Cash payment - receipt so I am covered?

Rooster_Norwich

I'm buying a telescope for £1600 and the seller wants cash. No reason to doubt him, seems very genuine and driving quite a way to deliver the scope and let me check it all out before hand.

I just want to cover myself when paying cash thats all ( or cheque for that matter )

How best to do a receipt saying that we both agree to the sale and what other info do I need on this?

Obviously, if something goes wrong after 2 days, I want to be able to have some kind of recourse so I will need proof of the sale.

The transaction is tomorrow morning, so need some advice ASAP....

soolin

If it's a cash sale with a private seller then you don't have any recourse at all. It is buyer beware.

If the seller is a trader or business then to be safe you really ought to be considering using a credit card as that way if business proves unhelpful if things go wrong you can always fall back onto the CC company. As seller is coming to you the normal safeguards, ie knowing business premises doesn't apply, so you would need extra documentation as well showing trading details so if it all goes wrong you know where to contact them formally.

hollydays

I think I would have wanted the security of going to his home address,so I could prove where he lived. Get some i/d off him.

Even the nicest people will try to offload faulty stuff.People do get desperate for money and morals go out of the window.

soolin

hollydays wrote: »

I think I would have wanted the security of going to his home address,so I could prove where he lived. Get some i/d off him.

Even the nicest people will try to offload faulty stuff.People do get desperate for money and morals go out of the window.

I do tend to agree. I am a bit cynical, I suppose I have hung around the ebay boards too long.

There is a very good chance that this is a genuine seller who is trying to be helpful especially as they are letting you look over the item first. However, being cynical it could be that like you suggest by being helpful and delivering the item it means buyer never manages to confirm the actual address of the seller. Seller then can either switch item after reboxing it 'for safety' or only show the good bits and omit to mention that something vital, and unseen , is broken. Seller then takes cash and basically disappears and buyer of course has no come back at all.

You see this a bit with cars and the small ads and even Watchdog has covered it. Seller masquerades as a private seller and either arranges to drive car round to show it off, to 'get round insurance problems' or meets in the street somewhere outside his own home. cash deal is done, seller gives an address and then disappears with cash. The address will be false and the house they met outside will never have heard of the seller at all as it is just a street address chosen at random because there is no one home and it means seller can be seen at first in garden giving the impression he lives there.

Rooster_Norwich

Well, I've already got an address for him and spoken on the phone also.

Will ask for some proof of ID and also take a sneaky snapshot of his car and reg number. Just to be safe.

Like I said, it's probably 100% genuine, but I just want to know that I have some proof of sale so if it all turns sour at least I have some proof it ever took place.

soolin

Rooster_Norwich wrote: »

Well, I've already got an address for him and spoken on the phone also.

Will ask for some proof of ID and also take a sneaky snapshot of his car and reg number. Just to be safe.

Like I said, it's probably 100% genuine, but I just want to know that I have some proof of sale so if it all turns sour at least I have some proof it ever took place.

Have you confirmed the address though, done a search to see if a person with his name actually lives there

Also if this is a private sale you do realise you don't have any come back at all regardless of what ID you take unless you are specifically being told, in writing, that there is a warranty or such like?

Rooster_Norwich

Is there a free online resource I can check a name and address. 192.com you haver to pay for.