Car & Classic interview questions

Applied online. Response time to initial application was very slow. First call with HR was fine. A bit rushed and not very taxing. A lot of questions about how the role might work, less about what I have done. They gave strong indication of moving to next stage. Never heard back. Other interview reviews suggest they might be interviewing people to get ideas or spec out a different role and repost rather than genuinely hiring people.

Red flag. Talent approached me for their role, and enthusiastic messages were exchanged in order to arrange an interview. The initial call with Talent was quite thorough for what what was supposed to be an initial call. There was a lot of in-depth questions that I would have expected a hiring manager to ask. Nonetheless, the call definitely showed that I was a fit for the role and there was inclination shown by both parties to further the conversation. I was told that they will move quite quickly and provide feedback within a couple of days maximum. Fast-forward a week, and after a chaser email, I'm told that they will not be proceeding with my application. Meanwhile, a few days prior I noticed that the role was relisted to a much junior position but retained ALL of the responsibilities in the job spec that was presented to me. Reminder that I didn't apply, I was approached by Talent. Then put through ~40 minutes for an initial call, only to be used as a benchmark and then told that they won't be proceeding with me. The sad thing is that someone will get that job not knowing that it was projected with a senior title and salary, but will maintain senior responsibilities for lesser pay. I'm sure it will get sold as an opportunity for development. Unbelievable. To Talent, please do your own research and don't use candidates for your benchmarking. At least come clean and take responsibility for your actions. An absolute waste of time.