P.O and Bankers Draft? SAFE OR NOT?

chompie

someone has just bought a couple of things from me, and they've sent me an email saying they will be sending payment by P.O or bankers draft.
Now recently i have seen a couple of things saying these methods are open to fraud, (isn't everything?)
but i don't see how, as you withdraw the P.O in the post office and the bankers draft is just a cheque printed by a bank (isn't it?)

so what i'm asking is this possibly fraud or are these methods pretty safe?
Buyer has +4 feedback

soolin

chompie wrote:

someone has just bought a couple of things from me, and they've sent me an email saying they will be sending payment by P.O or bankers draft.
Now recently i have seen a couple of things saying these methods are open to fraud, (isn't everything?)
but i don't see how, as you withdraw the P.O in the post office and the bankers draft is just a cheque printed by a bank (isn't it?)

so what i'm asking is this possibly fraud or are these methods pretty safe?
Buyer has +4 feedback

BOth are fine. If the postal order arrives crossed then you need to pay it into your bank account, it can't be cashed. If it is uncrossed then you can cash it at the post office when you send the parcel.

Bank drafts are rarely used as they are expensive, however ebay lump them into the same tick box as postal orders. If you do get a bankers draft then it should not be treated as cash, pay it into your bank just like a normal cheque and wait a few days before confirming with your bank that it has cleared. In the good old days (cough) bank drafts were as safe as cash, but in the past few years there have been several lots stolen from banks and they need to clear against fraud.

You are more likely to get a postal order though. The only reason I am quoted on here as refusing postal orders is that I have unreliable post and have had several stolen. Buyers rarely fill them out properly or keep the receipt part so I have ended up with irate buyers insisting that they have made payment by postal order and yet have never received payment. I don't accept cash for the same reason.

Soo

deecy

I'd say it was probably fine, anyone without a cheque account would use this method & it's cleared funds. Get them made out to you not left blank & crossed as account payee only, thats if they haven't sent them already. You can cash the PO's but if you put either Postal Orders or Bankers Draft in the bank it'll take as long as a cheque to go through - bank scam lol

Rockee

Further to the other comments make sure that they make it out to you or your business account and not your ebay user ID, as this can happen (not to me but some people forget!).
Also, if they are sending a PO, I usually say on my payment details 'if not sent via recorded post, then am not responsible for loss or damage), this stops the scammers who claim they have sent it and never have and also naughty postmen (as last week in London who were caught taking new cheque books). So far I haven't had any problems with PO's.
Rockee