Milton Keynes car dealer apologises after would-be customer is told she's 'probably blonde or stupid'

A city used car dealer has apologised after a female customer was shockingly told she was “probably blonde or stupid”,

The woman had emailed MK Auto-Motors in Bletchley’s Tavistock Street on Sunday to enquire about a Nissan Qashqai they were selling. She sent the email after seeing an advert on the popular Auto Trader site.

The reply, when it came, was a real shock.

It said: "Please call us on 01908 630275 regarding our Nissan Qashqai as you have not left a contact number for you which means you’re probably blonde or stupid.”

It then added politely: “Thank you”.

The customer, who is five months pregnant and looking for a family car, told the Citizen: “I couldn’t believe it! I was disgusted that anyone business could talk to a woman like that in this day and age.”

She replied to the email, stating: “I can’t believe this is how you would speak to a potential buyer. Absolutely disgusting. You should be ashamed.”

Minutes later MK Auto-Motors replied: “Your (sic) not though.”

The Citizen contact MK Auto-Motors and asked them to comment.

A spokesman, who would only give his name as ‘the owner’, blamed the insulting emails on a disgruntled former employee.

He said: "We let an employee go on Thursday of last week and they had access to the sales enquiry platforms we have.

“We had not taken them off due to being very busy it was overlooked. We have now done that we can only apologise to the said parties.”

He added: “If the person in question would contact us on 01908 630275 I am happy to apologise and explain the situation and how it evolved.”

The Citizen asked the spokesman for his name, saying: “You must see the irony in saying someone used your communication system without permission - and then refusing to give your own name.”

But the spokesman replied: “We prefer not to give names.”

After Sunday’s emails, the customer and her family members posted screenshots of the ‘blonde and stupid’ comment on social media – and this prompted several bad reviews of MK Auto Motors on Google.

But the mystery writer also seemed to be dealing with replying to these reviews. Their replies included: “You should get a day job” and “Who are you? Stick to trolling somebody else.” Another referred to the writer as a “joker” and said: “We do not have any record of you as a customer. I suggest you go troll somewhere else.”

The business is also blaming these strange responses on the ex-employee and has deleted the negative reviews and the replies.

The owner told the Citizen: “We are a long standing business who take pride in what we do and the good service we give to our customers.”

Meanwhile the victim has complained to Auto Trader and is awaiting a reply. Her family members have also contacted Trading Standards to lodge a complaint against discrimination.

"This level of disrespect must not be tolerated,” said her brother-in-law. “Sexist and bigoted statements such as this should be condemned and we should ensure that the local community is protected.”