Can my money be returned to sender ?

Half_Baked_Mike

Many apologies if this thread is in the wrong place, I'm in the process of selling a pair of minors lamps to a guy in the US, this is not a ebay sale just a private sale, he want to pay by wire transfer straight in to my Halifax account, and I would like to know if this is a safe method of payment as I read on the internet that buyers can reverse a transaction, and it is a lot of money for me to lose (£300) any advice would be appreciated. thanks Mike

bod1467

Generally ... with a direct payment into your bank account, then once the money is there it is yours. The only way the payment can be reversed is if YOU agree to the reversal.

Make sure you factor in currency exchange charges, or insist the buyer pays in GBP.

dodger1

As bod says "generally" however I'd ask my bank first.

Crystallady

Under normal circumstances once the payments is credited to your account your bank need your consent to return the payment however I believe that if the transaction is found to be fraudulent the funds can be claimed back without your consent. As the others say best to check with your bank.

paddyrg

Quick sanity check - is it reasonable that the items would be unavailable in the USA and worth postage? You'll know, they might be quality antiques or second-hand-shop tat! Bottom-end scammers won't know the items very well, some will open their communications discussing 'the item' as a copy and paste, rather than 'the lamps' (or whatever). Did the buyer ask reasonable questions or display a knowledge of the specific item? The more specific they are, the more likely they're not going to rip you off. Hardly guaranteed, but a lack of knowledge is a sure red flag.

Can you use a system like ukash, western union, moneygram instead? They cost more but the payment is collected by you in cash and irreversible (which is why they have a bad reputation as scammers use them to avoid bill backs!)

wacko911

Once they have your bank account details they could lodge a fraudulent international cheque in your UK bank account which will clear after 3 days and then get reversed seveal weeks later.