These are the terms and conditions upon which we, Total Car Check Limited (“we”, “us”, “our”, “Total Car Check” or “TCC”), provide our Guarantee (the “Guarantee”), available to customers (“you” or “your”) purchasing vehicle check services from us or one of our designated licensed providers (“Guarantee T&Cs”). TCC is a company registered in England and Wales. Our company registration number is 07043189 and our registered office is at International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London, England, EC1A 2BN.
Please ensure that you have read and understood these Guarantee T&Cs carefully before purchasing your vehicle check and before purchasing your vehicle. In order to benefit from the Guarantee, you are required to take certain steps, which include presenting certain documents to us, within specified time limits. Otherwise, you risk invalidating your claim.
If you have purchased services from TCC, these Guarantee T&Cs form part of the Total Car Check Limited terms and conditions of service (“Terms of Service”) which can be found here: https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/TermsAndConditionsOfService. It is important that you read our Terms of Service in conjunction with these Guarantee T&Cs as both documents form part of our contract with you.
If you have purchased a service via one of our TCC-designated licensed providers, these Guarantee T&Cs form part of a contract between TCC and you and no other party has a right to enforce them. Otherwise, the provision of services to you by that TCC-designated licensed provider is under a separate contract between that provider and you. It is important that you read that provider’s terms and conditions of service in conjunction with these Guarantee T&Cs.
For further details regarding how we use your personal information, please read our Privacy Policy, found here: https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/PrivacyPolicy.
Please ensure you have also read our terms and conditions governing your use of our website and app, including acceptable use, restrictions, registration and other legal statements (https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/TermsOfUse).
1.1 Among other sources, we obtain certain aspects of our vehicle data from the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud Theft Register (“MIAFTR”), which includes a record of UK vehicles that insurance companies have recorded as being ‘written off’, and the Police National Computer (“PNC”), which includes a record of all vehicles reported to the police as stolen. The MIAFTR database also records vehicles that insurance firms have recorded as stolen. Further information, particularly around the different classifications used to identify ‘written off’ vehicles (or vehicles at a ‘total loss’), can be found here at https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/AboutOurChecks
1.2 Whenever you provide us with a vehicle registration marker (or “VRM”, which is the registration plate of the vehicle), and you have requested from us a service which includes the provision of stolen and/or written off information, we will check the VRM against data provided to us via the MIAFTR and PNC databases and inform you via our report to you whether that vehicle has been marked as stolen and/or written off.
1.3 The Guarantee is concerned with information we provide to you via the MIAFTR and PNC, specifically in relation to when a vehicle has been reported stolen and/or written off.
1.4 These Guarantee T&Cs are the terms and conditions under which you may benefit from the Guarantee.
1.5 Any reference to “market value” in these Guarantee T&Cs is a reference to the retail value of the vehicle published in Glass's Guide (published by Glass's Information Services Limited) adjusted for the mileage of the vehicle. References to the “DVLA” are to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
2.1 Subject to these Guarantee T&Cs, provided you claim within the Guarantee Cover Period (see section 3 below), the Guarantee provides compensation for certain losses to you, up to and within the scope of the Guarantee Limits (see section 4 below), in the event of:
(a) TCC’s error (but not due to a natural or unavoidable delay, see section 5 below) when receiving data from the MIAFTR or PNC leading to our vehicle report failing to give you correct, accurate or complete information, and our providing you with data which is inconsistent with the data provided by the MIAFTR or PNC, about the vehicle you purchased being written off (or categorised as a total loss) and/or recorded as stolen by the police; and
(b) that failure directly resulting in you suffering a loss of title or a diminution in value in relation to that vehicle you purchased.
3.1 The Guarantee is effective for a period of 12 (twelve) calendar months from the date of your vehicle check order, or until you sell the vehicle, whichever occurs sooner (the “Guarantee Cover Period”). Any claims submitted outside the Guarantee Cover Period will not be considered.
