Safest bank transfer to accept payment for car
Discussion
Hi,
I’m in the process of selling a car privately and the buyer has offered to transfer a deposit, before seeing it, with payment of the rest following inspection and upon collection. It’s about £12k in total and the deposit offered is £250.
Are there any issues with accepting payments by bank transfer and letting the car go once I can see the money in my account and then transferring it to another account of mine?
Just a bit concerned about scams but there’s nothing from the buyer to suggest it at the moment.
Thanks
I’m in the process of selling a car privately and the buyer has offered to transfer a deposit, before seeing it, with payment of the rest following inspection and upon collection. It’s about £12k in total and the deposit offered is £250.
Are there any issues with accepting payments by bank transfer and letting the car go once I can see the money in my account and then transferring it to another account of mine?
Just a bit concerned about scams but there’s nothing from the buyer to suggest it at the moment.
Thanks
Done this many times for both buying and selling with no issues.
Ask them to do it in person wait for it to hit your account then
set up the DVLA transfer of ownership online after the payment has been made.
Pre print a simple sales invoice with both parties details prior to collection.
Go with your gut feeling. You can usually tell if someone is genuine or not..
Ask for some proof of ID and a Utility bill with the buyers address if you’re unsure. ( you would more than likely need to do this when buying from a dealer nowadays too due to money laundering laws.)
Ask them to do it in person wait for it to hit your account then
set up the DVLA transfer of ownership online after the payment has been made.
Pre print a simple sales invoice with both parties details prior to collection.
Go with your gut feeling. You can usually tell if someone is genuine or not..
Ask for some proof of ID and a Utility bill with the buyers address if you’re unsure. ( you would more than likely need to do this when buying from a dealer nowadays too due to money laundering laws.)
I've always just done bank transfers.
When selling my last car the buyer gave me cash and it was a real pain to count. There's always the risk of getting fake notes mixed in which can be hard to spot and the buyer may not even be aware they are in there.
I do wonder what would happen if you tried faster payment but it didn't register in their account. You'd be in a state of limbo where your money is going to end up in their account at some point but the seller would probably refuse to transfer ownership since it hadn't officially landed.
When selling my last car the buyer gave me cash and it was a real pain to count. There's always the risk of getting fake notes mixed in which can be hard to spot and the buyer may not even be aware they are in there.
I do wonder what would happen if you tried faster payment but it didn't register in their account. You'd be in a state of limbo where your money is going to end up in their account at some point but the seller would probably refuse to transfer ownership since it hadn't officially landed.
Bank transfers are the way to go. They can't be "reversed" (someone will pipe up to tell you they can. They can't, and I've called my bank to check too). Much better than cash as you dont' have to worry about funny money.
Worst "problem" I've had was having to wait 40 mins one Sunday for my payment to show up in the buyers account, for some reason. I've sold cars for £35,000 & £30,000 via bank xfer, along with many , many others. £30k, £15k, £12k, £10k, etc etc
Worst "problem" I've had was having to wait 40 mins one Sunday for my payment to show up in the buyers account, for some reason. I've sold cars for £35,000 & £30,000 via bank xfer, along with many , many others. £30k, £15k, £12k, £10k, etc etc
swisstoni said:
eliot said:
Is your car especially cheap, rare or unique that would warrant someone putting a deposit on it sight unseen ?
My thoughts as well.I’d prefer they kept their money, came and had a look first.
I guess the OPs buyer likes the description and trusts the seller - this isn't uncommon. I've sold a car to someone in the Highlands, from Somerset, paid (£14,500) unseen and collected by a flat bed. We spoke on the phone, and he trusted me.
I recently sold a car for over 70K.
Payment was by bank transfer.
Straight forward process. Agreed a price, buyer turned up and inspected car, bank transfer payment into my account within ten minutes, just to be safe I transferred the money into another account, gave the keys to the buyer and off he popped…..
Payment was by bank transfer.
Straight forward process. Agreed a price, buyer turned up and inspected car, bank transfer payment into my account within ten minutes, just to be safe I transferred the money into another account, gave the keys to the buyer and off he popped…..
Few tips.
Complete the V5 process with the buyer and ensure the faster payments are coming from an account where the name matches. Better still if you can see the payments being made.
There are circumstances where a faster payment can be reclaimed but following the above, it's very very very unlikely.
Complete the V5 process with the buyer and ensure the faster payments are coming from an account where the name matches. Better still if you can see the payments being made.
There are circumstances where a faster payment can be reclaimed but following the above, it's very very very unlikely.
Is there a situation where a transfer appears in your account but is not actually useable for a certain period of time?.
i.e if you try to spend that new money on something its not counted money you can spend immediately.
It's those little grey areas that worry me a little bit. The last time I did a private car transaction was years ago though.
i.e if you try to spend that new money on something its not counted money you can spend immediately.
It's those little grey areas that worry me a little bit. The last time I did a private car transaction was years ago though.
DaveE87 said:
I always transfer a quid first to make sure the transfer shows, then transfer the rest and make sure that shows too. It makes sure that the account details have been entered correctly, plus if there were any delays I'd get on the phone to the bank.
I did that paying 7k for a car - first payment was instant and the actual payment got delayed for a few hours - i guess it flagged up as potential fraud.After waiting an hour and showing him my bank account - he was happy enough and let me take the car - he called about an hour later saying the money had arrived.
On the other side of things, i had a complete re-roof two years ago. I set up the recipient and tried to pay half, but before it was completed the bank called me up and grilled me quite thoroughly;
‘Do you know these people?’
‘Has someone called at your door and suggested you need the work done?’
amd several more questions like that before they acknowledged the recipient, who is a well-known and reputable firm and have local and wider expertise in their specialism.
Standard BACS transfer by their bank app to your bank should be fine.
‘Do you know these people?’
‘Has someone called at your door and suggested you need the work done?’
amd several more questions like that before they acknowledged the recipient, who is a well-known and reputable firm and have local and wider expertise in their specialism.
Standard BACS transfer by their bank app to your bank should be fine.
swisstoni said:
Is there a situation where a transfer appears in your account but is not actually useable for a certain period of time?.
i.e if you try to spend that new money on something its not counted money you can spend immediately.
It's those little grey areas that worry me a little bit. The last time I did a private car transaction was years ago though.
Nope - if it shows as cleared fund then they are....cleared fundsi.e if you try to spend that new money on something its not counted money you can spend immediately.
It's those little grey areas that worry me a little bit. The last time I did a private car transaction was years ago though.
eliot said:
I did that paying 7k for a car - first payment was instant and the actual payment got delayed for a few hours - i guess it flagged up as potential fraud.
After waiting an hour and showing him my bank account - he was happy enough and let me take the car - he called about an hour later saying the money had arrived.
I've had an £800 purchase flag up and not go through, yet a £6k one did. Both to private individuals. There's probably a few different things that can trigger it.After waiting an hour and showing him my bank account - he was happy enough and let me take the car - he called about an hour later saying the money had arrived.
Now I just use a separate account for one-off purchases more than a few hundred quid.
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