Is bank transfer a safe way of selling my car?

Nodding_Donkey

eddddy wrote: »

To summarise...

- a legitimate transfer cannot be cancelled/reversed

- but if a fraudster has hacked into somebody else's account and does a transfer, when the real account holder reports the fraud, it will be reversed. (It may even be a couple of weeks later before the fraud is noticed.)


(The second example is what happens when a buyer says something like "I'll have to transfer £2000 extra, can you return the extra £2000 by Western Union?")

But you can't just transfer money if you somehow get access to someone's online banking, you need their card and pin number to put in a card reader to authorise it.

The examples you have given are when someone pays you with a stolen cheque

worried_jim

eddddy wrote: »

To summarise...

- a legitimate transfer cannot be cancelled/reversed

- but if a fraudster has hacked into somebody else's account and does a transfer, when the real account holder reports the fraud, it will be reversed. (It may even be a couple of weeks later before the fraud is noticed.)


(The second example is what happens when a buyer says something like "I'll have to transfer £2000 extra, can you return the extra £2000 by Western Union?")

If the funds have gone to different banking group (in this case RBS Group to Lloyds banking group) they can ask for the money back and the account holder just needs to say no- there is nothing Natwest can do, they can choose to refund the money to the account out of their own funds. If the transfer is between accounts in the same business it will be easier for them to just take it.

I would go for the transfer myself, I would never ever take a bankers draft but remember that cash is king.

sexyshark

worried_jim wrote: »

If the funds have gone to different banking group (in this case RBS Group to Lloyds banking group) they can ask for the money back and the account holder just needs to say no- there is nothing Natwest can do, they can choose to refund the money to the account out of their own funds. If the transfer is between accounts in the same business it will be easier for them to just take it.

I would go for the transfer myself, I would never ever take a bankers draft but remember that cash is king.

unless they are fake

macman

Cash is king unless you are talking about thousands of pounds. Otherwise BACS by faster payments, that normally covers it up to about £10K depending on the bank.
Very few people know what a genuine banker's draft looks like, so how would they spot a forgery?

roonaldo

shammyjack wrote: »

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4112337


http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/BacsDirectCredit/PayingBy/Pages/GettingStarted.aspx

Faster payments is not BACS.

http://www.fasterpayments.org.uk/about-us/how-faster-payments-works

Geodark

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

But you can't just transfer money if you somehow get access to someone's online banking, you need their card and pin number to put in a card reader to authorise it.

The examples you have given are when someone pays you with a stolen cheque

Nope, that depends on the bank - with one of my accounts I need to use a card reader, but my account with a different bank I just need the account password.

jimjames

eddddy wrote: »

To summarise...

- a legitimate transfer cannot be cancelled/reversed

- but if a fraudster has hacked into somebody else's account and does a transfer, when the real account holder reports the fraud, it will be reversed. (It may even be a couple of weeks later before the fraud is noticed.)


(The second example is what happens when a buyer says something like "I'll have to transfer £2000 extra, can you return the extra £2000 by Western Union?")

If you're really worried about them.being fake then I'd ask to see photo ID and something with address too. You could even take a photo of them.

But if you're selling a car you don't want to make it too hard for a buyer. Bank transfer via faster payments is the safest option I think.

neilmcl

shammyjack wrote: »

They can and have been recalled ! Bankers Draft is much safer !

I think you have that the other way round.

You may want to read this, particularly the third FAQ - http://www.natwest.com/microsites/personal/faster_payments_service/faster_payments_faq.asp

macman

Geodark wrote: »

Nope, that depends on the bank - with one of my accounts I need to use a card reader, but my account with a different bank I just need the account password.

That usually applies only to a new payee. My bank also send me a text message when a new payee is set up.

eddddy

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

But you can't just transfer money if you somehow get access to someone's online banking, you need their card and pin number to put in a card reader to authorise it.

The examples you have given are when someone pays you with a stolen cheque

To put my post into context - I was clarifying that an online transfer can be cancelled if it is fraudulent, but not because the payer 'changes his/her mind'.

I'm sure online banking fraud has been reduced due to card readers, phone verification etc, but it still seems to occur...

Possibly due to family/friends knowing PINs and having access to cards and phones. Or possibly by fraudsters fooling the bank's call centres into updating mobile numbers and addresses, sending out new cards to new addresses etc.