4.1 The table below sets out the maximum amounts you are able to recover under the Guarantee (the “Guarantee Limits”).
Issue Category |
Description of loss resulting from the information provided by TCC in relation to the purchased vehicle (the VRM of which you checked upon) at the date and time of your check being incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate due to TCC’s error (as opposed to a natural or unavoidable delay) |
Guarantee Limit |
Stolen vehicle |
For loss of title as a result of the vehicle being reported to the police as stolen. |
A sum not exceeding the lesser of the following amounts: · 1/3rd of the market value of the vehicle as at the date of claim · 1/3rd of the price you paid for the vehicle · the sum payable to acquire good title · £10,000 |
Written off vehicle Category A or B |
For reduction in market value as a result of the vehicle being deemed, to TCC’s reasonable satisfaction, a 'total loss' or 'write-off' in insurance category A or B. |
A sum not exceeding the lesser of the following amounts: · 1/3rd of the market value of the vehicle as at the date of claim · 1/3rd of the price you paid for the vehicle · £3,000 |
Written off vehicle Category S/C or N/D |
For reduction in market value as a result of the vehicle being deemed, to TCC’s reasonable satisfaction, a 'total loss' or 'write-off' in insurance category S/C or N/D |
A sum not exceeding the lesser of the following amounts: · 1/3rd of the market value of the vehicle as at the date of claim · 1/3rd of the price you paid for the vehicle · £1,500 |
5.1 We are reliant on the data we receive from third party sources. A batch transfer is the means by which we routinely receive data electronically from third party suppliers. There will inevitably be a delay between the data being provided to the third party supplier, their inputting the data onto their data system and the batch being sent to us and loaded into TCC’s systems before being ready to make available as part of the vehicle check.
5.2 The Guarantee is effective in respect of searches undertaken after the time we received and uploaded the data or should reasonably have received and uploaded the data. Stolen vehicle data from the PNC is passed to us on weekdays only (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), not including bank holidays. Written off data from MIAFTR is also passed to us on weekdays only (not including bank holidays).
5.3 The Guarantee does not cover any claim arising from the normal delay understandably and reasonably associated with the transfer of data from the third party supplier to us. These unavoidable delay periods can be further described as follows:
(a) Stolen vehicles. We do not guarantee checks or purchases that occur before we received the data in the relevant batch transfer. This will be considered an event before the data could reasonably be in our possession.
(b) Written off vehicles. We do not guarantee checks or purchases that occur before we received the data in the relevant batch transfer. This will be considered an event before the data could reasonably be in our possession. Nor do we guarantee checks or purchases that occurred before the insurance company has concluded their involvement in any claim giving rise to a total loss categorisation and/or before the insurance company releases the vehicle for disposal and placed the VRM on the MIAFTR.
6.1 Age restriction. You must be at least 17 years old to make a claim under the Guarantee.
6.2 MIAFTR and Police stolen data only. The Guarantee is limited to MIAFTR and Police stolen data only and does not cover any other aspect of information about a vehicle (for example, information we may provide on a vehicle's roadworthiness, condition, fuel economy, emissions, MOT history, description, vehicle keeper data, the number of keepers, the date of keeper changes, value, mileage, salvage history, and accompanying documentation (including V5/Logbook), and outstanding finance on the vehicle).
6.3 Official TCC-approved applications only. Only vehicle checks purchased via the Total Car Check website, mobile application or other TCC-designated licenced websites or applications are covered by this Guarantee. Vehicle enquiries performed on any other website, application or service are not covered.
6.4 Check must have been made by you no more than 7 days prior to purchase. Data about a vehicle can change quickly. Therefore, in order to claim under the Guarantee, the vehicle check must have been purchased by you, the buyer of the vehicle, no more than seven (7) days prior to purchasing the vehicle. For example, if you purchased a vehicle check on the 1st of a month and then bought the vehicle on the 9th of the same month, you would not be eligible to claim under the Guarantee. You of course cannot claim under the Guarantee if you have purchased a vehicle check after purchasing the vehicle.
