Terms and Conditions of the Use for the RAC Vehicle History Check

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Colewood Automotive Ltd

‘CAL’, 'We', 'us' or 'our': means Colewood Automotive Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales at Companies House. Our registered office is at Colewood House, 1 Kingfisher Court, Stockton on Tees, North Yorkshire, TS18 3EX our registered number is 10828348. Our registered VAT number is 273 2083 16

These terms and conditions of use ("the Terms") relate to your purchase of the RAC Vehicle History Check which is described and available to you at https://www.rac.co.uk/buying-a-car/rac-car-data-check/ ("The Website").
The RAC Vehicle History Check is owned and run by CAL under licence from RAC. When you purchase goods through this website your contract is with Colewood Automotive Ltd. RAC does not contract with you and shall have no liability to any customer for Goods sold by Colewood on the Website.

By ticking the box entitled ‘Please tick here to confirm you have read our terms and conditions’ you are accepting these Terms, which will form the contract between us for your use of the Website and the RAC Vehicle History Check that you purchase

Both Colewood Automotive Ltd and RAC Motoring Services shall be Data Controller in respect of data you submit in your Order for the RAC Vehicle History Check. Please read our Privacy Policy for more details on how your data is processed.

These Terms and Conditions do not affect your statutory rights.
In these Terms and Conditions, the following definitions shall apply:

Customer

'You' or 'your': the person who purchases the Goods from the Website.

RAC Vehicle History Check

The RAC Vehicle History Check described and made available for sale on this Website.

Order

The Customer's Order for the RAC Vehicle History Check.

RAC

RAC Motoring Services Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales at Companies House. Registered office: RAC House, Brockhurst Crescent, Walsall, WS5 4AW. Registration number is 01424399.

Website

Means https://www.rac.co.uk/buying-a-car/rac-car-data-check/
RAC and Colewood are both data controllers of all personal data you provide in the purchase of the RAC Vehicle History Check, and your data will be processed in accordance with these Terms and the privacy policy provided on the RAC Car Passport website.
Please read these Terms before you use the Website to purchase a RAC Vehicle History Check from us. In particular you should familiarise yourself with the sections on Permitted Use of Information and Our Liability to You. You must also be over 18 years of age to purchase the RAC Vehicle History Check.
If you have any questions about these Terms or the RAC Vehicle History Check, please contact our customer services department at [email protected] or by telephone on 0808 164 1923 before you purchase a RAC Vehicle History Check through the Website.

Our Contract

The RAC Vehicle History Check is owned and run by CAL on behalf of RAC. When you purchase goods through this website your contract is with CAL.
By ticking the box entitled ‘Please tick here to confirm you have read our terms and conditions’ you are accepting these Terms, which will form the contract between us for your use of the Website and the RAC Vehicle History Check that you purchase (the “Contract”).
To benefit from the guarantee relating to the data in the RAC Vehicle History Check (“Data Guarantee”) you must register your vehicle. This is important as if we do not have the details of your vehicle we cannot offer you this service. The terms relating to the Data Guarantee which forms part of the RAC Vehicle History Check are detailed in the Schedule to these Terms.
CAL is the direct provider of the Data Guarantee, working in conjunction with its third party licensors
We may change the Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes in law or implement technical adjustments. So if you decide to purchase another RAC Vehicle History Check in the future, you should always remember to read the terms and conditions that you are asked to accept at the point of purchase.
Please note that we may not necessarily keep a copy of all historic terms and conditions. You should print a copy of the terms which applies to your purchase of the RAC Vehicle History Check for your information in the future.

Permitted Use of Information

All information and materials delivered or made available to you (whether on a computer screen, in an email or on paper) as part of the RAC Vehicle History Check ("the Information") shall at all times belong to us or our licensors. Some of the data on the RAC Vehicle History Check is provided by third parties, including Solera vehicle solutions | HPI.

You are permitted to access and make personal non-commercial use of the information for lawful purposes only and in a manner that does not infringe our intellectual property rights or those of third parties. This includes the right to download or print a copy of the RAC Vehicle History Check for your own personal noncommercial use.

You are not permitted to:

  • reproduce, modify or distribute the Information;
  • create a database from the Information; and/or
  • commercially exploit the Information; and/or
  • allow the transfer of the Information outside the UK other than via the Website; and/or
  • sell, transfer, deal in or otherwise make available either the ability to conduct a search or any Information to a third party.

The RAC Vehicle History Check is confidential to you and is intended for your own personal non-commercial use. In particular you should not use the RAC Vehicle History Check to identify any individual (including without limitation the name/address of the keeper of the vehicle) or use any finance data in the Information for any purpose other than noting interests in the vehicle. No other person has permission to use or rely on any information contained in the RAC Vehicle History Check.

