Oh bless you, thanks Fiona that's a lovely thought!
He hasn't called back so I'm guessing this was less that kosher.
We are in no hurry to sell the van as the storage & insurance is paid until June next year & it really is a lovely van which we hope will go to a good home & be loved. There was no fear of us being seduced by the notes he was going to waft infront of us as we really hope this goes to a night person, couple or family who will enjoy many nights away like we did. Of course we want a good price for it as financially we need to recoup our investment but equally as important is finding the right buyer.
I really appreciate all the advice and support people have shared today.
Many thanks
Mrs MacP
------------- Easter - Solway View Dumfries & Galloway
April 27th - 29th - Spiers House, Cropton.
May 11th - 13th Wolds Way Campsite, Malton
June Diamond - Highlands???
Why everybody seems to think this is a scam I do not know. A scammer attempts to sell a non existent carvan & hopes a punter will be daft enough to pay cash without actually seeing the caravan. This person was offering to pay cash & tow away. A normal & reasonably safe way of selling a caravan provided sensible precautions are taken.
The problem with selling a high value item is that neither party wants a situation where one party is in possession of both money & item at the same time, this is why we use a solicitor when buying/selling a house.
It is always a buyers market. The customer is king, I don't doubt the op's 'buyer' had several caravans to see today & bought one earlier. He didn't have the courtesy to phone the op, but why should he care?
The seller has only 1 caravan to sell, the buyer has a choice of many. If you are selling, expect to be messed about, expect derisory offers, its all part of the game, dealers get this all the time.
We complain about dealers' high prices but if you use a dealer you pay for a service, ie he has all the headaches not you. If you 'diy' then you get the headaches but hopefully, save money, but if you think everbody ringing up about your caravan & offering cash is a scammer, you will never sell it.
As a buyer I would not dream of allowing a situation where a seller had both caravan & my money. The best way is always to pay cash & tow away.
I never suggested he was a scammer, however I did want some degree of reassurance that he was who he said he was, i.e the owner of this caravan site. I wasn't able to get that but surely its better to verve on the side of caution & at the end of the day, despite him offering cash, the money could have been all fake.
Had joe public phoned & not given me such a story, I probably would have been more trusting of someone genuinely wanting to buy a caravan for personal use, rather than wanting to sell it on to a potential customer.
------------- Easter - Solway View Dumfries & Galloway
April 27th - 29th - Spiers House, Cropton.
May 11th - 13th Wolds Way Campsite, Malton
June Diamond - Highlands???
No problem Mrs MacP its not far from me. I don't think he was a scammer, just sounds like a timewaster to me. When we bought our caravan in July privately it was tricky to find a situation which suited all. The seller was advised by his bank to keep hold of the caravan until any cash was safely received by a branch cashier because of counterfeits but as we couldn't go for the van during bank opening hours that was a non starter. We did BACS in the end and we took the risk of the seller having both the cash and caravan for a few hours - risky I know but we were 100% sure of the sellers credibility in our own minds and it all ended up well.
Well indeed, you do need to be careful but a cash buyer is what you are after unless anybody trusts you enough to hold onto 'their' 'van while their cheque clears & even then its worth pointing out your bank can 'unclear' a cheque that appeared to clear if there is a subsequent problem, so cash paid in daylight hours & taken straight to bank is usually the best bet.
I don't doubt the dealers 'offer' would have been derisory as I said earlier, its normal practice for dealers to visit several private buyers in a day in the hope of finding one desperate to sell cheap for cash, so its probabley just as well he didn't turn up.
You just never know though not always scammers but it does pay to be carefull
We put our 2009 bailey on pre-loved, a scruffy chap came knocked my door said he had come bout the caravan, I was bit confused how he knew it was for sale? He said he had looked at our house on the pic, he knew the area a bit, so drove around until he saw the house/van, He didn't look at it just said it was what he wanted, I was very doubtfull, but he came back with the cash and took it away no problems (turned out he was a plumber thats why he was scruffy! )
You just never know though not always scammers but it does pay to be carefull
We put our 2009 bailey on pre-loved, a scruffy chap came knocked my door said he had come bout the caravan, I was bit confused how he knew it was for sale? He said he had looked at our house on the pic, he knew the area a bit, so drove around until he saw the house/van, He didn't look at it just said it was what he wanted, I was very doubtfull, but he came back with the cash and took it away no problems (turned out he was a plumber thats why he was scruffy! )
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Urgent Advice Please
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