/ The structural damage indicator was removed from the CARFAX Report.Best regards,Vince L
The CARFAX Buyback Guarantee clearly states that it only covers brand registrations issued by a DMV The complainant has confirmed in their last response that Alberta did not issue a branded registration, they only flagged the vehicle as a salvage status, which is not covered by the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee
CARFAX cannot disclose the source of the information due to its contractual obligations
[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: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I am not a businessI am an individualI purchased a car actually one of five cars I was looking at, and I bought this car from a dealerThat why I choose to purchase the reportAgain I am not a businessI do not understand why carfax is saying that It is not true what carfax is statingI wanted to see the reports beforehand to make a better decisionI sought carfax would be the way to do thatAs it turns out carfax is not and now just playing with meVery disappointingI either want my money back or the remaining carfax reports, at least the report for the car I boughtThank You Regards, [redacted]
On 9/29/2015, I emailed the customer the following response:*** [redacted] has asked me to review your caseWhile we cannot release to you the information we have due to our contractual obligation with the source, we have verified that the reason the vehicle was sold at the auction under the structural damage announcement is it had structural damageI am sorry if that was not made clear to you previouslyWhile some minor damage to rear of the vehicle was mentioned, that was not the cause of the announcement; the vehicle sustained significant damage to its structure in other areasI appreciate that the car was repaired so well, but it did sustain structural damage and we cannot remove this from the CARFAX ReportRespectfully, [redacted] Manager, Product Support and Data Escalations
In the product selection box on the CARFAX order page, the products are listed as follows:CARFAX Report$ReportValid for DaysCARFAX Reports$ReportsValid for DaysUnlimited CARFAX Reportsonly $54.99Unlimited Reports by U.SLicense PlateValid for DaysThe day expiration is also listed in the Customer Agreement on the order page, in the purchase confirmation screen, the receipt email, and the expiration date is listed on the account Contacting customer support for CARFAX is simply, you just need to click on the "Help" button at the top and bottom of any CARFAX page The customer did contact our customer support team via live chat, and our response to the customer's question was, "That is correct, they do expire after days, but I'll be happy to grant an extension for you until 01-01-Will that help?" 12/15/ Complaint Website advertised $for the report and was charged $ There is no way to contact Carfax on the website and it seems a waste of time to try to contact Carfax Desired Resolution I would like the difference refunded This is a good way to lose customers and I will be writing reviews if not resolve shortly Consumer Business Dialog
The Total Loss was removed from the CARFAX Report on 7/30/and the customer was notified via email the same day The customer notified CARFAX of the error on 7/29/2015, and CARFAX verified directly with the insurance company that the total loss was reported to CARFAX in error
It appears that the complainant is suggesting that the problem was caused by a correctable failure on CARFAX's part, and that CARFAX does not work to improve its efficiency and accuracy. The CARFAX Vehicle History Report is constantly being updated with millions of new vehicle history records every day, and we work tirelessly to make our data as accurate as we can. Every CARFAX Report states that it can only report what has been reported to it, and that ownership information can only be estimated, to comply with privacy laws. When asked to verify information reported to us, we work as quickly as we can to verify it. In most cases, but not all, this can be done quickly - it depends on the DMV's turnaround time to get back to us. Again, I apologize (directed to the complainant) that we could not resolve this sooner and that the DMV could not get us the information we needed more quickly.
