Safe way to accept payment for a car

Tom2023

Because a bank transfer can be recalled for up to 121 days what other options are there to accept £20,000 for a car sale?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this matter

eskbanker

Tom2023 said:

Because a bank transfer can be recalled for up to 121 days what other options are there to accept £20,000 for a car sale?

Out of curiosity, where did you get that 121 days from?

Bank transfers can't really be 'recalled' as such, but if the sender convinces their bank that there was fraud then the money/account can be frozen, but if there is sufficient evidence available to counter such allegations then the recipient should ultimately be OK, so the moral of the story would be to ensure plenty of documentation confirming safe receipt, etc, and to use an account other than your main one.

Many will advocate cash as being safest, but there's always the risk of forgeries and paying large cash sums into banks can spook them and initiate AML processes, although again, with sufficient supporting evidence these should ultimately be resolved....

born_again

Never heard of the 121 days, unless you are referring to chargebacks (120), which are for card payments & not bank transfers.

Bank transfer is as safe as it gets.
Just make sure that the funds are in your account before releasing car, & not fall for the scammers with fake banking apps showings funds transferred from their account & then saying it must be stuck at your bank.

If you are that worried, then just P/X car or sell to We Buy Any Car or the other major companies doing the same.

Hoenir

Bankers draft

wmb194

Tom2023 said:

Because a bank transfer can be recalled for up to 121 days what other options are there to accept £20,000 for a car sale?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this matter

Cash….....

Tom2023

eskbanker said:

Tom2023 said:

Because a bank transfer can be recalled for up to 121 days what other options are there to accept £20,000 for a car sale?

Out of curiosity, where did you get that 121 days from?

My bank manager

Tom2023

Hoenir said:

Bankers draft

I wouldn't know what a genuine one looked like

CliveOfIndia

wmb194 said:

Tom2023 said:

Because a bank transfer can be recalled for up to 121 days what other options are there to accept £20,000 for a car sale?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this matter

Cash….....

Cash can work, but there's a couple of things to bear in mind.  Firstly, you run the risk of accepting forged notes, which could be refused when you come to deposit them.  To get around this, you could physically go into the bank (with the buyer, if they want to accompany you), and wait while the cashier verifies the notes and records them as successfully deposited.

That approach in itself introduces an element of risk - purely from the fact that you're walking around with a large amount of cash in your pocket.

Then there's the possibility that depositing a large amount of cash could raise red flags in terms of Anti Money Laundering rules.

In the good old days we always used to use a cheque, and wait until it had cleared before releasing the car.  But then that puts the buyer at risk (you could deposit the cheque but not give them the car when it's cleared).

A Bank Draft is one alternative (as long as you can be sure it's a real one, not forged).

But overall, a straightforward bank transfer is the easiest and safest.  You can check yourself that the funds are in your account before releasing the car.

eskbanker

Tom2023 said:

eskbanker said:

Tom2023 said:

Because a bank transfer can be recalled for up to 121 days what other options are there to accept £20,000 for a car sale?

Out of curiosity, where did you get that 121 days from?

My bank manager

Sounds like some crossed wires somewhere along the line then, unless anyone can identify a verifiable and authoritative supporting citation, but did s/he offer any advice about safe methods of receiving large payments?

km1500

to be honest, there isn't a truely safe way

bank transfer - can be recalled if the scammer for example is using somebody else's account which they have hacked or whatever 

cash - I doubt if you have the experience to tell the real banknote from a good forgery

bankers draft - again can be forged and would you know what it forged one looks like?

GeoffTF

How about a bankers draft or building society cheque that you saw being issued in the bank or building society. You could even ask the buyer to bring the cheque to your bank or building society and see it being accepted and deposited.