Selling car: best payment method?
Discussion
brillomaster said:
yep, bank transfer only. car doesn't get released until the funds are showing in your account.
no cheques, no paypal, no western union, no cash. if anyone insists on these, ignore them, its probably a scam.
personally, i like to have the buyer transfer a small amount first (like, £10) so both you and the buyer can verify that he is paying into an account that you can then show that you have received, before he fires off £20,000 into the ether.
the only real concern is that if your bank gets funny about you transferring a large amount of money, and delays the transfer. 2 years ago i tried to transfer £6k for a car and bank said no until i went through a lengthy phone call with them - but then last year i transferred £9k for a car and it went straight through with no problems.
This is what I would say too. I bought a car for 7k in 2019, the bank put a hold on the transfer I spoke to them and the funds did come across within about an hour. The seller was going to let me leave before it arrived but his wife put a stop to that! no cheques, no paypal, no western union, no cash. if anyone insists on these, ignore them, its probably a scam.
personally, i like to have the buyer transfer a small amount first (like, £10) so both you and the buyer can verify that he is paying into an account that you can then show that you have received, before he fires off £20,000 into the ether.
the only real concern is that if your bank gets funny about you transferring a large amount of money, and delays the transfer. 2 years ago i tried to transfer £6k for a car and bank said no until i went through a lengthy phone call with them - but then last year i transferred £9k for a car and it went straight through with no problems.
and rightly so!!I had it once after flying one way from London to Aberdeen to pick up a car. Barclays blocked the transfer and it was Sunday. Luckily I had my passport with me so they agreed if I held my passport next to my face in a photo they would allow me to spend my money on a car but it was touch and go. With it being a Sunday they were unhappy about helping.
Then it happened again but not such difficult circumstances... I could have gone home and returned the next day but it took around 30 to 40 minutes on the phone to sort out.
An interesting aside here of course is we know the bottom price for OPs car is £15k - might be a good deal for someone on here! hahah.
Then it happened again but not such difficult circumstances... I could have gone home and returned the next day but it took around 30 to 40 minutes on the phone to sort out.
An interesting aside here of course is we know the bottom price for OPs car is £15k - might be a good deal for someone on here! hahah.
Belle427 said:
I have recently read on another car forum that bank transfers can be reversed so its a bit worrying really.
Mainly if fraud is suspected but other examples too.
YouMainly if fraud is suspected but other examples too.
Cannot
Reverse
Faster Payments/BACS
YOUR bank can freeze a fraudulent transaction (suspected). But you CANNOT reverse BACS. There is no mechanism for it to be done. A bank can't "claw back" money from another bank once it is sent and cleared.
Griffith4ever said:
Belle427 said:
I have recently read on another car forum that bank transfers can be reversed so its a bit worrying really.
Mainly if fraud is suspected but other examples too.
YouMainly if fraud is suspected but other examples too.
Cannot
Reverse
Faster Payments/BACS
YOUR bank can freeze a fraudulent transaction (suspected). But you CANNOT reverse BACS. There is no mechanism for it to be done. A bank can't "claw back" money from another bank once it is sent and cleared.
If you recall it the same working day on which it was sent then it can be reversed. I found that out from Google just now.
ingenieur said:
Griffith4ever said:
Belle427 said:
I have recently read on another car forum that bank transfers can be reversed so its a bit worrying really.
Mainly if fraud is suspected but other examples too.
YouMainly if fraud is suspected but other examples too.
Cannot
Reverse
Faster Payments/BACS
YOUR bank can freeze a fraudulent transaction (suspected). But you CANNOT reverse BACS. There is no mechanism for it to be done. A bank can't "claw back" money from another bank once it is sent and cleared.
If you recall it the same working day on which it was sent then it can be reversed. I found that out from Google just now.
There is no middle ground. It's like chucking a paper airplane and then being able to somehow "summon" it back. It's one way.
The sending bank has to "ask" the receiving bank for the money back, and the receiving bank needs to cooperate, and that involves you, the receiver.
All the "mate said down the pub/forums" boil down to the same thing - funds were frozen until checked/resolved because the transaction was fraudulent OR suspected to be. Chap on here swore blind for pages that it happened ot him. Turned out eventually he said the money was cleared and given to him.
How on earth do you think large transactions can happen if the system is reversable?
The closest I can find is pre-cleared.
"Can Bacs payments be reversed?
A full Bacs transaction can only be reversed on day 1, once the funds have cleared this cannot be undone. Individual Payments from within the file can be recalled, but this is actioned by your Bank and charges may apply." Cleared is the key.
Personally, when taking a big payment for a car, I move the money from my current account to another account within the same bank (only same bank for convenience). That was I'm 100% sure they are cleared funds. You can't move/withdraw pending funds.
The only instances I can find, trawling the net, of money going in the other direction is when banks cooperate because the senders account was hacked or they were duped into sending you the money. Even then, the BACS isn't being "reversed" - its your bank freezing the money until they are satisfied you are not part of the fraud. THIS is why I said in my 1st post, make sure you check the buyer's ID and that the money in your account is from them. This way you eliminate the risk of getting entangled in a fraud investigation. But I think that applies to large transactions of any type tbh.
If anyone sent me money for an item (always going to be a car lets face it) and it appeared in my account from someone else I'd not release the goods until I'd spoken to my bank. That's pretty much like someone turning up and paying by card - someone elses card. You would not accept it.
There IS no other easy safe way to accept large amounts of money, so stressing about BACS is pretty pointless - what else are you going to do? Use the system that is there, check the payment is from them, and if you have ANY doubts, call your 24 hour bank number and have it confirmed the funds are cleared / yours / safe. There is nothing more you can do, unless you like the sound of Western Union money transfers or cheques :-)
Edited by Griffith4ever on Thursday 28th March 13:09
Edited by Griffith4ever on Thursday 28th March 13:12
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