Hello there, I have read the excellent advice about avoiding scammers in the caravan for sale section. I have a trade in price agreed for my bailey (Pegasus s2 Ancona 2011 if you are interested) but have decided to put it up for private sale to see if I can do better before my new van is ready. I am worried about receiving a large payment from a buyer and how to do it safely?
If i insist on a bank transfer only is it possible that the transaction can appear as genuine and then be reversed? if so, what on earth do I do to check it out?
Any advice gratefully received.
I recently sold my Motorhome privately. I was really worried, like you, about payment. Luckily, the guy that bought it, had just sold his boat and had cash!
However, I would strongly advise you to go to your bank and ask their advice. If your bank is nearby, then you could always take your buyer to the bank and do the transaction then.
Just for info, I advertised on this website, Gumtree, Preloved, Autotrader, Facebook and Exchange and Mart! I got the most enquiries from Gumtree. I avoided eBay. Be prepared for a few time wasters and some silly offers.
Don't accept any money from anyone who hasn't come to see it either!
If you accept cash get a note checker. They cost little on ebay otherwise a transfer direct into your bank and check your bank to make sure it appears in your account.
It's easy to get paranoid about this sort of thing but a lot is down to your personal judgement of the buyer. He must see it and inspect it and the transaction should be completed at your home or your bank.
My preference for a selling platform would be ebay. Sold our last caravan on ebay.
We recently sold our TT. I stated that the preferred method was bank transfer. I didn't want cash as I didn't want to have to deal with checking a whole pile of notes for dud ones, and as it was going to be a Sunday when the buyer came to view/collect I couldn't even go up to the bank to have them checked and paid in with the buyer. I did consider buying a UV note checker thingy but decided I just didn't want the hassle of checking a lot of notes.
So basically the buyer was told it was bank transfer only. They viewed the TT, wanted it, left a small (£100) deposit and then before they came to collect they sent the balance by bank transfer. I checked it was there before they left and it was there. The advantage of a bank transfer is they have to have the funds in their account to be able to do a bank transfer, and once it's been sent it can't be recalled, so once you see it in your account you know it's okay to release the goods.
Bankers drafts are unreliable as there are so many fake ones out there.
for a bank transfer dont you have to give the buyer your bank acc No,your name& name of bank and sorting code whats to stop them emptying your account while you wait for them to come back. surely it would better to take a cheque or a bankers draft and not hand over the van etc until the cash is in your account Barclays boast they can clear a cheque in 43 seconds.????
When we sold our last caravan we were paid in cash and it was a pain having to check all the notes. When we bought the new caravan (private sale) we paid with a bankers draft as it was too much to count out in cash and we didn't want to do a bank transfer. It cost us £15 to get the bankers draft but for the seller it is as good as cash. Guaranteed by the bank that the money is available and clears as cash when paid in.
------------- Amanda
May - Scarborough
July - Mablethorpe
August - Godrevy, Cornwall
Quote: Originally posted by naturlist123 on 09/5/2014
for a bank transfer dont you have to give the buyer your bank acc No,your name& name of bank and sorting code whats to stop them emptying your account while you wait for them to come back.
That's all the same information that is on a cheque if you were paying someone by cheque! How could they empty your account just by them having those same details?
Quote: Originally posted by naturlist123 on 09/5/2014
surely it would better to take a cheque or a bankers draft and not hand over the van etc until the cash is in your account Barclays boast they can clear a cheque in 43 seconds.????
A cheque usually takes 5 working days to clear, and if I was taking a cheque I'd allow longer as if the cheque is stolen etc. in can still be cancelled/recalled after that time and get taken back out of your account.
I'd never, ever take a bankers draft as there are so many fakes out there.
Quote: Originally posted by amandaindie on 09/5/2014
When we sold our last caravan we were paid in cash and it was a pain having to check all the notes. When we bought the new caravan (private sale) we paid with a bankers draft as it was too much to count out in cash and we didn't want to do a bank transfer. It cost us £15 to get the bankers draft but for the seller it is as good as cash. Guaranteed by the bank that the money is available and clears as cash when paid in.
