A 26-year-old woman from London has told GB News she was “stunned” to discover her bike had been listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace just 12 hours after it disappeared.
“I literally couldn’t believe it, I leave my bike here everyday” said Rosie, whose last name GB News is choosing not to publish.
The bike had been stolen while Rosie was at work. She left it locked where she always does; to a bike rack outside her gym. But when Rosie returned later that day, it had vanished.
Adding to her annoyance, the 26-year-old, who is a keen athlete, was taking part in a triathlon just two days after the bike was taken and needed the bike to compete.
She thought that she would never see her bike again, after all only about 2 per cent of stolen bikes are ever recovered, according to the London Cycling Campaign.
So you can imagine her surprise when she found what she believed was her bike listed on Facebook Marketplace for £475.
“I was so shocked, I was looking through facebook marketplace as I’d heard this kind of thing had happened before, but I couldn’t believe it actually happened, and there it was, my bike.”
Facebook says “buying, selling or trading of items that have been stolen or otherwise acquired unlawfully or without authorisation” is prohibited under their terms and conditions.
But this isn’t the only bike for sale on this profile. GB News has looked through the seller's profile, and several other bikes are also listed for sale, raising further questions about where these bikes have originated.
A shocked Rosie said she knew immediately the bike was hers because she recognised the distinctive sticker she had placed on the frame in the photos uploaded by the seller.
"I knew it was mine. It was exactly the same bike and it still had the sticker from my local shop I'd put on it," she told GB News.
After reading the listing, which described the road bike as being "in good condition" with "everything working as it should" and "ready to ride", Rosie was determined to get her stolen bike back.
The listing said "Collection preferred, or delivery available within London for an additional fee of £10," so Rosie began investigating.
She contacted the seller pretending to be a potential buyer. She asked him questions including, "Is this bike still available?" and "Does the seat go up and down?"
The keen athlete told GB news "I obviously wasn't planning on ever buying it but seeing it listed for £475 was frustrating”.
The seller replied to Rosie’s messages asking: "Would you like to test ride it?" before adding, "Just asking because sometimes people don't read the size."
Eventually the seller agreed to meet Rosie, who was nervous about what kind of person she would meet.
“I was worried about confronting him, I didn’t know how to go about doing it, I was only going to approach him if police were there," Rosie said.
Rosie contacted police officers to ask them to come with her in her attempt to confront the individual and recover the bike.
She says officers told her not to meet him without anyone being there, but they should be able to get a police officer in the area to come with her.
After arranging a meeting, the seller repeatedly delayed the agreed time before ultimately failing to turn up. He claimed he had "a few more drop-offs" for customers who had "purchased earlier that week".
Two weeks on, Rosie has still not recovered her bike and says the seller continues to advertise road bikes for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
The experience has left her feeling "frustrated" and "let down".
"I'm going to have to spend more of my hard-earned money replacing something that was stolen from me," she said.
GB News understands that since this broadcaster made Facebook aware of the illegitimate advertisement, an investigation has been launched into the marketplace listing.
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