HPI Check and Car Data Check History
Additional Information
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The birth of HPI and HPI checks
In the 1930s, as cars were becoming more common, so too was a new sort of fraud. car owners were using their vehicles to secure loans and Hire Purchase (HP) agreements and then re-financing them to get more money.To solve this, the six main lenders got together and decided to share their data to stop people from using their cars as security repeatedly.
This led to the formation of Hire Purchase Investigations (HPI) in 1938.The Police then made their stolen vehicle data available in 1947, creating a more powerful tool for the motor trade.
HPI checks and VMC Checks
Very little changed with car data checks until insurers began to supply their data to HPI in the 1980s. And it wasn't until 1993 that the HPI data was made available to the general public.
A new Vehicle Mileage Checking Service, VMC, was offered to the Automotive Trade by Graham Allen, a former Trading Standards Officer with many years specialist experience in consumer legislation relating to the retail motor trade.Originally conceived as a method by which motor dealers could comply with their legal obligations the system has developed into a "peace of mind" service for consumers and retailers alike.
"Clocking", that is the winding back of vehicle mileometers, continues to be a major source of motor vehicle fraud and it is dangerous for a dealer to plead ignorance of an inaccurate reading as the law clearly states that they must make every endeavour to confirm the authenticity of the recorded mileage.
Where appropriate, VMC contact all previous keepers of a vehicle to endeavour to obtain documentary evidence of its history, the report being available at the enquiring dealership when completed.
In addition, VMC obtain mileage from many sources including mileage data sent by computer link from the national Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea.
HPI checks and Experian car Data Checks
In 1997, Experian, the company responsible for managing the Motor Insurers' Database, entered the data checking market with the AA, breaking the monopoly previously held by HPI. Initially Experian and the AA launched a consumer version of the car data check, branded AA, this continues to be one of the most complete car data checks available to the public when buying used cars.The launch of AA Car Data Checks was swiftly followed by the launch of Experian Car Data Check to the Automotive trade. It quickly established itself as the market leader in the highly competitive franchise dealer market.
December 1999, Experian announced the acquisition of VMC, strengthening the car data check offering to the Automotive trade.
We launched the AutoCheck brand in 2001, and we are now running a total of more than 3 million reports each month into the markets (auction, consumer, dealer, lender, insurance) that we serve.
AA Car Data Checks were offered as an online product for the first time in December 2000.December 2005, Experian launches AutoCheck in Italy.
May 2006, Experian launches AutoCheck in the UK. This is the first full data check to allow customers to check as many as 5 vehicles, effectively allowing consumers to check cars on their shopping list, before they have even viewed them. It is an online only service to ensure that a full, high quality vehicle data check can be delivered cost effectively.
July 2006, Experian launches CheckABike. This is the only consumer data check built specifically for motorcycle buyers to include data from the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA).