6.5 The Guarantee is personal to you. The actual buyer of the vehicle must have purchased the vehicle check. You are not entitled to transfer the Guarantee to anyone else.
6.6 The Guarantee does not apply to free checks. You must have paid (in full) for the vehicle check in relation to the vehicle you are claiming a Guarantee. The Guarantee does not cover checks, reports or any information made available to you free of charge.
6.7 UK-registered vehicles only. Our data sources only relate to vehicles registered inside the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (excluding Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) (the “UK”) at the time of conducting the check. The Guarantee does not cover vehicles registered outside the UK. The Guarantee also does not cover the purchase of a vehicle made by you where you are located outside the UK. If the vehicle has been previously registered in another country, the vehicle check will only reveal information relating to the period after it was first registered in the UK. Accordingly, you cannot make a claim under the Guarantee for any loss resulting from the vehicle having been previously registered outside the UK or any event which occurred prior to first registration in the UK (whether or not the report displays a “previously used abroad before 1st registration with the DVLA” or similar marker in relation to the vehicle).
6.8 Where you knew something was wrong. You, or anyone acting for you, must not be aware at the time of your check of information confirming, suggesting or giving you reason to suspect that the vehicle has an adverse history (i.e. stolen or written off) or was subject to the problem in respect of which you are claiming. If so, you cannot claim under the Guarantee.
6.9 Fraudulent claims. We will also invalidate your claim if you, or anyone acting for you, knew or should have known that any part of the claim is false or fraudulent or any claim arises as a result of a fraudulent transaction which prevents legal title being passed to you or you intentionally supply us with incorrect or incomplete information.
6.10 Where the corresponding record does contain the full vehicle VRM and VIN. You will not be able to claim under the Guarantee in respect of a vehicle check and the respective vehicle where the corresponding record in MIAFTR or the Police stolen data (whichever the case may be) does not contain the full vehicle VRM and VIN. Both the VRM and VIN in MIAFTR or the Police stolen data (whichever the case may be) need to be complete and accurate for any match to occur to report the vehicle as ‘written off’ or ‘stolen’ (whichever the case may be).
6.11 Please see additional list of Guarantee exclusions. In addition to all of the above, we have set out in Schedule 1 an additional list of circumstances which fall outside of, and are therefore excluded from, the scope of the Guarantee. Please ensure you have read Schedule 1 carefully prior to making a claim. You are also required to read section 7 below very carefully.
7.1 Having taken all of the above into consideration, you must do the following prior to bringing a claim under the Guarantee (failure to do so may invalidate your claim):
(a) You must ensure that the vehicle is accompanied by a full and current V5/Logbook from the DVLA. You must ensure that the serial number is present.
(b) You must check that all the information provided by us in response to your vehicle check enquiry matches the vehicle itself and the corresponding V5/Logbook, and you must notify us immediately of any discrepancies that you identify 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, door plan, last two digits of the Vehicle Identification Number (“VIN”) and V5C issue date.
(c) You must check that the information we provide on the date of first registration in the UK of the vehicle matches the date on the corresponding V5/Logbook.
(d) You must be present at the time of purchase of the vehicle and at the time of receiving the vehicle.
(e) The V5C provided or produced to you by the seller at purchase must not be a ‘duplicate’.
(f) You must ensure that all VIN markings on the vehicle match one another i.e. they are identical to each other. This must include, but not be restricted to, the stamped in VIN, VIN tag under the bonnet and visible VIN situated in the windscreen.
(g) You must be able to provide satisfactory proof of purchase of the vehicle.
(h) On the date of the purchase of the vehicle, you must complete in full a purchase receipt. This receipt must include the seller’s name and address, the vehicle registration number, VIN, make and model, the vehicle mileage and price of purchase. The receipt must be signed and dated by the seller.
(i) The purchase receipt must be kept safe and the original provided in the event of a claim.
(j) If a private purchase, you must acquire the car at the home address of the seller which must be the address appearing upon the V5C and from the person whose name appears upon the V5C.
