Selling Your Car - BEWARE

Furniture_man

Be warned!!!!!

I advertised my car for sale with Auto Trader, and specifically stated 'no canvassers'.
Over the`past 2 weeks I have had at least 10 phone calls from a company called Auto User/Car Data who 'match a buyer to a seller every 15 seconds'

What a load of rubbish. All they want is a fee of £79.99, and they will find a buyer for you car?????
I suggested they find a buyer and then charge me £79.99.
Oh no! They weren't having that.

They obviously work on a commission basis as they routinely chase you, and it's a different person every time.

I warned them I would report them to Trading Standards as they took no notice of my advert stating 'no canvassers'.

They didn't seem to care. SO BE WARNED ABOUT THESE COWBOYS

mrcow

Is it possible to block their number so they stop bothering you?

I'd put the call into Trading Standards anyway....

BFG_2

There have been other threads about how to deal with 'sales calls' (can't remember exactly where) and the one I liked was

Say 'Can you just hold the line a moment' then put phone down (but don't hang up) and go back to doing what you were doing before the call.

Lots more out there

Treat the calls as a chanc eto have a bit of fun ...


BTW - have you tried saying the car is sold??

YorkshireBoy

I posted a few months ago on a similar thread of my experience with this kind of company, although I can't find it now.

BFG wrote:

BTW - have you tried saying the car is sold??

Regarding the above, sadly you cannot use this as they appear to pose as private buyers and start off by asking "hello, is the car still for sale"?

This is generally followed up with a few questions about its condition, fuel economy, T & T, insurance group etc just to soften up the seller.

It's only after they've established a "rapport" (and you realise they're your best friend) do they drop the £79.99 bombshell. Very frustrating indeed.

pinkvixen

BFG wrote:

There have been other threads about how to deal with 'sales calls' (can't remember exactly where) and the one I liked was

Say 'Can you just hold the line a moment' then put phone down (but don't hang up) and go back to doing what you were doing before the call.

Lots more out there

Treat the calls as a chanc eto have a bit of fun ...


BTW - have you tried saying the car is sold??

My 87 year old dad taught me that trick (leave them holding). He says he has a pan on the stove and can he go and turn it down! Haha

I now do this at work with telesales calls.
Our company is also registered with the telephone preference service. When I state this to the caller and ask if they have checked that we are registered, they get flustered and aplogise and say they will remove our name from their database, as they can be fined up to £1,000 for ringing and not checking first.

I'm not sure if this kind of call can be stopped by the Telephone Preference Service but it doesn't harm to register. I did this for my dad and the number of nuisance calls has diminished. You can do the same for mail, both found at

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/

and

http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

The TPS certainly reduces things like the 'silent' calls.
These are the computer generated ringers that call you and if a rep isn't available to deal with the call, it just hangs up on you. Has been the reason for many an argument or even divorce in the past.

peter_the_piper

Unfortunately the tps dosn't stop all the silent calls. Extremely annoying to come in from a long way away to find a blank phone and 'You were called'.
P.S. How do you stop unwanted fax calls, we hav'nt had a fax for 3 years but still get them.

mrcow

pinkvixen wrote:

I now do this at work with telesales calls.

You tell them that you have a pan on the stove?

bargain-babe_4

my friend took them up on there offer and paid them the requested fee and low and behold she never heard another thing about her car so she just got ripped off for almost £80 never learn do we.

steggy_2

I too have been scammed by this sort of thing. Been trying to sell my Smart Car for the last 4 months in various magazines with no luck. Kinda figured I'd give one of these things a go, a company called VehicleFirst.

That was last tuesday when they got £79.99 out of me and said they'd get customers to give me a call and would ring me back the next day to see how I was getting on.

I still havnt heard anything, and try as I might I cant get through to them on there customer service number. It either rings out or is engaged(I'm guessing it's other customers trying to get through).

Going to keep trying there sales line and get a refund out of them.

I'm not holding my breath.

Steve

oscardog

This scam is as old as the hills and is due a telegram from the Queen.

Car buyers look for cars and few if any go via agents unless you are buying a very rare car.

Cars do not sell for the simple reason that sellers are asking too much as people always over-value their own items.

Look at what others are going for, price competitively and then sell.

Bye now.

steggy_2

They say that they're a finance company and that if the person who buys your car takes out finance with them you get your registration fee back again.

And they usually tell you that they have customers ready that are looking for a car exactly like yours and willing to spend/be lent the asking price.

I guess I was suckered in, oh well. Anyone want to buy a Smart Pulse (03) Lol