Car salesman wants my Date of Birth to "comply with FCA regulations "

[johnny cabbage head]

looking to buy another skoda I told them I dont want finance, I dont want any extra car Gap insurance, Diamond brite  treatments , Just want the car and pay the difference in cash.

Salesman said he needs my Date of birth to get the order form completed ??

Sounds well dodgy to me - more likely they are using a company called Automotive compliance who babysit the garages FCA compliance and I suspect will sell my data onwards.

I had this once before where a garage sold my details on and I was hounded by unsolicited calls and emails.

I have not agreed to give it to them as Im suspicious this is a data selling scam.

Anyone else had this experience buying from a main agents??

[Paws4Thot]

1 hour ago, johnny cabbage head said:

I dont want finance, I dont want any extra car Gap insurance, Diamond brite  treatments , Just want the car and pay the difference in cash.

Salesman said he needs my Date of birth

No idea why; I've had gap insurance before without needing to supply my DoB.

[johnny cabbage head]

36 minutes ago, Paws4Thot said:

No idea why; I've had gap insurance before without needing to supply my DoB.

I think I will give the FCA a call tomorrow , as I understand about money laundering rules etc but money is coming from my bank via transfer so a legitimate source, I understand they have to offer me finance etc , but If I decline any products at all I cannot see a logical reason why I have to  give my DOB  to a car salesman , it stinks of Data harvesting to me.

[Stonekeeper]

 

Optional but the question is on a V5

[Winston_Woof]

8 hours ago, Stonekeeper said:

 

Optional but the question is on a V5

and redundant if you've filled in the also optional Driving Licence Number ;o)

actually @johnny cabbage head , did they ask for your driving licence as well ?

[johnny cabbage head]

54 minutes ago, Winston_Woof said:

and redundant if you've filled in the also optional Driving Licence Number ;o)

actually @johnny cabbage head , did they ask for your driving licence as well ?

strangely enough when they asked for my Date of Birth ,It rang alarm bells, and  when, I queried why they needed it, I told them I was bringing my Passport and paper driving license with me , and they said I didnt need to bring them with me, which again I found strange as I will obviously be taking a test drive in the vehicle.

 

The salesman said " we need your date of birth for our compliance system which is run by the FCA , we have to complete this to show that we treat all customers fairly, he said the information does not get shared with anyone else. (I have this in writing from them)

I find this all very suspicious, given what happened to me after a new car purchase a few years ago , when within weeks I was bombarded with spam emails and unsolicited calls after giving information to a car salesman.

 

I understand the  compliance where they have to offer insurance and other services to a customer  to "protect their asset" but  I have had £5700 worth of "offers" presented to me on top of the cars price which I have already  declined in writing , so they have a record of their "compliance offerings" being presented to me and also me declining to take them up.

 

I read on the society of motor manufacturers site about the needs of compliance to make these offers to customers, but the garage have complied by offering me these ridiculous "extras" I suspect because they have not gleaned any commission from me declining the extras ,they are looking to sell my data on to some other third party.

Interestingly enough there is a company that babysits the motor trade compliance for garages, and I suspect it may be them who are after my Date of birth to "process" my data  (sell on the details).

Date of birth is something that is used for precision identification , by the likes of NHS  for instance . I suspect they are trying it on and intend to contact FCA this morning because this sounds like a data harvesting excercise.

 

I 

[Winston_Woof]

“Paper” driving licence? How quaint lol

[J.R.]

I still have mine, I refuse to pay a second time and then every 10 years for something that was and still is valid until I am 70, why is that deserving of mirth?

 

The date of birth is written in code form in the last 6 digits of the driving license number on the real deal paper license, does the plastic card one use the same number?

 

I also would refuse, I do so every time in France where they also want to know my place of birth, I say I will give them the info if they can tell me why they need it, nobody ever can, the transactions always get done without it proving its just custom and that the French education system punishes those who ask "why?".

 

In your case I would refuse also and tell them they already have that info (your license number) if they use their grey matter.

Edited 5 April by J.R.

[Ootohere]

@J.R. Do you have a current address on your Paper Driving licence?

The UK paper driving licence used to be handy in some EU countries & i kept mine as long as i could until i needed a plastic one for endorsements. (a ban.)

 

I have been asked by Police officers why my own address was not on the data base, or vehicles not registered at my home address.

I told them it is dead simple. I live alone and no point knocking my door to tell me i have sadly passed away in a road accident, and who are they going to contact next of kin or get my body to the University i donated it to. 

[Gaz]

15 hours ago, johnny cabbage head said:

Anyone else had this experience buying from a main agents??

 

Not as directly as you've been asked, but I've agreed to have my licence scanned prior to taking test drives, so as others have pointed out, they have my DoB by default.

 

Gaz

[johnny cabbage head]

Just for the record, I telephoned the FCA this morning and spoke with a compliance officer for about 20 minutes regarding the garage saying they required my Date of Birth to process the order for the car I am attempting to buy from them.

this is the response I gave to the Garage after speaking with FCA Directly.

