Selling a car, payment by bank transfer. If it seems dodgy..
Discussion
After some advice as to how to make sure I don't get stung.
I have a car advertised for sale (nothing special), someone with a strong scottish accent rang up and was very keen, he asked the usual questions about the car and then after very brief haggling we agreed a price we were both happy with.
That's when he pointed out he would need to have the car collected as he is in 'the middle of scotland' and can't take enough time out from his business to easily fetch it himself (I'm a bit north of Bristol). Smelling a rat I dug deeper and asked how he would expect to pay for the car if he wasn't even coming to view it, he first asked if he could pay by card but I explained I am not a dealer and can't accept card payments, at which point he said he could do a bank transfer.
I was happy with that although was strongly thinking something smells fishy but went along with it for now. Anyway he said he would call back the next day to confirm etc, he called the next day to ask for my postcode to get a quote from a haulage company, I gave him my postcode (no other address details) and he said he would call back.
He then called back to say he had got a shipping quote that was happy with (£400) and he would pass me onto his wife to sort the bank transfer as he said he was inept when it comes to the internet and computers. He passed me onto his wife who also had a strong scottish accent, she took my bank details and said they would do the transfer straight away and they would ring to let me know it had gone though.
I checked my bank and sure enough the full amount had been transferred and was showing as cleared in my account
I then had another call from him to say it should have gone through and he would call me in the week to arrange with me about the haulage firm coming to collect it, but he explained he doesn't know as yet when it is likely to be. We left it at that basically.
I have his name. (or so he says)
I have his mobile number.
He told me his business name (which is his surname) and it checks out on google, based in Falkirk.
He told me the name of the haulage company, it also checks out on google and is based in Falkirk.
The bank transfer was for the full amount we agreed (no less/no extra) and it shows up as a 'FPI' transfer and has his name attributed to it.
I made it clear on the phone that I wouldn't let the car go without photo I.D. of whoever was collecting it. (not a problem).
It all checks out rather more convincingly then the usual scams going round, so am I lucky and have a genuine buyer?
I will be going to the bank tomorrow to ask them about the security of the payment and whether they can confirm it won't be returned (I.E. they are happy it hasn't been transferred from a stolen account).
I will also call him back to confirm some details I forgot to earlier, like how he plans to sort the V5 as I WILL NOT post it to him, I will only post it directly to the DVLA. I would also like to send him a receipt by email, have him sign it and scan/email back to me saying sold as seen (should I put that as he hasn't actually seen it?).
EDIT: I will also call his company directly from the numbers on their website and see if it goes through to this chap and/or his wife. Likewise the haulage firm, I will call the numbers on their website and ask if they have had instruction from his business to collect the car. [/edit]
Anyway I am currently in the position where I have the car, the V5, the keys and the money. I haven't given out my full address (can't see the car from the road) so I am not concerned about it being stolen, it is still insured by me anyway.
Apart from the above is there anything else anyone can think of I can/should do to protect myself incase this all goes tits up?
I have a car advertised for sale (nothing special), someone with a strong scottish accent rang up and was very keen, he asked the usual questions about the car and then after very brief haggling we agreed a price we were both happy with.
That's when he pointed out he would need to have the car collected as he is in 'the middle of scotland' and can't take enough time out from his business to easily fetch it himself (I'm a bit north of Bristol). Smelling a rat I dug deeper and asked how he would expect to pay for the car if he wasn't even coming to view it, he first asked if he could pay by card but I explained I am not a dealer and can't accept card payments, at which point he said he could do a bank transfer.
I was happy with that although was strongly thinking something smells fishy but went along with it for now. Anyway he said he would call back the next day to confirm etc, he called the next day to ask for my postcode to get a quote from a haulage company, I gave him my postcode (no other address details) and he said he would call back.
He then called back to say he had got a shipping quote that was happy with (£400) and he would pass me onto his wife to sort the bank transfer as he said he was inept when it comes to the internet and computers. He passed me onto his wife who also had a strong scottish accent, she took my bank details and said they would do the transfer straight away and they would ring to let me know it had gone though.
I checked my bank and sure enough the full amount had been transferred and was showing as cleared in my account
I then had another call from him to say it should have gone through and he would call me in the week to arrange with me about the haulage firm coming to collect it, but he explained he doesn't know as yet when it is likely to be. We left it at that basically.