Product names, trade marks or service names or marks or company names mentioned on the Website and in connection with the Services are the trademarks, service marks, or business names of their respective owners. RAC is a Registered Trade Mark used by CAL under licence from RAC Brand Enterprises LLP.

You are required to comply with the terms of our third party licensor, which are available here.

In the event that we receive a request from the DVLA or another licensor of the Information to amend the format in which the Information is made available to you we shall do so immediately and update these Terms accordingly.

Using the RAC Vehicle History Check

We will ask you to enter the vehicle registration on the landing page. Once you have submitted payment for the RAC Vehicle History Check, the RAC Vehicle History Check will be delivered to you electronically via the internet within a few minutes. You will also receive an email from us confirming that payment has been taken and providing you with confirmation of your search where you will be able to view your search results.

Where you set up any password and login details you are responsible for keeping these details secure and not providing them to any third party. You are responsible for ensuring that any data submitted to the Website is true and accurate and free from viruses and other harmful code. The vehicle against which you wish to obtain an RAC Vehicle History Check must be registered in mainland Great Britain or Northern Ireland. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not include vehicles registered in the Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.

The RAC Vehicle History Check does not provide information on (a) the physical condition of any vehicle, (b) the roadworthiness or safety of any vehicle, (c) whether the vehicle has been “written off” (unless it was written off by an insurance company), (d) whether any vehicle is a “clone” bearing a false vehicle registration mark and vehicle identification number, or (e) whether any vehicle was originally purchased and/or imported from another European Union country other than the UK. You will need to make your own investigations if you require information on any of these aspects of any vehicle(s) you own or intend to purchase.

To benefit from the Data Guarantee you will need to register the vehicle to which the RAC Vehicle History Check relates. You will be provided with a link in your confirmation email and once you have registered the terms and conditions in the Schedule of these Terms will apply.

If you wish to make further searches, you will have to pay for the further searches at the appropriate rate.

Providing the Service

We will endeavour to provide the RAC Vehicle History Check substantially as described on the Website and in these Terms. Whilst we use all reasonable care and skill in the supply of the Information to you, the Information has been supplied to us by third parties. Therefore other than the protection offered by the Data Guarantee we cannot warrant that (nor can we be heldresponsible for ensuring that) any of the Information provided to you as part of the RAC Vehicle History Check is correct, accurate or complete.

Delivery & Cancellation

Due to the nature of the RAC Vehicle History Check, and the fact that your search results are delivered to you immediately on payment, we are unable to accept any cancellation from you once you have submitted payment to us. By purchasing the RAC Vehicle History Check you are requesting that we begin the service immediately and expressly consent to immediate provision of digital content.

By accepting these Terms and purchasing the RAC Vehicle History Check from us, you are confirming and acknowledging that you are waiving your right to a cancellation period. Due to the immediate delivery of the RAC Vehicle History Check you agree that you will lose your right to cancel the Order once the RAC Vehicle History Check is delivered, downloaded and paid for.

We may terminate or suspend your access to the RAC Vehicle History Check without notifying you if in our view there has been a serious failure by you to comply with your responsibilities in these Terms (for example misuse of the Information or for fraud). If we do so, we may delete our records of your registration details and data without liability to you.

Problems with the Service

If you have any problems viewing your RAC Vehicle History Check or if you think that anything contained in the RAC Vehicle History Check may be incorrect, please contact our customer services department immediately.

Where you believe that the Information contained in the RAC Vehicle History Check is incorrect, our customer service team may put you in contact with a third party provider Solera vehicle solutions | HPI who will deal with your complaint in relation to specific data contained in the RAC Vehicle History Check.

Complaints

If you have any complaints about the service that we provide, please contact our customer services department. At [email protected] or by telephone on 0808 164 1923.
Please be aware that we may record telephone calls you make to our call centres for training, audit and quality purposes.

Our Liability to You

Our Liability to The Terms do not exclude or limit our liability (if any) to you for:

  • personal injury or death resulting from our negligence;
  • fraud;
  • fraudulent misrepresentation; or
  • any matter which it would be illegal for us to exclude or to attempt to exclude our liability.

We are only liable to You for losses which You suffer as a direct result of Our breach of these Terms and Conditions and which are reasonably foreseeable. We are not liable for any other losses.

You may have other rights granted by law and these Terms and Conditions do not affect these.