"With regard to me being required to give you my date of birth as part of compliance by the FCA, I contacted the FCA this morning with regard to this and they told me that there is no requirement  for me to impart my date of birth to you and they advised that your company is not fully regulated but that you offer your finance products under the umbrella of ITC Compliance LTD, so you do not need  my date of birth or personal details to record and pass on to ITC Compliance  to process this sale as there is no finance or brokering taking place , its a simple cash transaction for a car without any other products being sought , rather I Just pay the difference and take the car (FCA ,s words not mine)

 

"

I know ITC  take over the financial brokering compliance for many retailers in the motor trade, but FCA advise  there is no  requirement by me to give my details  for you to pass on to a third party (ITC) as I am not buying any financial products from you or them, so This transaction does not come under the umbrella of FCA compliance .

 

 I am well aware this is common practise  to sell peoples data onward and I have already been the victim of my details ending up in the hands of cold callers and spammers hence my reluctance to give personal details that are not required, but often sought to sell on by other parties.

 I am awaiting a reply which as of yet is not forthcoming.

The FCA Officer was rather interested in the enquirey and he didnt seem happy that they wanted my Date of birth quoting "FCA Compliance" as he said it had nothing to do with my transaction.

[Winston_Woof]

On a side note. 
 

I have my own domain name and am able to use [email protected] so every where I go I use a different variation. 
 

eg Winston.Halfords@ or Winston.boots@ so if I start getting spam on them then

 

a) I know where it’s originated from

b) I can easily filter/block

[J.R.]

3 hours ago, johnny cabbage head said:

Just for the record, I telephoned the FCA this morning and spoke with a compliance officer for about 20 minutes regarding the garage saying they required my Date of Birth to process the order for the car I am attempting to buy from them.

this is the response I gave to the Garage after speaking with FCA Directly.

"With regard to me being required to give you my date of birth as part of compliance by the FCA, I contacted the FCA this morning with regard to this and they told me that there is no requirement  for me to impart my date of birth to you and they advised that your company is not fully regulated but that you offer your finance products under the umbrella of ITC Compliance LTD, so you do not need  my date of birth or personal details to record and pass on to ITC Compliance  to process this sale as there is no finance or brokering taking place , its a simple cash transaction for a car without any other products being sought , rather I Just pay the difference and take the car (FCA ,s words not mine)

 

"

I know ITC  take over the financial brokering compliance for many retailers in the motor trade, but FCA advise  there is no  requirement by me to give my details  for you to pass on to a third party (ITC) as I am not buying any financial products from you or them, so This transaction does not come under the umbrella of FCA compliance .

 

 I am well aware this is common practise  to sell peoples data onward and I have already been the victim of my details ending up in the hands of cold callers and spammers hence my reluctance to give personal details that are not required, but often sought to sell on by other parties.

 I am awaiting a reply which as of yet is not forthcoming.

The FCA Officer was rather interested in the enquirey and he didnt seem happy that they wanted my Date of birth quoting "FCA Compliance" as he said it had nothing to do with my transaction.

 

Crikey, I suppose I admire your tenacity but would it not have been a lot simpler to have just said "NO!" and walk away when they started all the nonsense, they are so greedy and desperate for money they would have found a way around it before you even reached the door.

 

I suppose its easy for me to say after 20 years of doing it in France, its still a regular occurrence I know I am not going to change anything but I simply wont be drawn into their nonsense, life is too short, they always find a way.

[kodiaqsportline]

On 04/04/2024 at 19:55, johnny cabbage head said:

looking to buy another skoda...

 

Is it a new or used car you're buying?

 

As far as I can remember, dealers have always asked my for my driving licence therefore they have my DOB.  To obtain the original V5C for a newly registered vehicle, doesn't the DVLA require the DOB of the first registered keeper?

 

Personally I have no objection to them knowing my DOB. The garage will need to contact me so I've already handed over my email, home phone, mobile and home address. What's to stop them from selling on that info for marketing?  I don't see it as a problem. Besides, I receive a tonne of other marketing junk every week. If anyone cold calls me I tell them to F.O.

Edited 5 April by kodiaqsportline

[skomaz]

5 hours ago, Winston_Woof said:

On a side note. 
 

I have my own domain name and am able to use [email protected] so every where I go I use a different variation. 
 

eg Winston.Halfords@ or Winston.boots@ so if I start getting spam on them then

 

a) I know where it’s originated from

b) I can easily filter/block

 

Ooh I like that...   Very neat! 

[johnny cabbage head]

On 05/04/2024 at 21:17, kodiaqsportline said:

 

Is it a new or used car you're buying?

 

As far as I can remember, dealers have always asked my for my driving licence therefore they have my DOB.  To obtain the original V5C for a newly registered vehicle, doesn't the DVLA require the DOB of the first registered keeper?

