Shortly before the Serpollet auction the auctioneers were phoned and told that the club had received information that the chassis of the Serpollet was not original and as there was little time to verify or disprove this claim the SCCGB was removing all support for the vehicle and asked the auctioneers to make this clear to prospective bidders. The phone call was backed up immediately by an email and a first class letter, arriving before the auction.
After the auction it was discovered that the claim was true with documentary evidence showing that the chassis was a modern copy of a chassis borrowed from the Science Museum. The auctioneers were informed and the documentary evidence was passed to them.