Whilst We will make every effort to ensure that the Website is available for Your use, secure and operational, We cannot guarantee that this will always be the case. The Website is provided on an 'as is' basis and for information only. We reserve the right to change, modify, disable, remove or otherwise deal with the Website at any time.

Price and Payment

The appropriate fees for the RAC Vehicle History Check will be on the landing page on the Website and will be brought to your attention before you purchase the RAC Vehicle History Check. You can click on the fee for your chosen product and then you will be required to pay the fee in advance of any search being undertaken.

Prices are subject to change at any time by us posting details of the new prices on the Website. The prices on the Website do not include all taxes, including VAT, which you may have to pay in respect of the RAC Vehicle History Check.

You must pay for the RAC Vehicle History Check when you place the order and you can do this by Visa, Visa Debit, Visa Electron, Mastercard Debit, Mastercard Credit, Maestro and International Maestro. If we are unable to accept your order for any reason then we will either not debit your debit or credit card or refund any money we have already debited in respect of that order. You will not receive the RAC Vehicle History Check until we have received payment in full from you.

General Terms

These Terms govern our relationship with you, the purchaser of the RAC Vehicle History Check, and forms the entire agreement between us. You may not transfer, assign or in any way make over to any third party the benefit of the Terms or any part of it.

No third party has the right to enforce these Terms by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

Any notices we send to you will be sent to the most recent e-mail address or postal address provided to us by you or on your behalf by a third party. The Terms, and all correspondence in relation to it, will be in English.

If any provision of the Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions of the Terms and the remainder of the provision in question shall not be affected.

The Terms is governed by the laws of England & Wales. If a dispute arises between us, the Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England & Wales.

The CAL & HPI Guarantee & Exclusion/Limitation of Liability

  1. The Information we supply (Colewood Automotive Ltd) includes data supplied to us from a number of third party sources which we do not warrant as accurate. The RAC Vehicle History Check therefore includes a guarantee (the “HPI Guarantee”) which is designed to cover key types of financial loss (“Loss”, as described below at Condition 8) that you may suffer should your RAC Vehicle History Check provide any untrue, inaccurate or incomplete Information. The HPI Guarantee is subject to certain Terms and exclusions which may affect your ability to make a claim under it.
  2. We do not warrant that the Information is true, correct or complete and subject to 6.3 below we shall not (other than upon the terms of the HPI Guarantee) be liable in any circumstances for any loss or damage arising from any inaccuracies, faults or omissions in the Information, unless caused by our negligence or wilful default.
  3. We do not limit or exclude our liability for:
    1. death or personal injury caused by our negligence; or
    2. fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
    3. any breach of the obligations implied by section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 or section 2 of the Supply of Services and Services Act 1982; or
    4. losses for which it is prohibited by section 7 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 to limit liability; or
    5. any other matter for which it would be illegal or unlawful for us to exclude or attempt to exclude our liability.
  4. We shall not be liable for the accuracy of, or any loss or damage arising from, any Information we supply to you as a result of any incomplete or inaccurate data or information you supply to us or as a result of any other fault attributable to you.
  5. Except as expressly provided in the Contract, all other conditions, terms and warranties, express or implied by statute or otherwise are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
  6. Each provision of this Condition 6 is to be construed as a separate limitation applying and surviving even if for any reason one or the other of the said provisions is held inapplicable or unreasonable in any circumstances, and shall remain in force notwithstanding the performance of the Contract.

Duration of HPI Guarantee

The HPI Guarantee is effective for a period of two years from the date of your RAC Vehicle History Check (the “Guarantee Period”). No claims submitted outside this period will be considered.

What your HPI Guarantee does and does not cover

  1. The Loss which the HPI Guarantee covers means either:
    1. a reduction in the market value of the vehicle where the vehicle has been established to our satisfaction as having been written off or declared an Insurance Total Loss (as defined in our Glossary of Terms on our website) which was not recorded on the Condition Alert Register (as defined in our Glossary of terms on our website) at the time of your RAC Vehicle History Check calculated as follows: - the difference between the market Value or value paid, (whatever the lower) and the Actual Value of the Vehicle, (as determined through sale at auction) or 50% of the market value of the Vehicle (whatever the higher); or
    2. in the event you fail to acquire good title to the vehicle, as a result of inaccurate or incomplete information supplied in the RAC Vehicle History Check, either (at our sole option) our choice of:- the lower of the Vehicle’s purchase price or market value at the time of sale, or a sum necessarily paid or payable to acquire good title to the vehicle;
  2. Safety Recall Data is not covered by the HPI Guarantee

The HPI Guarantee excludes any loss you suffer which is not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of us providing the inaccurate or incomplete information to you. A loss is foreseeable if it could be anticipated by you and us at the time the RAC Vehicle History Check is made. The HPI Guarantee also excludes any actual or anticipated profit which you would have made, and any item of improvement, including any addition or alteration, made to the vehicle by you. For the purpose of quantifying your Loss, the market value of the vehicle will be calculated by reference either to the price you paid for it or its retail value as evidenced by Glass’s Guide (adjusted for mileage and condition at the time of purchase), whichever is the lower. We reserve the right to inspect any vehicle which becomes the subject of a claim under the HPI Guarantee, at our own cost. If we do provide an independent inspection, its conclusions will be final, unless they contain an obvious error.

