What is the safest way to receive funds from selling something like a car ?

property.advert

Say you want to sell something and someone turns up at your place and agrees to buy the item, just how do you accept the money ?

Of course, if it is a £50 item then it is cash or already through Paypal etc. but what if it is a car worth a few thousands or even more worryingly, if it was many more thousands, say £20,000 ?

I thought a bank transfer would be the safest but in a thread in the Motoring forum, someone said a bank transfer could be recalled and of course, it could come from a hacked account.

Cash paid into a bank seems safe but what are the realistic alternatives ?

NFH

property.advert wrote: »

I thought a bank transfer would be the safest but in a thread in the Motoring forum, someone said a bank transfer could be recalled and of course, it could come from a hacked account.

Bank transfers are fine as long as they are CHAPS and not BACS. I'm not sure about FPS. CHAPS is used to buy houses for example. When paying from a personal account, banks typically do rigorous identity checks, given that the payment is irrevocable. Most people will be charged a hefty fee for a CHAPS payment though, e.g. £20 to £30, so your buyer may pressure you to accept another payment method unless you agree to pay the cost of it.