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@oat44
Thought I should share my story of when my uninsured 2009 allez sport got stolen last summer, it may be useful to those who see their bike on gumtree. To meet or not to meet, that is the question.
I saw an ad there - generic photo, brief description, poor grammar and posted 24 hours after it had been stolen. I simply had a hunch it was the one and I rushed to a police station but they were of no help - they said there wasn't enough evidence on the ad but strongly advised me not to meet the guy as he could be dangerous. I wasn't going to let this slip so I did answer the ad pretending to be a buyer. I sent two emails from different addresses (neither my main one) and the one he replied to was the more 'normal' sounding one (ie with a name). I also used a spare sim card for 'my' number. He rang the following day and told me to meet him at Highgate Station and only gave me 30 mins to do so. I rang my two tallest mates who happened to live near there and they agreed to help, thankfully. As I got to Kings Cross I saw some British Transport Police and explained what I was doing. Again they advised me not to meet him. At that moment, I got another call from him asking me to switch stations to Tufnell Park - the BTP remarked that this was a common tactic to foil the police, but again refused to help.
When I got to the station, my mates hid round the corner and waited for an agreed signal from me indicating that it was indeed my bike. Despite the bike having been stripped bare, I recognised my new saddle and gave the signal. My mates walked over calmly and we all held the bike. I asked if we could turn it upside down to inspect the frame number. Luckily I still had the receipt and to my utter relief (and his disbelief) the numbers matched. He muttered 'I've been stung' and I told him, politely, to walk away, which he did. What I didn't know was that my mates had called 999 while they were waiting and it so happened that the North London undercover robbery unit were in that area having just finished elsewhere and were positioned across the road watching the whole thing. They promptly seized him.
I was lucky, it was a huge gamble but it paid off. If you do decide to meet, I'd say make sure you have a pre arranged plan with mates, only meet in open public spaces and be prepared for a sudden change of location. Try not to arise their suspicions, and don't provoke them. I doubt the seller in this case was the one who stole it, but I think he knew full well that it was stolen and tried his best to avoid police presence.