I have his name. (or so he says)
I have his mobile number.
He told me his business name (which is his surname) and it checks out on google, based in Falkirk.
He told me the name of the haulage company, it also checks out on google and is based in Falkirk.
The bank transfer was for the full amount we agreed (no less/no extra) and it shows up as a 'FPI' transfer and has his name attributed to it.
I made it clear on the phone that I wouldn't let the car go without photo I.D. of whoever was collecting it. (not a problem).
It all checks out rather more convincingly then the usual scams going round, so am I lucky and have a genuine buyer?
I will be going to the bank tomorrow to ask them about the security of the payment and whether they can confirm it won't be returned (I.E. they are happy it hasn't been transferred from a stolen account).
I will also call him back to confirm some details I forgot to earlier, like how he plans to sort the V5 as I WILL NOT post it to him, I will only post it directly to the DVLA. I would also like to send him a receipt by email, have him sign it and scan/email back to me saying sold as seen (should I put that as he hasn't actually seen it?).
EDIT: I will also call his company directly from the numbers on their website and see if it goes through to this chap and/or his wife. Likewise the haulage firm, I will call the numbers on their website and ask if they have had instruction from his business to collect the car. [/edit]
Anyway I am currently in the position where I have the car, the V5, the keys and the money. I haven't given out my full address (can't see the car from the road) so I am not concerned about it being stolen, it is still insured by me anyway.
Apart from the above is there anything else anyone can think of I can/should do to protect myself incase this all goes tits up?
Edited by Pet Troll on Tuesday 28th October 23:21
Sounds more genuine than the other guys thread. 
You should have insisted on CHAPS, not 100% but no come back unless from a hacked account.
But it all sounds pretty genuine to me. I have sold two cars to Scotland and had loads of enquiries from Sots, seems there is not as much choice up there.
Just ask for a copy of the delivery paperwork confirming names and address etc. of the customer.
You should have insisted on CHAPS, not 100% but no come back unless from a hacked account.
But it all sounds pretty genuine to me. I have sold two cars to Scotland and had loads of enquiries from Sots, seems there is not as much choice up there.
Just ask for a copy of the delivery paperwork confirming names and address etc. of the customer.
A chap from Scotland paid me £15k for a car back in 2009 via bank transfer and had it collected from the SE and delivered to him without even seeing the vehicle other than in the advert! Funds had been cleared for about a week before he collected though. I did a bit of due diligence in that I sent him my details by post to his address so he could send me a cheque for the deposit, that way I at least had some confirmation of his postal address. All turned out fine so it isn't always a scam 
TX.
TX.
I recently sold an M3 'unseen' The chap was from Aberdeen and didn't want to be making lots of wasted journeys. Ironically the buyer was asking me to prove identity/address etc.
I wouldn't be too concerned. I'd just get him to scan some documents to confirm he is who he says he is. Bank statement, utilities, driving licence etc. Get a landline number. You can even check out his address on streetview etc.
I wouldn't be too concerned. I'd just get him to scan some documents to confirm he is who he says he is. Bank statement, utilities, driving licence etc. Get a landline number. You can even check out his address on streetview etc.
Sounds similar to how I bought my car, except I had it inspected by a local Independent, paid the seller by bank transfer and some weeks later I flew from "the middle of Scotland" to pick it up from near Cambridge and drove it home, worked out for me
Edited by briang9 on Tuesday 28th October 23:55
Ari said:
Seriously?
I know, if you have to ask etc. I'm normally the one who says 'seriously' on threads like these! This doesn't scream scam to me as much as others though as he isn't asking me to pay the haulage firm etc, has paid me in full (from seemingly his own bank account) but hasn't overpaid and asked for a partial refund. He spoke to me on the phone so he exists as more than nigerian scammer sending emails.
He implied it would be a good couple of weeks before the car is collected, plenty of time for the bank to discover a dodgy payment. If it was a hacked account wouldn't he want to collect ASAP before anyone reverses the payment?
[quote=Who me ?]Have a closer look at some of the TV programs warning about scams. One constant message is NEVER, EVER to accept payment by bank transfer. I can't remember why, but it's no 1 on the scammers hitlist.
