People Advertising with Auto Trader Are Having their Cars Stolen

by Ehab Shouly

People Advertising with Auto Trader Are Having their Cars Stolen

by Ehab Shouly
Ehab Shouly
Case Owner
I'm a 47-year-old father of two who almost lost his life after being attacked by thieves pretending to be buyers responding to my advertisement to sell my car on Auto Trader (www.AutoTrader.co.uk).
Closed
on 29th November 2020
£0
pledged of £100,000 target from 0 pledges
Ehab Shouly
Case Owner
I'm a 47-year-old father of two who almost lost his life after being attacked by thieves pretending to be buyers responding to my advertisement to sell my car on Auto Trader (www.AutoTrader.co.uk).

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Who am I? - I'm 47 years old. I advertised my BMW X5 for Sales in June 2018 on www.AutoTrader.co.uk I was attacked and almost died in June 2018 after two thieves pretended to be buyers on AutoTrader.co.uk attacked me and stole my car then ran me over with it, crushing both legs. The doctors were very close to amputating my right foot due to the severe injuries but managed to save it by conducting several surgeries and inserting titanium plates in my right foot and also my left leg. I will never walk the same way again. The doctors told me that had the car run over my head or spine, I would have been killed or paralysed. I am lucky to be alive but my life will never be the same. I'm suffering from the injuries and I can no longer enjoy life like I used to due to the mobility problems that I'm facing. I'm also terrified of driving and I'm suffering from PSTD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. My life has been turned upside down. Auto Trader refuse to take responsibility that they should have warned me of the possibility of thieves posing as buyers and stealing my car. 

Summary - Hundreds and thousands of cars have been stolen from innocent people who advertise their cars for sale on www.AutoTrader.co.uk Some of them, like me, have been attacked and seriously injured by those thieves who pose as potential buyers. Auto Trader knows about these cases but refuses to put a Notice on their website that Customers need to be Aware that Hundreds of Cars Have been Stolen from their advertisers. They say that it would scare their customers away if they do that and therefore they will not declare this on their website. They are more worried about their profits than their customers' lives and safety. They may more than £234 million in profits every year. 

If I had read on their website when I took out the online advertisement that hundreds or thousands of cars have been stolen by thieves who responded to adverts on AutoTrader.co.uk then I would have asked any person who calls inquiring about the car that I'm selling to meet me in the parking lot of the police station. If they are genuine buyers they wouldn't have a problem. If they are thieves, they would not show up.

Call to action - e.g. We are raising £75,000 to sue Auto Trader and to force them to 1) Make it Clear on their Website that Thousands of Cars have been Stolen and that any person who advertises with them faces a risk of their car being stolen by thieves who pose as potential buyers because this has happened a lot in the past 2) pay out compensation to the thousands of people who have had their cars stolen by thieves posing as buyers responding to the Auto Trader advert. 

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What are we trying to achieve? - This case will make a huge difference. It will prevent the theft of thousands of cars every year. It will also prevent people from losing their lives or getting seriously injured like I was. Human life and human safety is worth much more than money. Big companies like Auto Trader need to acknowledge and understand this. They cannot continue to get away with not making sure their customers are safe. They say (in a letter sent to my solicitors) that it is not their responsibility to provide my with security, they are only an advertising platform. But they do have a responsibility to tell me and the millions of people who advertise with them that they face a real risk of thieves pretending to be buyers and stealing their cars and possibly attacking them.

What is the next step in the case? - The next step for us is instructing a Barrister to take up our case and file a case against Auto Trader to force them to make the disclosure on their website and to pay compensation to the thousands of people who suffered. Since I was attacked in Surrey on June 12th 2018, and asking Auto Trader to make a notice or declaration on their website that there is a risk of the cars being stolen, there have been 36 other identical cases of people who advertised on Auto Trader having their cars stolen in Surrey alone. In London there have been over 1200 cases alone in the last 10 years. This is happening every single day. Auto Trader know about it yet they refuse to put a notice on their website warning potential advertisers and informing them about the hundreds of cases of car theft that have happened. They say it will scare away customers and cost them lost business. But I strongly believe that it will just make people who advertise with them more careful and more cautious. 

How much we are raising and why? - We are raising £75,000 to cover the legal fees of the barrister as this is going to be a long-drawn fight in the courts. They have hundreds of millions of pounds in profit that they can use to fight the case. They have also threatened to make me pay for their legal costs if I take them to court.

Let's stand up for justice, and thank you for considering helping me out. My objective is to make sure that Auto Trader fulfill their duty to ensure the safety of their customers. 

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