HPI database not showing car as Cat D when it is. Common?

[blambert]

Lurked for years, finally signed up.. hello.

My Clio 1.2 Extreme, registration MV02 DXB, was stolen in March.

A week later it was recovered with damage and written off as cost to repair exceeded value. They paid out £2100 and I put it towards a new Clio 182.

Out of interest, I've kept on checking askMID to see if it ever made it back onto the road... as with it being my first car I was rather fond of it. It's been uninsured for ages but I checked last week and it's insured again!

MV02DXB is on the Motor Insurance Database today The details on the MID are:
Vehicle Make/Model: RENAULT CLIO EXTREME 16V

I did a Car Text Check HPI thing out of interest just to see what it said...

Renault Clio Extreme 1.1
VIN***6229 Mar 02
3 Owners
No colour changes
No stolen record
Not scrapped
We have no record of MV02 DXB being subject to a total loss claim by insurers

Thats just not true... its a Stolen/Recovered & Cat D! If someone buying it had done what I've just done they could've been ripped off. I was the second owner so everything else has been updated okay apart from the whole "it's never been stolen/recovered & written off" thing.

My understanding of Car Text Check and HPI etc is, apart from the different levels of checks, they all use the same database but cover different amounts if the information is wrong.

I posted this on another forum and someone put the reg into a parts system which shows car status and it said never been stolen / paid out on. Someone is about to do a proper HPI on their unlimited account. Another poster says the same thing has happened with their car too. They bought a CAT D car from an insurance company, repaired it, did an HPI check a few months down the line and it's apparently completely clean.

So are these HPI checks that everybody uses to check whether a car is as it seems just a load of bks? I'll be taking a lot more care myself from now on!

Edited by blambert on Tuesday 28th December 11:45

Edited by blambert on Tuesday 28th December 11:47

[CraigyMc]

blambert said:

So are these HPI checks that everybody uses to check whether a car is as it seems just a load of bks? I'll be taking a lot more care myself from now on!

I dunno, but if I found out about a car I was buying being stolen/recovered, I'd be looking very closely at the HPI terms and conditions to see if they'd be stumping up some dosh.

C

[blambert]

CraigyMc said:

blambert said:

So are these HPI checks that everybody uses to check whether a car is as it seems just a load of bks? I'll be taking a lot more care myself from now on!

I dunno, but if I found out about a car I was buying being stolen/recovered, I'd be looking very closely at the HPI terms and conditions to see if they'd be stumping up some dosh.

C

"The unique HPI £30,000 Guarantee* means you're covered!"... apparently.

To confuse things further, DVLA say it's not taxed and hasn't been since it was stolen. Expired 1st May 2010.

So a Stolen/Recovered & Cat D Clio is now

- Insured
- Has a new owner
- Isn't taxed
- Has never been Stolen/Recovered
- Isn't a Cat D

WTF?

Edited by blambert on Tuesday 28th December 12:08

[CampDavid]

I think the stolen record on askmid is in reference to the car having been stolen and still outstanding.

The car itself is no longer stolen property, it was returned to you and then bought from you buy your insurers.

If you do a HPI check it'll no doubt come out as a cat D

[blambert]

CampDavid said:

If you do a HPI check it'll no doubt come out as a cat D

A friend who works at a dealership checked it just now on their HPI account. Completely clean.

Eh I dunno, it's not really my problem just piqued my interest.

[anonymous-user]

Hmm going by the wording from them I think it is correct. It's not been scrapped and was not a total loss. Total loss is cat a or b is it not? I agree that it seems inconclusive though, scary.

[AndrewW-G]

CampDavid said:

I think the stolen record on askmid is in reference to the car having been stolen and still outstanding.

Shirley you mean HPI? . . . theres no marker on ASKMID for stolen cars, have just checked by searching for the car stolen from me in June, hasn't been found and is only listed as not currently insured

[Jayho]

Another easy way to check if its registered as a CAT D is by getting an insurance quote for that specific car and another similar Clio. CAT D's are usually more expensive to insure (Hence my second car ended up being a R25 rather than the Astra SXI I had my eyes set on).

[spikeyhead]

It definitely wouldn't have been recorded stolen / recovered. This only happens when the car is stolen and can't be found. Then the insurance company pays out, only for the car to be later found.