You were lucky they took a bankers draft. I'd never take a bankers draft as there are so many fake/stolen ones out there. Yes, a genuine one is as good as cash, but lots of people have had nasty shocks when they've gone to pay them in and find out they were fake. In fact some of the fakes were so good that the branch accepted them, only for it to be noticed later that they were fake, and the money is then swiftly taken back out of the person's account, so they're left with no money as well as no caravan.
Why was it you didn't want to do a bank transfer? The risk that they had the money before you went to collect the caravan? If so I can understand that, but nowadays with so many people having mobile banking it's much easier to do a bank transfer on site, and if they have online banking they'll see it appear in their account.
We have recently sold both a car and caravan and used a bank transfer into our account on both occasions. We actually asked prospective sellers how they would pay and never had a problem when we asked if they would make payment by bank transfer.
One issue in relation to cash is the risk of forged notes, We didn't give it a thought until a colleague asked "would you accept a large sum of money from a total stranger ? "
We decided to play it safe and didn't have a problem
Bank transfer is safest and easiest. Though last week my son bought a car and the transfer took 2 hours to show on the other persons account but was all ok and no checking cash or rubber cheques
------------- Live life to the full you are a long time dead
In some (albeit very rare) circumstances a bank transfer can be reversed. Having always bought and sold my cars, caravans and motorcycles privately I would suggest using a CHAPS payment. It will cost around £25 but will give you complete piece of mind. You will need to go to your bank with the buyer/seller so it's a bit if a pain, especially as banks opening hours aren't great but it's the safest method.
If you do go down the bank transfer route, try to make the transfer within the same bank as it will be quicker and easier to resolve if you have an issue. If you don't bank with the same company as the buyer then maybe consider your partners, parents or children's account if they are a match.
Quote: Originally posted by Andy JC on 11/5/2014In some (albeit very rare) circumstances a bank transfer can be reversed.
Never heard of that - what circumstances? I always understood that a bank transfer, especially with the Fast Payment Service nowadays, once it showed in the recipient's account then that was it, money was there and cleared. There's certainly no option in online banking to reverse a bank transfer.
CHAPS is certainly another method, but as you say not an option if you're selling at the weekend or evening with banks being closed. Also, if a bank transfer can supposedly be reversed, then wouldn't that also be the case with CHAPS?
I'm curious, as if a bank transfer can definitely somehow still be reversed even after showing in the recipient's account then it's certainly something to be aware of!
EDIT: Also, with CHAPS I can't imagine the buyer wanting/being willing to pay £25 to make the payment when they could just do a bank transfer for free.
When we sold our folding camper the guy buying it paid by bank transfer 3 days before we delivered it (he wasn't have his tow bar fitted for 2 weeks and he was only local).
Quote: Originally posted by clbewi on 11/5/2014
A bank transfer can't be reversed
When I bought my current caravan and car, both private sales in the region of £13k, I sought advise from 2 banks. There is no button to push to reverse a transfer but a case can be raised with the bank. Under some rare circumstances they will agree to do it. With CHAPS it cannot be reversed. The agreement I made with the buyer on both occasions was to split the charge. For me, £12.50 was a very small price to pay for piece of mind over a sale of that amount.
I recently sold a bike for £1.5k and was happy with a bank transfer as there wasn't so much money involved.
Quote: Originally posted by Andy JC on 11/5/2014
There is no button to push to reverse a transfer but a case can be raised with the bank. Under some rare circumstances they will agree to do it.
I'd imagine it'd have to be pretty exceptional circumstances, of which I can't think an example. So what would stop an unscrupulous buyer from buying a caravan, or whatever, with a bank transfer, then somehow persuading the bank that the bank transfer needed to be reversed? I can't think of any circumstance where the bank would do that. If the buyer gave reasons that there was something 'wrong' with the goods then the bank wouldn't do anything, they'd tell the person that they'd have to go through Trading Standards etc., they wouldn't reverse the transfer.
I can't think under what circumstances someone could put forward a case for a bank to reverse a bank transfer. When you spoke to the banks give they give any indication under what circumstances they may agree to doing it?
No they didn't say what circumstances it could happen. You may not be able to think of a situation but with the amount of scammers out there, I'm sure somebody could think up a scenario, possibly lie through their teeth, to con you out of £10k or £20k.
All I'm saying is its better to be safe than sorry, selling/buying high value items is stressful enough at the best of times and you may have no come back if you end up out of pocket.
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Topic: Selling privately...advice?
