A year on, he has stuck by his policy, with the host of the classic car restoration series admitting he was not the only company following suit.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Mike said: “Not only me, almost every car dealer in the country after the story we broke, We no longer take credit card payments over the phone. If you’re paying by credit card you have to be there in person.
“You can do a direct debit over the phone, you can make a bank transfer, that’s all fine. But if you’re paying by credit card because of the protection of the credit card, the protection the credit card companies offer their customers instead of the dealers, who are the victims here, we won’t accept any more credit card payments for vehicles.
“That’s not only me, I think since we broke the story and made it out there online, almost every car dealer in the country followed suit. I’m pretty sure credit adds companies hate me for it, but they should start thinking about protecting the dealers instead of the merchants should I say.
“It could be somebody selling lawnmowers, or could be television shops, nor necessarily car dealers. If they protest the dealers as much as the merchants they would do better.”
Mike admitted that since making the rule change at his own dealerships, he has been “all good since” with no further scams to note.
AutoTrader has previously said customers may get extra protection through the Consumer Credit Act when paying on vehicles using a credit card.
However, they stressed that not every dealer is prepared to accept payment on a credit card, while those that do will likely slap on a surcharge.