[/quote]
I have watched a fair few, some with that annoying bald man, but don't recall being told not to accept payment by bank transfer, plenty saying not to pay by bank transfer. If you could find out why it's a bad idea then please let me know, the only comeback I can see doing a search is if the account is hacked then the bank can refund it. As said I will be going to the bank tomorrow and enquiring about this.
[/quote]
I have watched a fair few, some with that annoying bald man, but don't recall being told not to accept payment by bank transfer, plenty saying not to pay by bank transfer. If you could find out why it's a bad idea then please let me know, the only comeback I can see doing a search is if the account is hacked then the bank can refund it. As said I will be going to the bank tomorrow and enquiring about this.
Ask yourself this: would you travel 500 miles to buy your car? This is an "all things considered" question, so bearing in mind the make, model, year, condition, milage, options, others available, price etc. If you find yourself laughing at the suggestion, then it's either a scam, or a nutter, neither of which you want.
Simon.
Simon.
It sounds ok to me. FPI is Faster Payments, so it would be instant. As mentioned CHAPS is more secure but I think that is in respect of the sender's identity being verified, I think they are both as difficult to reverse though - the sender can't just call their bank and have it done.
One thing that might be possible, but I haven't tried, is to go into a branch of *their* bank and hand over the name/address of the account and ask if it's correct. It's possible they may refuse though, even though I can't see what harm it would cause.
One thing that might be possible, but I haven't tried, is to go into a branch of *their* bank and hand over the name/address of the account and ask if it's correct. It's possible they may refuse though, even though I can't see what harm it would cause.
ferrariF50lover said:
Ask yourself this: would you travel 500 miles to buy your car? This is an "all things considered" question, so bearing in mind the make, model, year, condition, milage, options, others available, price etc. If you find yourself laughing at the suggestion, then it's either a scam, or a nutter, neither of which you want.
Simon.
As a resident of Central Scotland I've often had to look very far afield to find a rare or unusual car. The car market in Scotland has far fewer 'PH' or unusual vehicles compared to The midlands and further south. A friend bought a mk.2 MR2 Turbo from a guy in Portsmouth after getting a friend to look at it to confirm it was indeed as described. Reckoned any similar car up here was easily £1.5k more due to low supply and high demand. He flew down and drove it back without issue. OP, what car is it? If it's something in a rare spec or an unusual car then I wouldn't mind. So far anyway it seems (and I say SEEMS!) above board. Usually there's extra money to arrange shipping and you lose that money.Simon.
MissChief said:
As a resident of Central Scotland I've often had to look very far afield to find a rare or unusual car. The car market in Scotland has far fewer 'PH' or unusual vehicles compared to The midlands and further south. A friend bought a mk.2 MR2 Turbo from a guy in Portsmouth after getting a friend to look at it to confirm it was indeed as described. Reckoned any similar car up here was easily £1.5k more due to low supply and high demand. He flew down and drove it back without issue. OP, what car is it? If it's something in a rare spec or an unusual car then I wouldn't mind. So far anyway it seems (and I say SEEMS!) above board. Usually there's extra money to arrange shipping and you lose that money.
It's odd because all the cars I seem to end up looking at seem to be in scotland a majority or the time, shonky old peugeots like 205 GTI and such like. (Don't mock me, it's an illness)!The car in question here is a 406 coupe 2.2 HDi, the 2.2 HDi's can be harder to find but are by no means rare or exciting/unusual. The price agreed (and paid) is £1100.
Sounds fine to me having bought a few cars this way myself and had them collected after I had paid by bank transfer, £300 to £400 is about right for Scotland to London.
When I have been the buyer I have been very careful (as the risk is on me sending money for an unseen car) so I check as much as I can in advance, copy of. v5, copy of service book, receipt from seller stating all details of sale including method of payment from me, bank details, and that car will be collected by my driver.
Did your buyer take much care about the details? or was it all too easy too get the payment?
When I have been the buyer I have been very careful (as the risk is on me sending money for an unseen car) so I check as much as I can in advance, copy of. v5, copy of service book, receipt from seller stating all details of sale including method of payment from me, bank details, and that car will be collected by my driver.
Did your buyer take much care about the details? or was it all too easy too get the payment?
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