Selling a car - Private buyer meets private seller

A friend of mine recently advertised his car with a trade car magazine at £40 ish. He needed a quick sale as his first born was due to arrive and the soft top had to go! Imagine his joy when he was called by a company who informed him they had buyers for his vehicle and for the insignificant fee of £9.99 he could sell his car.(They asked for £110 but said only 9.99 would be kept as admin fee)

So he dutifully gave out his credit card number. After the first week went by he started to call the company as he had not recieved the so called flood of interest he had been promised.

Since that day he is £110 out of pocket( the company said that when the car was sold through their finance he would recieve £100 back!)he has not recieved the supposed interest in the vehicle (He sold it yesterday to a Genuine private Buyer - no thanks to the company), He has not recieved the bonus he was promised if after 7 days the car was unsold and he has not recieve satisfaction or an apology from the company.

We Blagged them and on the Blaggers web site several of these companies appear. They would seem to be looking through loot or auto trader or your bin to find your telephone number and then calling you to offer to sell your vehicle. Please Check them out with the Office of fair trading, Local Trading Standards, watchdog - whoever before proceeding.

I do not know if my friend is a one off, I do not know if his company is a one off, and I do not know if they are breaking any laws but if it smells like fish, looks like fish... FISHY?

I would love you to all vote for this in order that it becomes more popular and therefore more people see it or send me your horror stories and I'll print them or go to Bloggers (Blaggers?) and list your complaints and then contact the office of fair trading. Let the OFT decide who is fair and who is not.