Strange car selling situation: advice needed
Discussion
A friend of mine sold his car and the buyer was going to come and pick it up today. He's paid for it and the money has cleared and the V5 has been sent off.
He called today to say he didn't want the car anymore. After my friend told him it was legally his, he said he wasn't bothered about the money and then told my friend he could keep half the money if he took it back (£1k).
My friend said he really needed to collect it as he had paid the money and the V5 was now in his name - he was concerned that it was some sort of con.
He then said he wasn't bothered about the money at all and my friend could keep the lot!
So on one hand my friend is keen to get rid of the car as he's been trying to sell it for ages but the guy just doesn't seem to want to come and collect it. He said he is not confident about driving it.
What should he do. On one hand he's worried about a con but also a bit of extra cash would come in handy. But above all he wants to the car to be gone because it's not taxed or insured at the moment.
Any ideas/thoughts/advice.
Thanks.
DJD
He called today to say he didn't want the car anymore. After my friend told him it was legally his, he said he wasn't bothered about the money and then told my friend he could keep half the money if he took it back (£1k).
My friend said he really needed to collect it as he had paid the money and the V5 was now in his name - he was concerned that it was some sort of con.
He then said he wasn't bothered about the money at all and my friend could keep the lot!
So on one hand my friend is keen to get rid of the car as he's been trying to sell it for ages but the guy just doesn't seem to want to come and collect it. He said he is not confident about driving it.
What should he do. On one hand he's worried about a con but also a bit of extra cash would come in handy. But above all he wants to the car to be gone because it's not taxed or insured at the moment.
Any ideas/thoughts/advice.
Thanks.
DJD
wack said:
Don't refund any money
I've heard of payments being cancelled even after they've cleared if the money has come from a foreign bank
Happens with UK banks too. In my youth I sold a car and the buyer paid with a cheque. A couple of days later the cash was showing in my bank account and the buyer came back to collect.I've heard of payments being cancelled even after they've cleared if the money has come from a foreign bank
A day or so later the cheque then bounced and the cash was taken back out of my account.
It was relatively simple to track the guy down but he claimed the car was stolen from him (uninsured) and he didn't have the money to pay for it, so no car and no money. The car was likely to be broken for spares (this was the 80's and it was a hot hatch)
Police were not interested. I sued the buyer but he never paid a penny.
If he doesn't want the car, get it in writing and then sell elsewhere! Don't let your friend refund any money. Hopefully he will be quids in, even if the cheque goes on to bounce he won't be out of pocket. V5 is not proof of ownership, but will increase the number of registered keepers unfortunately.
Must be a scam!
The "buyer" will need to send his new V5 back to DVLA saying the keeper is now your friend again. But as said above it's not proof of ownership. An invoice or receipt is proof, so you need that back. The danger is he keeps "ownership" whilst you have the "keepership" and that's a problem. So you need another invoice or receipt to get the ownership back as well. There needs to be another "sale" even if the amount is £0.
The "buyer" will need to send his new V5 back to DVLA saying the keeper is now your friend again. But as said above it's not proof of ownership. An invoice or receipt is proof, so you need that back. The danger is he keeps "ownership" whilst you have the "keepership" and that's a problem. So you need another invoice or receipt to get the ownership back as well. There needs to be another "sale" even if the amount is £0.
Weird scam to not want any refund at all - can't see exactly how he will win from that, other than that your friend now has a car for which he is not the registered keeper.
DVLA are human though, whatever we may think, so a letter (not a phone call) explaining the situation may see them reverse the V5.
DVLA are human though, whatever we may think, so a letter (not a phone call) explaining the situation may see them reverse the V5.
Thankyou4calling said:
Why is it a scam?
If the guy transferred the money into your account then he can't get it back.
It's not his money, so he's not interested in it back. It's a pretty simple scam really:If the guy transferred the money into your account then he can't get it back.
- He transfers money into your account, from somebody else's hacked account / fake bankers draft / whatever
- You transfer money back into a different account / cash / Western Union or something equally untraceable
- The original transfer is flagged as fraudulent and gets reversed. All of a sudden, you're down a grand and he's laughing.
djd1968 said:
Thanks for all the posts.
The car was a vintage Mini, sold for £2200. He paid a £200 deposit in cash and then did a bank transfer for the rest.
I'm pretty sure it must be a scam - nobody walks away from £2200 do they? He was quite young so can't believe he doesn't need the money.
If he did a bank transfer it is your money, you've had a result.The car was a vintage Mini, sold for £2200. He paid a £200 deposit in cash and then did a bank transfer for the rest.
I'm pretty sure it must be a scam - nobody walks away from £2200 do they? He was quite young so can't believe he doesn't need the money.
It won't be going out of your account.
Does your mate know the buyer's address from when the V5 was filled in? If I were in that position I'd be taking the car round to the buyers house, stick the keys through the letterbox and wash my hands of it, can only think trying to hang on to the money and sell again to someone else will only end in tears.
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