1200 paid in instalments

coconutcurls

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

Can you afford to lose £1,200?  If so, by all means give the item to the old woman and hope that she makes the payments as demanded.  She might, which would be the ideal outcome, or she might not, and you can write the whole thing off as a bad job.  Are you prepared to accept doing that?  

If not, there's nothing to stop you setting up a plan to pay in instalments (without interest, presumably) and writing a proper contract for the buyer to sign.  That gives you proper protection in the event of non-payment and will give you a cast iron case if it becomes necessary to sue the buyer.  Would you be prepared to do that?  You will have to if you can't afford to lose the money and the old woman fails to cough up.  

The bottom line is that one shouldn't become emotionally invested in business transactions.  You are offering something for sale on the open market and owe nothing to anybody, other than the goods in exchange for the price agreed.  Save yourself the potential heartache and just sell whatever it is to the first in the queue with the requisite cash in his/her pocket.  You mention liking the pensioner's 'story'; unfortunately, stories are often just that.  Life's storytellers are, in my experience, storytellers for a reason.  Straight shooters, on the other hand, don't have a 'story', they simply pay up and never bother you again.  It is sensible, therefore, to look for one of them to deal with.  

Oh, and for the love of God forget the nonsense about the Mac Book laptop.  

No, can’t afford to lose 1200 and I am not a prifessional merchant either. 

Why do you think the macbook idea is nonsense? 

Honestly I think it is a solution 

Ath_Wat

If somebody can't afford £1200 up front you can't possibly rely on them to be able to afford £100 a month.  If that amount wasn't a problem for them they would have money saved.

JReacher1

It’s obviously worse case scenario but she’s a pensioner so could potentially pass away before she’s paid this loan off. Not sure what you would do then. 

John Lewis won’t give credit to a pensioner with a limited income. 

silvercar

Don’t do this, if you want to be kind to her, buy her a Christmas gift.

what would you do if she phones you up next month and tells you that she needs to use the next instalment to pay her gas bill otherwise they will cut her off?

Sncjw

What makes you think that she will be able to get credit on such a low income? 

coconutcurls

She is on her 60s

She lives in a much better area and much better home than me - I mean a lot better

If she thinks she can afford 100/month there are chances she can afford 60/month - I checked and JL offer this facility to pensioners too

She just had a setback a few months ago and also refecorated her house - that is why she doesn’t have cash upfront - she could save 100/month and pay cash in 12 months but the item won’t be available

The warranty comes with the machine - if she forward me the email with the proof of purchase or request a hard copy then there will be no problems

Pollycat

coconutcurls said:

She is on her 60s

She lives in a much better area and much better home than me - I mean a lot better

If she thinks she can afford 100/month there are chances she can afford 60/month - I checked and JL offer this facility to pensioners too

She just had a setback a few months ago and also refecorated her house - that is why she doesn’t have cash upfront - she could save 100/month and pay cash in 12 months but the item won’t be available

The warranty comes with the machine - if she forward me the email with the proof of purchase or request a hard copy then there will be no problems

I think you are muddying the water by bringing in the Mac book.

I'm not sure it matters where or what sort of house she lives in - people can be asset rich but cash poor.

How long have you known this lady?
For quite a while or just since you decided to sell this item?

You ask what others would do.
I'd not sell to this lady unless she can raise the £1200 cash upfront.

macman

There is no 'protection' or 'security' either with a DD (impossible anyway for you to set up on a personal account) or an SO. Your new friend can simply cancel them at will if she chooses to.
You met her online, she came to your house, but you know where she lives, or you know where she says she lives? Have you actually seen proof of address?
The reality is that you should only make this arrangement if you can afford to lose £1,200. Maybe she is totally honest, but you won't know that until you hand over the goods and take the risk.
Unlikely that someone who owns their own home and presumably is in receipt of a pension could not get a personal loan for as little as £1200?

tightauldgit

coconutcurls said:

@london21 @sheramber

I am confident she will not lose interest and it will improve her life

Something ocurred to me: my daughter wants a macbook which is sold at JL at 1249 or interest free instalments - 69.38 over 18 months or even less over 24 months. 
Providing JL accept her for the loan - would it be a good idea she buys the macbook for my daughter as a gift and pays out of her own bank account whichever way she wants,  this way if she defaults it doesn’t affect me. 

The only problem I see is me needing proof of purchase etc for warranty purposes….is there a way around it?

Honestly wouldn't touch this with a bargepole. A person you don't know from Adam is asking you to offer them £1200 in credit with no security on the basis of a sob story? Even in the best case that it's not a scam - a pensioner with health issues is not a great bet to give a loan to. 

Your other idea of the Macbook is not really a solution - what happens if she doesn't pay JL and they want the laptop back? In any case I'd imagine she's unlikely to be approved for credit based on the information you gave us. She'd also probably be breaking the terms of the credit agreement to be effectively selling you the laptop after she bought it when its still subject to financing.

You'd have to look at the T&Cs very carefully on the JL credit.

Seems like a hell of a lot of bother for everyone involved. Just sell the item to someone with the money to buy it.  

coconutcurls

Thank you all

I can offer her a discount and sell the item for 1000 - see if she can get a small loan - and then buy the macbook that cost 900something - seems like a good compromise

Or wait for the other people interested to make a decision and get back to me