Is it ok to accept a postal order for a heavy and expensive item?

soolin

Crowqueen wrote: »

Actually, the reason you wait for a cheque to clear is because funds may or may not be available. A crossed PO is a cheque drawn on the Post Office - if it bounces we're all in deep trouble.

With cheques the funds are posted to your account the next working day (and are accessible with the proviso that if the cheque bounces they can be withdrawn, though there were extra safeguards brought in a few years ago to protect the payee after a certain length of time), so it doesn't really make sense to wait the normal time for cheques for a PO.

Actually a Postal order doesn't need to clear for funds but to clear for fraud. So for accuracy it can bounce as a fraud for up to 6 working days after being paid in. It has to go via the bank through to the PO system to be sure it is not a stolen one..and yes there are fake and stolen ones out there.

macfly

The stolen or fake orders are difficult to pass on these days. Now they are bar coded, they cannot be cashed at a Post Office. It's highly unlikely you would get one from an ebayer for obvious reasons. Safer than cash in my opinion as there are far more fake twenties than postal orders.

Gothicfairy

You could try a courier company ? We sent a bike part over 18kg and it cos £7.99 and was delivered 3 days later with a tracking number.