Limit of Indemnity

Subject to the exclusions of liability set out in the sections below, the maximum limit of indemnity under the HPI Guarantee in respect of a failure to acquire good title is £30,000 where you have supplied us with the Vehicle Identification Number (“VIN”), Vehicle Registration

Mark (“VRM”) and the serial number and issue date from the Vehicle Registration Document (“V5C (log book)”) at the time of your RAC Vehicle History Check, prior to purchase of the vehicle.

Where your claim relates to a reduction in the market value of the vehicle, the HPI Guarantee will not exceed 50% of the market value of the vehicle, or £15,000, whichever is the lower.

Conditions of HPI Multicheck

  1. You may purchase a package of vehicle checks (“multicheck”) containing two or more checks.
  2. One of these checks will be used at the time of purchase to check the vehicle you have specified. The spare checks will be made available as vouchers, which you may use at a time of your choosing.
  3. The multicheck vouchers expire after 730 days from the date of purchase. Expired multicheck vouchers cannot be used for vehicle checks.
  4. Unused or expired vouchers cannot be refunded.

Conditions of HPI Guarentee

  1. To qualify for the HPI Guarantee, you must do the following before buying your vehicle:
    1. you must ensure that the vehicle is accompanied by a full and current V5C (log book) from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and provide us with the serial number and issue date from it;
    2. you must check that all the vehicle information provided by us as part of the RAC Vehicle History Check matches the vehicle itself and the corresponding V5C (log book), and you must notify us immediately of any discrepancies so that we can investigate. This information includes, but is not limited to, the vehicle’s make, model and derivative, engine size, colour, transmission, fuel type and door plan;
    3. you must check that the date of first registration in the UK of the vehicle we provide as part of the RAC Vehicle History Check matches the date on the corresponding V5C vehicle registration certificate (log book);
    4. you must provide the VIN to us prior to purchasing the vehicle and check that all the VIN markings on the vehicle match each other and the corresponding V5C vehicle registration certificate (log book); and
    5. you must obtain a written statement or receipt signed by the seller of the vehicle, containing details of the vehicle’s VRM and mileage, the date of purchase, the amount paid and the seller’s name and address.
    6. If the vehicle is bought privately then you must purchase it from the keeper and at the address stated on the V5C vehicle registration certificate (log book). You must verify the identity of the seller against those on the V5C vehicle registration certificate (logbook).
  2. In the event you are made aware of a potential claim, you must make reasonable efforts to contact the seller of the vehicle (either by telephone, or if a dealer purchase, by visiting the premises) in order to resolve the issue and recover the loss, unless expressly requested not to do so by the Police. We reserve the right to withhold settlement of any claims until we are satisfied that all reasonable efforts have been made

