Autotrader should do more...

Hoof_Hearted

Here's another one:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/

Building_Surveyor

I think the point hoof hearted is trying to make is not all of us are as clued up as one another.

Salesmen that prey on the elderly by pushing the hard sell once they're invited in, or inventing work on their home - a scam. To me and you we may think we are not that gullible and stupid, but to a elderly person or perhaps someone who's not that clued up who may not be that savvy they can easily fall for any scam.

I agree that there's not much more autotrader can do, but to simply say "don't be so gullible" ...easy for some not so easy for others...

Hoof_Hearted

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

Not hard to spot, are they?

Johnmcl7

jimjames wrote: »

Not quite sure what Autotrader can do to stop these other than acting on reports when they come in. If they put in an automated system then it will potentially stop legitimate sellers and cause them more headaches to resolve. If they use a manual system of approving ads first then it will add to costs and make them uncompetitive.

They wouldn't need to approve all adverts instead only manually approve those with highly suspicious criteria. They already have automated systems which match up details of the car being listed so it wouldn't be difficult or expensive to highlight which cars are being sold well below what they're worth. The ads always stick out a mile because it's usually a fairly popular model and it's not just being sold cheaply, the cost is well below what any genuine seller would be looking for.

Surely the key is educating people that a deal is too good to be true. Some people seem to be totally lacking in common sense to part with money for a car that doesn't exist. Why would you ever send £3000 to someone for a car you'd never seen, I really don't think it is Autotrader's fault that scammers try to use it. You might as well shut down Yahoo because scammers use their email system.

Ideally yes, I certainly agree with you but no matter how much warning there is and information out there people still seem to fall for these scams. It's not Autotrader's fault that scammers use Autotrader but at the same time it's not unreasonable for them to make efforts to cut down scamming.

As long as the site allows reporting and quick action then I think they have done their part.

That's not really enough when the scammers are working in volume, reporting individual scams is no use when there's many more appearing in their place.

John

DUTR

Building_Surveyor wrote: »

I think the point hoof hearted is trying to make is not all of us are as clued up as one another.

Salesmen that prey on the elderly by pushing the hard sell once they're invited in, or inventing work on their home - a scam. To me and you we may think we are not that gullible and stupid, but to a elderly person or perhaps someone who's not that clued up who may not be that savvy they can easily fall for any scam.

I agree that there's not much more autotrader can do, but to simply say "don't be so gullible" ...easy for some not so easy for others...

But then again it seems some of the scammers are using the same email address time and time again...

I agree we cannot all be clued up on everything, a 2 year old car with less than one year mileage and being offered for a 5 year price is enough in the original case to be wary of, even so the fact that it needs to be advertised in a publication like that, should also raise concern, if it were a genuine price etc I would buy it myself.
Yes there are all sorts of scams, my parents are pensioners , always tell them, if there is something they are not sure about then ASK someone in the family 1st.
At a younger age though, many get scammed by trying to beat the system, loans and finance spring to mind.

DUTR

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

Not hard to spot, are they?

Nope the @yahoo.co.uk address seems popular, I have reported them too.

DUTR

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

And another:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk

Not hard to spot, are they?

They are all gone now :cool:

fivetide

jimjames wrote: »

You can't legislate for people doing stupid things.

that's exactly why we have a lot of legislation though... say drink driving or even something everyone used to not care about - driving without a seatbelt.

I agree with Hoof Hearted. Whilst there is of course caveat emptor at play here, there isn't any reason that AutoTrader couldn't flag suspicious ads and as a result, make their service more appealing to buyers who are more confident they won't be ripped off. Especially as it is now online only.

Also, as a seller, I don't want my ad being ripped off by some scammer as it could lose me potential buyers when they see the same advert on other sites.

Gumtree fair enough, it is free but as a paid for service, Autotrader should be a cut above.

jimjames

DUTR wrote: »

They are all gone now :cool:

So Autotrader do act pretty fast.

It is very easy to blame Autotrader but if they stop adverts with low prices being placed then the scammers will just find another way of doing it. Such as placing ad with high price to get it online and then drop price later, plenty of ways they can do it if they are determined. The better thing is to educate so people don't fall for the scams in the first place but how many times do you need to tell people not to send large amounts of money for goods they've never seen and with no comebacks.

Hoof_Hearted

Fair play to Autotrader -- they did act quickly to take them down.