On June 23, 2016, CARFAX sent the following email to the complainant:Good Afternoon [redacted] , Thank you for taking the time to contact CARFAX, my name is Robin and I have researched your data dispute for you! I concluded your research request under reference number Research concludes that the 04/11/damage record is correct so we cannot remove it from the CARFAX Report, I'm sorry! Please note that there is a source, but we are not able to release their information due to contractual obligations with them, so that is why their information is not displayed on the CARFAX Report, I'm sorry! At this time, all of the information we are able to provide is currently on the CARFAX Report at this timeThank you for your time
Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:While I agree with CARFAX's assessment that they did inform me, in the absolute strictest legal sense, there is still a huge problem hereYes, I agree that their collective butts are covered by their legal jargonThere is indeed plenty enough words in the contract and on the website to say that I SHOULD have known what I purchasedHowever, when numerous people have been duped into believing they are buying something other than what they are buying, it's obvious there is a problemCARFAX preys on the psychology of the buyerIf I am NOT the only person who has interpreted their website and advertisements this way, then there is indeed a noticeable, and potentially measurable effect on potential customersIf this measurable effect translates to sales, and sales that would have otherwise been lost had the consumers more fully understood what they were purchasing, this can be reasonably asserted to be an unethical business practiceUnfortunately, the metrics needed to make such assessment are outside my ability to quanitfy; but, anecdotally it appears there are many people who have been confused by the way the CARFAX unlimited product is marketedEverything from font choice, type size, and word order, as well as imagery layout suggests a strong bias towards implying that VIN searches are CARFAX's primary service they sellI also feel that a random sampling of potential customers would illicit an agreementFurthermore, I think if CARFAX submitted their marketing materials to marketing programs in universities, they would likely agree the content heavily emphasizes the VIN search capabilityMy complaint stands, CARFAX is knowingly conducting a fraudulent form of businessThey are indeed covered LEGALLY, but it does not cover them ETHICALLYAs soon as my subscription ends I will fully terminate my relationship with CARFAX and encourage others to do the same Regards, [redacted] ***
[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.] Revdex.com: 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, [redacted]
When [redacted] purchased CARFAX Reports as a consumer, she agreed to the Customer Agreement, which states that running CARFAX Reports is for her personal use only and that commercial use would result in closing the account without refund and would result in a charge of $for every CARFAX Report run Her account alone has run 1,CARFAX Reports, which would result in being charged a total of $41, She also mentioned that her company, [redacted] , had other employees purchasing consumer CARFAX accounts and running CARFAX Reports for commercial use, and those CARFAX Reports can also be billed at $each While we do not intend to pursue this charge at this time, [redacted] and her fellow coworkers can sign up for a business account by contacting www.CarfaxBIG.com
CARFAX does not offer or advertise an unlimited by VIN plan The product selection box on the CARFAX order page states that the plan is unlimited using the license plate On 10/16/2015, CARFAX sent the following email to the customer:Most of our customers find that five VINs meet their needs, but in some cases, such as yours, five VINs aren’t enough to find your next used carTherefore I have added more VINs to your account to use until your purchase expires on 12/10/If you need any more VINs before then, please contact us again and we’ll be happy to add moreIf you would still prefer a refund instead of the extra VIN reports, please let me know and I will be happy to process a refund back to your cardPlease let me know if you have any questions
The customer purchased the Unlimited CARFAX ReportsThe order page lists the plan as "Unlimited CARFAX Reports / only $/ Unlimited Reports by U.SLicense Plate / Valid for days" and also states this on the order page under the Customer Agreement, to which the customer read and accepted before placing their order As a gesture of goodwill, the customer was given an additional twenty CARFAX Reports to run by VIN and was advised to contact us again if more VIN searches are required before the expiration date of 06-12-
[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: Carfax is saying that the vehicle was not just "stuck in the mud" yet the vehicle was never towed away to any facilityThey need to change the verbiage on the Carfax report to reflect the fact that vehicle was never damaged and was never towed away Regards, [redacted]
The information cannot be removed The customer will need to unsubscribe if they no longer wish to receive emails
The customer purchased the Unlimited CARFAX Reports. The order page lists the plan as "Unlimited CARFAX Reports / only $54.99 / Unlimited Reports by U.S. License Plate / Valid for 60 days" and also states this on the order page under the Customer Agreement, to which the customer read and accepted... before placing their order. If the customer would like to discuss their account options further or to request a refund, he can contact our customer support team through our Help Center at: http://support.carfax.com/c_contactus Or contact us via live chat located at the bottom right of the same page.
From: [redacted] < [redacted] @ [redacted] .com>Date: Thu, Sep 1, at 2:PMSubject: Resolution to complaint # [redacted] To: " [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org" < [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org> [redacted] –This is to inform you that my complaint against CarFax, Inc has been resolved on August 31st, by one of their resolution managers Thank you,***
CARFAX does not offer phone based customer service however we do offer e-mail and live chat customer service A person using the customers account contacted CARFAX on 03/11/at 9:am via live chat concerning a password reset and the issue was resolved in minutes seconds The customer can contact CARFAX again via live chat to go over their account options or to request a refund http://support.carfax.com/ The live chat option is located at the bottom right of the page
[redacted] [redacted] On April 27, 2017, CARFAX sent the complainant the follow response via email: [redacted] We understand that errors are made sometimes, which is why we have our research team in place to analyze records and ensure data accuracyResearch concludes that the damage record is correct which is why we cannot remove it from the Report as we only remove incorrect recordsWe are not able to provide our sources' information regardless of who is requesting it, I'm sorry! Thank you for your time [redacted] Best regards, Vince L
Date: Mon, Dec 18, at 3:PMSubject: RE: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania complaint # [redacted] .To: " [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org" < [redacted] @myRevdex.com.org> [redacted] ,This was resolved directly with the customer on 11/28/ The structural damage indicator was removed from the CARFAX Report.Best regards,Vince L