Complaint Review: CarFax

I got the following error message last night when I tried logging into CarFax:

"Your account was temporarily paused due to an unusual volume of activity. To ensure proper usage and security of your account, please inquire with us by email at accountinvestigations@carfax.com. Please contact us from the email address matching this account.

Your cooperation in this request is appreciated."

I immediately e-mailed them and was sent a standard form e-mail back giving their Monday-Friday business hours, which was problematic, as this occurred on Saturday afternoon.

I paid for a 30-day unlimited account, which I am 23 days into, and have run an average of 3 VINs per day. I've been doing a lot of searching at used car lots, eBay and receive auction lists from a neighbor once a week. From other experiences I've seen, CarFax has no way of identifying whether or not someone is a personal or commercial user, so when you hit their "It's only unlimited until you hit OUR secret limit", they apparently will block your account, then send you a message with several VINS and make you provide them with listings of where those VINS came from.

Thanks to this nonsense, I have now lost an entire weekend of car searching and my CarFax membership is nearly up. I will never purchase their services again and will be giving my business to Canada's version of CarFax (CarProof?) next week.

LD
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada