Scottish Elises

What is a 100% scam-free way to sell a car?

I've read about the stolen cheque scam and forged banker's draft scam, where the funds will clear into your account but can be stripped back out later leaving you financially screwed with no come-back as you've let the car go.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Cheers
Graeme

CHAPS transfer or cash.

Avoid cash - leaves you vulnerable to a thump over the head 10 minutes later - not that the buyer mentioned to his mate that you would be wandering off to the bank with10K in cash in your pocket, or anything ...

Both CHAPS and the normal bank transfers that you do with online banking are non-reversible, even in the case of genuine error (i.e. I send 10K into your bank account by mistake, then ask the bank to get it back - cannot be done without your cooperation).

The advantage of CHAPS is it can be done quite quickly, so you could both walk into your bank, the buyer can call their bank and authorise the transfer and then you can check it's in your account before releasing the V5/keys.

I haven't actually tried to do that, mind you!

Cheers,
Robin

We used CHAPS exactly like that in the morning of getting the keys handed over for Ian's house.

tut

How much do they charge for a CHAPS transfer?

robin wrote:Both CHAPS and the normal bank transfers that you do with online banking are non-reversible, even in the case of genuine error (i.e. I send 10K into your bank account by mistake, then ask the bank to get it back - cannot be done without your cooperation).

I believe it is possible to reverse a BACS (normal bank) transfer without the destination account holder's co-operation.
They call it a BACS Recall and it can happen even after the when the money clears in the destination account. I've never tried to do one or had a recall performed on my accounts so I don't know what the exact rules are.

CHAPS costs about £20. Some banks have different deadlines for when these requests have to be started for them to clear by the end of the same day.

ironside wrote:

robin wrote:Both CHAPS and the normal bank transfers that you do with online banking are non-reversible, even in the case of genuine error (i.e. I send 10K into your bank account by mistake, then ask the bank to get it back - cannot be done without your cooperation).

I believe it is possible to reverse a BACS (normal bank) transfer without the destination account holder's co-operation.
They call it a BACS Recall and it can happen even after the when the money clears in the destination account. I've never tried to do one or had a recall performed on my accounts so I don't know what the exact rules are.

Nope, not that I am aware off. A BACS payment takes 2 days to hit the beneficiary account, during which time it can be recalled but, as Robin has said, once it's in, it's in. You could be asked for it back if it was a mistake and I believe that it is an offence to hold onto money that you are not entitled to, but that is not relevant in the situation we are talking about.

Faster Payment may be an option as that is almost instant, but I think there is an upper limit of c£5k (may be £10k) so not ideal for large purchases.

You can't beat cash, as long as you know it is legit. Perhaps arrange to meet the seller at you bank or something along those lines.

hmmm ......read all the advice in the posts and I still would only ever deal with cash. I take the "getting whacked on the head" point though if you are wandering about with large sums of money!

Bankers drafts can be cancelled/recalled or whatever you want to call it

Cheques are the same and you have to wait on the clearing - in which time they can be cancelled.

Bank transfers can be recalled as far as I am aware. When I was selling my car to buy my Exige I had the same worry so contacted the bank and explained the situation and asked for the pro's cons of each payment type.

In the end I asked the fella who bought my car to bring cash when he came to view the car. We then both went to the bank and I got him to pay the money into my account - we then sat down and signed over the V5 before heading back to mine to get the car he had just bought. The girl on the desk asked what the money was for and where it came from, checked the cash (counted and for counterfeit) and Bob's your uncle. Thats my preference anyway as once the cash is in your account there is no way to get it back!

Cheers

when I sold the elise, the guy was with the same bank so he phoned a transfer, I waited ten mins then called from my phone to confirm it was there.

With the audi, he BACS transferred it at a cost to him of £60-odd and once cleared, i told him to pick up the keys.

If they insist on cash, then aim to do the deal near your branch and ask him to accompany you in and let the bank's machine do the counting

Despite having had bank transfers in the past, I prefer cash as well to be honest... and if it's the weekend & banks are shut, I'd use one of the forged note pens to test the notes, or, go to a friendly bar who have an ultraviolet light for detecting dodgy notes... buy a drink & ask if they wouldn't mind passing half a dozen random notes over the light.

CHAPS and BACS are irreversible once the money has cleared into your account.

Cheers,
Robin

don't take it to knockhill on saturday

Thanks for the advice, this was along the lines of my general thinking, but thought it would be wise to ask.

You're probably right Scotty C, but I've got to pay a visit to Knockhill before I sell it.....i've got track insurance but hopefully won't need to use it.....fingers crossed

Good lad

i will be at KH if you want me to take you out or sit next to you.