(k) You must take all reasonable steps to confirm that the identity of the seller is that appearing upon the V5C.
8.1 If you wish to make a claim under the 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 Cover Period). To start the claims procedure, please email enquiries@totalcarcheck.co.uk.
8.2 We will issue a claim form for you to complete and return, together with evidence of the vehicle check, your proof of purchase for the vehicle and other relevant documentation and information as required in section 7 above. Your claim will be dealt with by our administrators, who will contact you as soon as possible.
9.1 We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Guarantee T&Cs to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under these Guarantee T&Cs.
9.2 Each of the paragraphs of these Guarantee T&Cs operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
9.3 If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Guarantee T&Cs, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking these Guarantee T&Cs, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.
9.4 If you are a consumer, the following applies: these Guarantee T&Cs are governed by the law of England and Wales and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Guarantee in the courts of England and Wales. If you are a consumer and live in Scotland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Guarantee in either the Scottish courts or the courts of England and Wales. If you are a consumer and live in Northern Ireland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Guarantee in either the Northern Irish courts or the courts of England and Wales.
9.5 If you are a business customer, these Guarantee T&Cs constitute the entire agreement between the parties in respect of the Guarantee. You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise or representation made or given by or on behalf of TCC which is not set out in these Guarantee T&Cs. Furthermore, these Guarantee T&Cs and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales and both parties irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Guarantee T&Cs or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).
In addition, and without prejudice, to the exclusions set out in the Guarantee T&Cs above, any of the following circumstances also fall outside of, and are therefore excluded from, the scope of the Guarantee and will invalidate your claim:
(a) any vehicle check in respect of which there is a discrepancy between the data on the V5C, the vehicle itself and the data we supply you;
(b) 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 Guarantee;
(c) any claim in respect of a purchase of a vehicle for which you paid more than (i) £1,000 or (ii) 20% of the purchase price (whichever is the lower amount) in cash;
(d) any claim in respect of which you have obtained a loan, other than with an FCA authorised finance company, where you are unable to provide us with proof of repayment. Proof of repayment will be a bank (or similar) statement displaying relevant and, if appropriate, regular withdrawals;
(e) any claim in respect of a vehicle for which, other than in the case of a loan with an FCA authorised finance company, you have not paid in full;
(f) any claim in respect of a vehicle that has in its history been damaged but was not, at the time of your purchase, recorded by an insurer as a total loss category on MIAFTR;
(g) any claim in respect of a vehicle that in its history has been stolen but was not, at the time of your purchase, recorded on the PNC as a stolen vehicle;
(h) any claim relating to a “cloned” vehicle (a “cloned” vehicle being a vehicle that has been stolen and given a false identity, normally that of an identical vehicle);
(i) 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 as stolen or written off;
(j) any claim relating to a post-1980 vehicle in respect of which the VIN is other than 17 alphanumeric figures;
(k) if your claim arises from an event that occurred after the vehicle check was carried out;
(l) if the purchase price of the vehicle in respect of which you are claiming is 30% or more below market value;
(m) if the vehicle is purchased without a valid MOT test certificate, where required;
(n) if the vehicle purchased is registered with a VRM under a “Q” prefix or suffix or any vehicle in respect of which the VIN contains the sequential letters “VRO” (a VIN issued by a Vehicle Registration Office);
(o) the vehicle is purchased through a salvage agent or salvage auction or from a friend, colleague, relative, partner or someone known personally to you;
(p) a check where the VIN entered by you does not match the VIN held on record;
(q) any claim made outside the Guarantee Cover Period (see section 3 above);
(r) any losses outside the Guarantee Limits and scope, category and limits set out in section 4 above. The Guarantee also excludes any actual or anticipated profit or revenue which you would have made from the vehicle;
(s) a claim arising or resulting from a natural or unavoidable delay (see section 5 above);
(t) where any of the exclusions or limitations in section 6 (see above) apply;
(u) you fail to carry out any of the instructions and requirements in section 7 above.