Overseas bank transfers from a Post Office (IBAN, BIC, SWIFT). Please help...

Tunstallstoven

Hi there

I have been contacted from someone in Switzerland who wants to buy a CD from me. He has no paypal and no bank account, and so is proposing to bank transfer the money from a Post Office.

He has asked for the IBAN, BIC and SWIFT numbers fo my account. Plus he's asked for my name and address, and my bank's name and address (or at least the city of where I live and where my bank is). Is it normal for him to need all those details to bank transfer from a foreign Post Office?

Also, does anyone know if there are any "hidden" costs for me to receive the money? I'm with Halifax. I see that there is a £2 charge for under £100 transfer. But I've been warned that there may be further charges....

Many thanks

Max

dzug1

Not sure if they are 'needed' but those details can be cross checked to ensure the money lands up in the right account


Pass on fees

zerog

You will need to ask him to pay all the charges;

For a CD, the charges may exceed the value of the CD itself.

He will need all those numbers plus your name. The address is not so important, but if the Swiss post office needs a form filled in, then you will have to give him something to write there. Perhaps they don't realise that the physical address of banks in the UK is irrelevant.

Just tell him that you expect to receive a certain amount of pounds in your account; tell him to ask to pay all the charges, then it is less likely that you will be charged. If you get charged, then he will need to pay you an extra amount to cover the charges before you send him the CD.


It would probably be cheaper if he mailed CHF cash to you, tracked, and you converted it at the worst possible rate (i.e. a post office). Someone from Finland did that with me - he needed to pay me £60, and it cost him about €100 to exchange and post it securely, when the exchange rate was 1.17. ... Maybe he was laundering money but it was only £60

Tunstallstoven

Thanks both of you for the help.

It's quite an expensive CD (£40) and quite rare, so he says he is happy to cover the additional costs. I will however check that he will be sending the money in pounds rather than his currency. As you say zerog, I'll tell him I want £x in my account in pounds and leave the rest to him. He says he is going to use the "our cost" option t the Swiss PO. Anyone ever heard of that?

I suppose one of the things that made me hesitant was whether it is safe or not. If I give him my details and my bank details, is there anyway he can do anything that he shouldn't? Cannot imagine what, but you never know! He certainly does not sound like a scammer, but you never know these days.

Hazzanet

Transfers abroad incur third-party fees which are levied by the banks handling the transaction. These fees are usually charged to the beneficiary, i.e. deducted from the amount (= "beneficiary" option).

With the “ourcost” option the client assume to cover all additional costs up to the beneficiary’s bank. Please note that some banks levy a fee on their clients’ incoming payments. PostFinance has no influence over this.

The "our cost" service is not permitted for all countries/currencies. If it is permitted, the suitable choice possibility appears on the input mask.

https://www.postfinance.ch/pfmobile/help/en/help/payment/transmon/foreigncount/expense.index.html

grumbler

zerog wrote: »

It would probably be cheaper if he mailed CHF cash to you, tracked, and you converted it at the worst possible rate (i.e. a post office).

He can buy and mail £££.