RAC False Endorsement of Product by TV Personality

Anonfromuk

I purchased an RAC Car Passort HPI Stolen Vehicle and what appeared a clone check online. The RAC webpage had a photo of the TV celebrity Quentin Willson and what looked like his endorsement of the product. The vehicle subsequently turned out to be a stolen clone and I lost £17k. I contacted Quentin Willson and he said he does not and never has endorsed the RAC Car Passport. He contacted the RAC and had his photo and apparent endorsement removed. The RAC have told me on Twitter that Quentin did endorse the product but the RAC Customer Care have told me it was not an endorsement by him and they are sorry if I thought it was. To me this looks like a large company like the RAC using a celebrity to sell a product, similar to what has happened to Martin Lewis. I have been told by WHICH that this appears to be a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 which is a criminal offence. Any advice would be useful

Fosterdog

Well 11 years ago he did write an article for the mirror endorsing the product https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/car-reviews/rac-are-offering-a-data-check-511653

Now I'd hardly call the mirror a good journalistic newspaper but it's quite clear that Quentin Willson did in fact at one point endorse it, he may have forgotten and has since requested his endorsement be removed from the product but he did 11 years ago call it "a cracking deal which should help stem the tidal wave of car fraud"

agrinnall

Surely the point of purchasing an HPI check, endorsed by a very minor celebrity or not, is that if you purchase a vehicle that they say is clean and subsequently that turns out not to be true then you can claim your loss from them. Have you actually done this?

bris

They have a guarantee so if you did everything right then you are covered, so why aren't you claiming on this guarantee?

hollydays

Fosterdog wrote: »

Well 11 years ago he did write an article for the mirror endorsing the product https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/car-reviews/rac-are-offering-a-data-check-511653

Now I'd hardly call the mirror a good journalistic newspaper but it's quite clear that Quentin Willson did in fact at one point endorse it, he may have forgotten and has since requested his endorsement be removed from the product but he did 11 years ago call it "a cracking deal which should help stem the tidal wave of car fraud"

Good spot.

flashg67

Sorry, you lost 17k but more concerned over a (likely) forgotten, rather than fraudulent celeb endorsement?

Not really the same as what happened to Martin really - I don't class the RAC in the same boat as fake bitcoin merchants. More likely a mistake rather than deliberate IMHO

Anyway, surely you used the product to claim your 17k?

Anonfromuk

Quentin Wilson says he did not endorse the product but the RAC had lifted an article he had written from the newspaper but it was not an endorsement and the RAC did not have permission to use it. The RAC Customer Care dealing with my claim and complaint say he did not endorse it and it has been removed from the RAC website and its my mistake for thinking it was an endorsement. The RAC on Twitter have said contrary and that he did endorse it...... The terms and conditions for the RAC car passport were not available and the link on the webpage was dead. It was still dead 2 months after I purchased the check and the ASA confirmed it. They wrote to the RAC advising them to rectify this and the link was repaired. WHICH Legal say as the T&C's were not available they do not form part of the contract and I cannot be bound by them. ........The RAC have given no comment on this. When using the RAC Car Passport Vehicle Vin check using the windscreen VIN, and £30k guarantee activation it says ""validate the VIN to confirm the car hasn't been cloned" and goes on to provide instructions on how to validate the VIN. It also says ""you'll need to validate your VIN to activate your RAC vehicle check guarantee"......The RAC say the (unavailable) T&C's exclude cloned vehicles and I cannot make a claim. I have received a Subject Access Request which took in excess of the 40 days to get to me. The results were shocking and it appears the claims handlers have suggested I am pulling a scam or money laundering and they advise the RAC not to even speak to me as my claim is a bluff. They spoke to the Police dealing with the stolen clone to ask if I was under investigation and reported to the RAC that "the Police are treating him as a victim" The SAR was also incomplete but after a complaint to the ICO the RAC have rectified this.I have a recording of a telephone call with the RAC agent who confirms the wording of the vin check and that it is to check their is nothing dodgy and its not a clone and that if it is I can claim on the £30k guarantee .... I have screen shots of the webpage with Quentin Willsons unauthorised endorsement and the sections to validate the vin to check the car hasnt been cloned.... The RAC refuse to engage with me apart from to tell me I cant make a claim... I have asked if the RAC would agree to the financial ombudsman service looking at the dispute or if they would agree to Online Dispute Resolution and be bound by and judgement made but the RAC will not answer the question..... None from the RAC has ever called me to discuss my concerns or claim and the recordings received in my SAR show that I am not the only one who has had the same issues and lost money due to and the customer service I have received is disgraceful.

hollydays

Have you thought about sending this to a consumer journalist eg telegraph guardian mirror

verityboo

All these HPI check companies have the same guarantee which is only valid if you enter the original correct VIN for the car you purchase (as outlined by the OP above)

If a fake VIN and number plates are put on the car then an HPI check will only check those details which will be from another similar car which is not stolen

It is vital to check all the VIN numbers on a vehicle match and have not been tampered with

Not sure how a query about an endorsement by Quentin Wilson has anything to do with the OP not entering the actual details of the car he purchased in the HPI Check?

waamo

hollydays wrote: »

Have you thought about sending this to a consumer journalist eg telegraph guardian mirror

Had the op thought about using paragraphs too? That wall of text is very difficult to read.

If you put some breaks in it then more people may read it. As it stands it's horrible on the eye.

Anonfromuk

Thanks verityboo , the RAC webpage and VIN check contradicts what you say as it invites you to enter the windscreen vin to check the car hasnt been cloned and activate the guarantee. You are right that all VINs are requested on other HPI checks but the RAC Car check says just enter ONE of three available and does not say to check all three (actually impossible to see all three without dismatleing this vehcile ) A Clone is a car with a Fake ID. Other HPI checks ask for all THREE vins to cover the vehcile being a clone. .... My post is really about the specific unauthorised use of a TV personality to advertise and sell a product but people ask for an over view and I am happy for opinions on the wider picture. I would upload screenshots which makes it clear but not sure how to insert the image