Exclusions of HPI Guarantee

  1. nformation we provide on a vehicle’s description, value, mileage and accompanying documentation (its V5C vehicle registration certificate (log book)) is not covered by the HPI Guarantee.
  2. The HPI Guarantee does not guarantee the condition of any vehicle.
  3. Unless we subsequently confirm that a discrepancy or fact is no longer applicable, the HPI Guarantee will not cover any Loss which:
    1. results from any discrepancy or fact revealed by your RAC Vehicle History Check (including discrepancies between the VRM and VIN of your vehicle);
    2. relates to a vehicle which is recorded on our Stolen Vehicles and/or Security Watch registers; or
    3. relates to a vehicle which your RAC Vehicle History Check indicates has a mileage discrepancy or has been the subject of an odometer change.
  4. The HPI Guarantee will also not apply if:
    1. you conduct the RAC Vehicle History Check after buying the vehicle;
    2. we have not received full payment for the RAC Vehicle History Check;
    3. your claim arises from an event that occurred after the RAC Vehicle History Check was carried out;
    4. the vehicle is registered outside mainland Britain at the time of conducting the RAC Vehicle History Check, for example, in Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man;
    5. you buy the vehicle outside mainland Britain, for example if you source it yourself from mainland Europe, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man;
    6. you intentionally supply us with incorrect or incomplete information, or do not co-operate with us and our agents (and, in any case involving stolen vehicles, the police) in progressing your claim under the HPI Guarantee;
    7. you are unable to provide us with reasonable proof of payment for the vehicle;
    8. you are actually aware at the time of your RAC Vehicle History Check of relevant information relating to the vehicle (for example, that the vehicle is stolen, or is or has been an insurance write-off) and this subsequently forms the basis of your claim under the HPI Guarantee;
    9. we do not consider that the vehicle has been purchased in a reasonably prudent manner, including but not limited to whether you have followed any guidelines we may produce from time to time; or
    10. the vehicle has been damaged, but has not been established to our satisfaction as having been written off/declared an Insurance Loss.
    11. if the purchase price of the vehicle is 30% below the retail market value.
    12. if the vehicle is purchased without a valid MOT test certificate, where required.
    13. the vehicle purchased is registered with a VRM under a “Q” prefix or suffix.
    14. you are a motor trader by trade or the vehicle has been bought to be sold on for profit.
    15. any vehicle purchased through a salvage agent or salvage auction.
  5. The HPI Guarantee will not cover any losses arising due to a “cloned” vehicle. For the purpose of this clause a “cloned” vehicle is one that has been stolen, and given a false identity, normally that of an identical vehicle.
  6. We reserve the right to refuse any claim if you sell the vehicle (without having obtained our prior written permission) after the time which you became aware of any interest that is recorded on our Condition Alert register, Outstanding Finance register, Security Watch register or Stolen Vehicles register.
  7. HPI’s data sources are UK-based. Therefore, if the vehicle has been previously registered in another country, the RAC Vehicle History Check will only reveal information relating to the period after it was first registered in mainland Britain. Accordingly you cannot make a claim under the HPI Guarantee for any Loss resulting from the vehicle having been previously registered outside mainland Britain or any event which occurred prior to first registration in mainland Britain (whether or not the RAC Vehicle History Check displays a “previously used abroad before 1st registration with the DVLA” marker in relation to the vehicle).
  8. Any loss arising as a result of a fraudulent transaction which prevents legal title being passed to you.
  9. Basic Checks are not covered by the HPI Guarantee

Claims Procedure

  1. If you wish to make a claim under the HPI Guarantee, you must inform us as soon as possible after you become aware of the events giving rise or potentially giving rise to the claim (and in any event within the Guarantee Period).
  2. We will issue a claim form for you to complete and return, together with evidence of the RAC Vehicle History Check, your proof of purchase for the Vehicle and other relevant documentation. Your claim will be dealt with by our administrators, who will contact you promptly.

Look-up results

This Website is intended to provide You with a useful tool and convenient way to obtain information about product recalls relevant to a vehicle.

We are reliant on information supplied to us by vehicle manufacturers. We do Our best to ensure it is accurate, complete and up-to-date but cannot guarantee that this will be the case. The Look-Up Results should be used as guidance and for information but You should not rely on them and should not take any action or decision based on them.

You should check with the vehicle's manufacturer or main dealer before taking any action or making any decision on the basis of the Look-Up Result

Making a Claim

If you wish to make a claim, you need to contact the Colewood Automotive Limited in the first instance using the contact details in the Terms.

Voucher Codes Terms and Conditions

  1. By purchasing a RAC Vehicle History Check you will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by these terms and conditions.
  2. The voucher codes are only for use on the RAC Shop https://www.rac.co.uk/buying-a-car/rac-car-data-check/
  3. The Voucher codes are only valid for orders placed online. The Voucher codes entitle you at the time of ordering, a saving on a new order placed at the RAC Shop
  4. The RAC Shop reserves the right to decline to accept orders where, in its opinion, a voucher code is invalid for the order being placed.
  5. Voucher codes are only valid on specific products while stocks last and may be withdrawn at any time.
  6. Voucher codes are not valid in conjunction with any other promotion. Offer is not valid on sale items or other discounted items.
  7. In the event of product returns, refunds will be given for cash used in the original purchase once the discount is applied, less any shipping charged on the original order
  8. In the event of part of the order being returned, the value of the discount applied on that order will be spread between the goods proportionately. The sum in cash exceeding this value, less any shipping, costs charged on the original order, will be returned to the customer. The promotional discount will not be applied to replacement items, if the offer is still valid at the time of making a return – you should place a new order using the original promotional code.
  9. In the event of any returns meaning that the order no longer qualifies for the promotion advertised, the RAC Shop reserves the right to deduct the value of the offer from the refund
  10. The voucher codes are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for any cash alternatives in whole or in part.