How do I know if I've been paid via CHAPS or BACS?

northwalesd

harsh_but_fair said:

All this of course begs the question that in this day and age with electronic payments how can one protect oneself and as far as I can see the answer is you cannot unless you take any payment in cash

And taking cash won't save you as when you try to deposit it in your bank account the staff will interrogate you with lights shining in your eyes and freeze your account anyway 

Fighter1986

Over the years when buying cars I've had two different experiences usually:

1. The payment reaches the recipient immediately
2. The payment doesn't reach the recipient for 24 hours despite being identified as a faster payment (probably fraud checks)

One golden rule I always suggest when buying or selling a car is that the buyer first sends £1 and the recipient ensures they've received it before the balance is paid. 

born_again

harsh_but_fair said:

2. Yes indeed -  a few days after receiving the money into your account you could find the 20K withdrawn with the fraudser claiming to their bank that you have scammed them. You will of course reply no I didn't he took my car but either way you will be into a fight of he said she said

It used to be that paying money by bank transfer or faster payment was a way to do things but unfortunately the world has changed over the last few years as we all know

To may people fell for push scams and sent money to wrong accounts. So FCA decided that something needed doing. So that has opened a new door for the scammers.