BCA Assured - mileage issue

[steve1958 0]

Hello, could someone give me some advice, we bid and won a vehicle via bca online, its covered by bca assured and mileage is warranted correct, however, after doing our own experian check whilst the vehicle was still on site at bca, it came back with a mileage discrepancy of a 16k reduction, we immediately raised our concern and was told they will check the ECU for confirmation but insisted i still settle the invoice immediately, i am wary to do this until the mileage issue has been sorted, their now charging me a daily late payment charge until they get around to checking the ecu, any thoughts?

Edited August 18, 2023 by steve1958

[trade vet 697]

Whatever you do ,do not settle up.Send your contact at BCA an email saying you are taking advice.I have a lot of experience with this sort of thing but before I can reply could you provide a bit more information.Firstly who was the vendor /seller or what section was it in.When you bid,was it sold ‘ hammer down’ or was it sold ‘ provisional ‘ with your bid accepted later.Did the on line description include service history information.

Because BCA get so many claims ,for years their policy has been to initially fob off or not admit any liability . It works for them because a lot of dealers don’t follow up and just drop their complaints.

 

 

[steve1958 0]

it was in the ukcgr premium section, when i bid it was sold 'hammer down', the description only mentioned one recent service in 2022, the issue relates to an experian entry from BVRLA of 18,000 miles on the 01.05.2019 when the vehicle was 7 weeks old (registered 28.02.19), then another entry from RMI on the 11.05.19 showing only 1,200 miles, (a reduction of about 17k) bca have said they will plug into the ECU to get a mileage reading, that's where I'm at at the moment, because i haven't settled this invoice they are now charging me a late payment daily charge, they were informed about this issue 5 days ago, but i guess it's in their (bca) interest to take their time and let the late payments mount up.

[trade vet 697]

So basically BCA owned the vehicle as it was entered by their subsidiary We Buy Any Car and both appear to have failed to identify the mileage data discrepancy while carrying out their own due diligence checks.

The data discrepancy may only be an error but it is material to the description and therefore it can no longer be considered a UKCGR premium vehicle.

Under the circumstances,I would request ( by email ) that they rescind the contract but alternatively you might consider accepting the vehicle if the selling price was reduced by £1500 or whatever and the Assured fee cancelled.

You could also enquire from the BCA guy which section of BCA T & C’s you need to refer to with regard to mileage discrepancies effecting Assured entries with BCA owned and entered vehicles and their right to charge storage fees while they are investigating a problem which they themselves have caused and that you require a definitive reply within 48 hours.

I would keep emailing them and always be polite if they call you.

This appears to be straight forward ,there will be various other angles you could follow.

Please keep us informed.

 

 

 

 

 

[steve1958 0]

Thanks for your reply, BCA told me that the HPI check they did was showing all clear and they emailed me a copy, however, i use Experian and on Experian it shows the discrepancy, will update you when i know more, hopefully on Monday.

Edited August 19, 2023 by steve1958
grammer

[trade vet 697]

16 hours ago, steve1958 said:

Thanks for your reply, BCA told me that the HPI check they did was showing all clear and they emailed me a copy, however, i use Experian and on Experian it shows the discrepancy, will update you when i know more, hopefully on Monday.

Make sure you send them a copy of your Experian report.Its upto BCA to contact Experian to find a remedy .

[steve1958 0]

This is the odd reply i have just received from BCA, they say they do not recognise or allow Experian, even though i sent them a copy of the full report from Experian.

 

From BCA;

" have taken advise from my manager on this and he has stated that as the HPI is clear and Experian is a 3rd party we will not uphold a claim on the mileage, without definitive proof.

We were unable to access a reading from the RAC as no reading was able from the module.

We do not have any proof that this vehicle is discrepant as you can clearly see that the issue on Experian is an input error, as far as you bring your ECR reader on site this is not something that we permit. We would require the ECR reading from an independent garage.

Unfortunately we will not be upholding a claim the vehicle remains yours to collect."

[Highlinev8 28]

You need to be taking it up with Experian for a start. They should be able to do a mileage investigation. What sort of mileage reduction has it had ? is it just mileage inputted incorrectly at an MOT. 

If BCA are saying they warrant the mileage and HPI are saying its clear then your options are pay for the car or lose your account. BCA were always hard to deal with but in the last two years you can get no sensible decision out of them. Its just computer says no.....Pay us.

[trade vet 697]

49 minutes ago, Highlinev8 said:

You need to be taking it up with Experian for a start. They should be able to do a mileage investigation. What sort of mileage reduction has it had ? is it just mileage inputted incorrectly at an MOT. 

If BCA are saying they warrant the mileage and HPI are saying its clear then your options are pay for the car or lose your account. BCA were always hard to deal with but in the last two years you can get no sensible decision out of them. Its just computer says no.....Pay us.

The sale is void.How long would it take to contact Experian ( the biggest ref agency in the world ) to get sense out of them to confirm their mistake .Even  if they did, it might still bounce back in the future when the car changes hands.Included in the exorbitant buyers fees which they now charge ,buyers are indemnified against this and it was also described as a Premium Select vehicle and an Assured entry which attracts a further fee.You used to be invoiced for the sale price plus an indemnity fee which covered everything.BCA ‘s hard line works because most traders shy away.You have to deep dive into BCA T & C’s and quote both them and those for the National Association of Motor Auctions of which BCA are a prominent member.

[It's me 611]

2 hours ago, trade vet said:

The sale is void.How long would it take to contact Experian ( the biggest ref agency in the world ) to get sense out of them to confirm their mistake .Even  if they did, it might still bounce back in the future when the car changes hands.Included in the exorbitant buyers fees which they now charge ,buyers are indemnified against this and it was also described as a Premium Select vehicle and an Assured entry which attracts a further fee.You used to be invoiced for the sale price plus an indemnity fee which covered everything.BCA ‘s hard line works because most traders shy away.You have to deep dive into BCA T & C’s and quote both them and those for the National Association of Motor Auctions of which BCA are a prominent member.

I totally agree with this but the caveat as always

Is

Do I need them more than they need me

I was undersold a car from an auction many years ago, their mistake so I refused to pay the extra, I couldn't return because it had been totally got ready for retail

I literally had to ban myself as I knew they would have got their money when I bought my next car and went to the counter

Place went downhill after I stopped going and I moved on but I did like the place and they did look after me

So there's no winners really, pity bca are so Intransigent though

[trade vet 697]

It’s me is right provided you don’t buy many.I had quite a few run ins but had quite a big account with BCA so had to tread carefully.The most memorable one which I have mentioned on here before was a mileage problem on a ex Autolease car. Our punter had the car for about 3 months before finding some additional history showing it had done another 30k.So I nipped it in the bud and swapped it for a newer and more expensive car,which I taxed and filled up etc.I initially contacted BCA whose reply was negative as usual so I decided to contact Autolease.I got a prompt but abrupt letter in reply in which they virtually told me to ‘ piss off ‘and not to contact them again.This was ideal so I sued them in the Small Claims Court and welded on various consequential damages claims..On the day,BCA flew their legal guy up to Newcastle on behalf of Autolease.He was a very nice guy and explained they would take it on the chin as they couldn’t upset Lloyds Autolease . He also said that because BCA get so many claims on any given day ,it works better to fob traders off and most go away.I can’t remember how much exactly I was awarded but we were into pocket by several grand .After that any problems we had with BCA were promptly dealt with.