 

Personally I have no objection to them knowing my DOB. The garage will need to contact me so I've already handed over my email, home phone, mobile and home address. What's to stop them from selling on that info for marketing?  I don't see it as a problem. Besides, I receive a tonne of other marketing junk every week. If anyone cold calls me I tell them to F.O.

It's a used car, and I guess you might call me " curious " when I suspect  someone  is blowing smoke up my bum.

I despise Deception  in any form , Just the way I Roll.

[johnny cabbage head]

2 minutes ago, johnny cabbage head said:

It's a used car, and I guess you might call me " curious " when I suspect  someone  is blowing smoke up my bum.

I despise Deception  in any form , Just the way I Roll.

Plus once someone  tells me a porky, I have to wonder if there is any credibility  in them about everything  else they say.

[Ootohere]

They received training from whoever on behalf of their Employers.  Which tells a tale about them.

 

Dealerships downloading info on the radio as far as station listened to was a step to far of information gathering.

Also Scotland biggest motor putting through finance checks or applications when the customer did not want finance came back to bight them in their butt.

Then there less than secure IT. 

[kodiaqsportline]

17 hours ago, johnny cabbage head said:

It's a used car, and I guess you might call me " curious " when I suspect  someone  is blowing smoke up my bum.

I despise Deception  in any form , Just the way I Roll.

 

17 hours ago, johnny cabbage head said:

Plus once someone  tells me a porky, I have to wonder if there is any credibility  in them about everything  else they say.

 

Fair enough. Have you ever talked to a car salesperson before, because given those comments, I find it strange why you're complaining.

 

I've ben buying cars for 40 years and I expect porkies and BS from sales. I take it as a given. It happens in most sales environments, not just cars. Tthe most successful salespeople are the ones who BS the most. If you didn't BS you wouldn't last very long in the industry.

 

But back to my comment above. What evidence do you have that the salesperson was going to sell on your data? Thus far all you say "it sounds dodgy".

 

Each to their own, but I cannot understand why anyone would happily pass on contact numbers, email addresses, etc and then object to giving them their DoB ?

 

PS - who's saying the sales person is telling porkies? If they genuiniely believe in the info they're passing on, that's not telling porkies, they simply may just have it wrong.

Edited 8 April by kodiaqsportline

[J.R.]

58 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Tthe most successful salespeople are the ones who BS the most. If you didn't BS you wouldn't last very long in the industry.

 

BS "Trumps" 😁 everything else in the fight to the top of the tree.

 

1 hour ago, kodiaqsportline said:

If they genuinely believe in the info they're passing on, that's not telling porkies, they simply may just have it wrong.

 

The real masters of the art convince themselves and are hence able to convince others.

 

Some contributors think that I am a supporter of Trump, Musk etc, that is not so but I recognise and know the type(s) very very well having worked for several and having one as a close friend since my apprenticeship, nothing they say or do surprises me, working for them can be either hilarious if you see and understand what is going on or a nightmare if you don't. Despite their seeming incompetence these people create huge empires albeit on dodgy foundations and I do have a certain admiration for their success and mastery of their art.

 

Politics is a breeze for them.

[Millstone]

General Data Protect Regulations (GDPR)  They are not allowed to pass ANY of your personal information, including email and phone details, to any third party, not directly connected to the transaction, without your express permission.

if they do they can be fined a very large sum of money - usually based on turnover

Edited 15 April by Millstone
Spelling

[johnny cabbage head]

On 08/04/2024 at 09:59, kodiaqsportline said:

 

 

Fair enough. Have you ever talked to a car salesperson before, because given those comments, I find it strange why you're complaining.

 

I've ben buying cars for 40 years and I expect porkies and BS from sales. I take it as a given. It happens in most sales environments, not just cars. Tthe most successful salespeople are the ones who BS the most. If you didn't BS you wouldn't last very long in the industry.

 

But back to my comment above. What evidence do you have that the salesperson was going to sell on your data? Thus far all you say "it sounds dodgy".

 

Each to their own, but I cannot understand why anyone would happily pass on contact numbers, email addresses, etc and then object to giving them their DoB ?

 

PS - who's saying the sales person is telling porkies? If they genuiniely believe in the info they're passing on, that's not telling porkies, they simply may just have it wrong.

Basically you have not grasped the mechanisms of data harvesting, by giving your DOB  you open  yourself up to all kinds of targeted  unsolicited  sales pitches and most importantly  Identity fraud.

I spoke to FCA  about this ,they agreed with me and wanted more information  about the company  to keep a watch on them.

One loophole is to use an umbrella  company  to " process your data" and what does that " process" entail ? 

They never tell you it's just a purosely vague statement.

The industry  of Data being used as a comoddity is truly upon us and it is facilitated by guile to dupe the naieve Into giving up their  privacy.

Each  to their own of course, but the big brother totalitarian  state is being constructed  all around us and most people  are simply  sleep walking into it.

Thanks for All  the interesting  comments