My stolen bike is listed on gumtree, what to do?

Well, not my bike but my brother's, who bought it of @nonowt, who also found it again on gumtree yesterday. It was stolen early March and now stars in a dodgy gumtree listing. What to do?

@Oliver Schick 's 'What to do if your bike is stolen' thread talks (at the end of the 1st post) about contacting the seller and setting a meeting place / time and letting the police take over from there. That really work? You rock up at a police station and invite them to come catch a bike thief for you? And wouldn't said police then also take the bike away?

That's something that worked for someone once; there's no guarantee it'll work every time. The main point in it is really that you should leave any confrontation with a seller to the police. It obviously depends on whether they have the manpower etc. to deal with the situation at that time. The best method is to keep the police in the loop from the beginning.

The police would certainly take the bike away at first but all they'd require to return it would be proof of ownership.

Meet up, ask for a test ride, don't come back.
Pretty sure I read a story about someone doing that before. Hope you find a solution though!

Don't take personal risks like that.

I'm sure there are some swashbucklers who can pull that sort of thing off, but it's illegal, it doesn't cause the perpetrators to be brought to book, and it can go wrong.

It's illegal to take your own property back?

I doubt the police would give a shit to be honest. Test ride it and do one, flipping the bird on the way past obvs.

Be cautious of scooter back up.

Take scooter back up

Mental note

My stolen bike ended up on Gumtree and I did have success getting it back. I wrote about the experience on the stolen bikes thread, some of it might be useful?

Thanks, that’s helpful advice, was thinking along similar lines (and fantasising along others @PhilDAS @LeChef)
Won’t go into too much detail here while it’s ongoing but will update if/when this comes to an end.

Take a few mates with you

Doesn't matter if they have a knife. They'll still seriously injure you.

Just don't take a spoon

If police refuse to help:

Arrange to meet, when you see the bike call 999 and say there’s a robbery in progress.

Bear in mind a lot of the depends on the dodge gumtree being someone who came upon the bike with a bit of naughty. There could be a genuine victim selling the bike - they could have bought it from the naughty person in good faith. They still lose the property to the original owner, but will you be doing unnecessary upset to another victim of the crime? Always try get the po-po to do the hard part.

A friend who was in a simialar situation once went with a £20 Nokia burner phone becuae she knew the seller would want to ask for something before letting her go on a test ride, so she gave the seller her burner phone and rode off...

Personally, I did something extremely stupid and potentially dangerous some years ago after my bike got stolen, I conforted the guys, it was 2 of us and about 6 of them, I just grabbed the bike back, which could have ended really badly...

OK, they were just kids from the estate round the corner, but still, it could have ended really badly, but when the police arrived, I asked them if they wanted to see any proof of purchase as it was bought brand new, they told me no if I say the bike is mine than the bike is mine...

My friend had her Fratello stolen a few years ago. I found it for sale on eBay a couple of weeks after the theft. She contacted the Met Cycle Task Force about it and her experience echoes that of @Muppetteer, other than the fact that her Frat had enjoyed a short holiday in Greece while she was without it. Bike and owner happily re-united.

ETA - Unless it has changed in the last 5 years or so - cycletaskforce@met.police.uk
Could be your starting point.