LCC chief executive Koy Thompson has written to eBay and Gumtree
inviting them to discuss proposals put forward by London Cycling
Campaign, after talking to police contacts, designed to tackle the
massive problem of internet sales of stolen bicycles.

It's hoped that, with their experience of internet sales, the websites
will be able to help close the door to online thieves.

A recent survey found that 1 in 6 London cyclists had seen a stolen
bike for sale online.

Measures proposed by LCC include:
- Adding a field for the frame number on web listings to discourage
thieves
- Demanding genuine photos, preventing vendors to disguise bikes with
generic pictures
- Stricter rules for vendor identification based on a verifiable name
and address
- A commitment to much faster response times from websites to police
enquiries
- Pro-active investigations by website owners, feeding suspicious
listings to police

Koy Thompson said, "We've proposed quick and low-cost measures that
websites can put in place to discourage dishonest vendors. We want
buyers and police to able to clearly see who's open and upfront about
who they are and what they're selling, which should help weed out the
rogue sellers."