Help needed re Yahoo finance!

lea_t88

Firstly I am really sorry as I don't see anywhere appropriate to post my question on the board =(

Has anyone ever used Yahoo finance to transfer money for goods??
I might be about to buy a car from overseas and the seller wants to go through Yahoo finance so that we are both protected.

I give the money to Yahoo finance, they tell the seller to ship the car, I inspect it and then have to authorise yahoo to release the money to the seller when I am happy.

I just wanted to know if anyone has ever done this before and if it is totally legit. I have looked on the website but can't seem to find a telephone number or else I would call them.

Any feedback would be much welcome!

Thanks in advance

Lea_t88

stephy110288

i really dont like the sound of that at all...where have you seen the car advertised??
what about paypal? you're both protected with paypal i'm pretty sure, they have always sorted out disputes for me over ebay anyway but i honestly dont know much about what they do.
it sounds a bit dodgy to be honest? there are so many scams like this about

Tixy

Sounds a bit dodgy and having done a quick google search

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100220105525AAIEay3

I have also found some links that suggest you can move money by yahoo transfer but nothing to suggest the money is 'held' until you authorise release.

I wouldn't risk it personally.

lea_t88

Thank you both for your replies.

Yeah I would rather not risk it. I shall suggest paypal and check that we will both be covered.
Do you know if paypal holds money until it is authorised for release (not a very savvy money transfer person as you see!)

I saw it advertised on autotrader. At first I thought it was very dodgy as the car is worth about 11k i think, and the guy is selling for 3k as he said he has now moved to Spain where no one wants to buy it cos it a right hand drive in a left hand drive country...

rosspwilliams

Sounds a bit too good to be true. I would steer well clear personally.

poppy_f1

lea_t88 wrote: »

Thank you both for your replies.

Yeah I would rather not risk it. I shall suggest paypal and check that we will both be covered.
Do you know if paypal holds money until it is authorised for release (not a very savvy money transfer person as you see!)

I saw it advertised on autotrader. At first I thought it was very dodgy as the car is worth about 11k i think, and the guy is selling for 3k as he said he has now moved to Spain where no one wants to buy it cos it a right hand drive in a left hand drive country...

that sounds like a scam

i1189

It's a well known scam - you get asked to pay the money into a fake escrow site, and by the time you realise the car doesn't exist, the scammers are long gone with your money.

They also tend to steal the identity of a real car so it will pass the HPI checks, etc - make sure if you are advertising your car you fuzz out the registration plate to help avoid this.

KiNeL

This has scam written all over it.

The reason for the sale is flimsy, there are plenty of people in Spain who would snap up an 11k RHD car for 3k, dealers and individuals, I probably would if on the spot !

There can sometimes be problems registering imports in Spain which will affect values but even then you can just drive it to France and flog it there instead where there are less issues.

If you are really set on the car then go to Spain and and pick it up.

lea_t88

Thanks guys, id never heard of this scam before.

Steered well clear! The 'seller' got quite aggressive when I asked the name of the import company an said our deal was closed as he had many other offers.
The 'car' is now relisted on autotrader again.
I have emailed them and let them know about the seller.