(03 Nov 04)

It's basically very simple - advertise it, with your phone number, and then don't answer the phone. Even better, advertise it with the wrong number, and sit at home wondering why nobody seems to be interested.

Cardata has published the results of a survey which suggests that among the 104,000 or so motorists who tried to sell their cars privately in September (always a busy month for this kind of thing) 33% of calls went unanswered. In another 13% of cases the phone rang long enough for an answering machine to reply.

More than 4000 people paid for an advert which showed the wrong number. There's no information on how many innocent individuals without a 2002 Ford Fiesta or whatever to sell were inundated with calls from potential buyers.

Across the country, the worst area for unanswered calls was the North-East of England with 56%, compared with 42% for the keenest sellers in the Scottish Borders and Cumbria.

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