giving out bank details to a buyer

Another thing I would like to add. Are you happy to sell your puppy to someone who hasn't even seen it yet? I certainly wouldn't want to buy an animal I hadn't seen or sell to someone who is prepared to do that. That is setting off more alarm bells than the bank transfer to be honest.

stripeyfox wrote: »

We have sold a couple of litters. I tend to do as much vetting as possible upfront before I even consider letting them visit to see them. In terms of payment, I ask for a deposit of say £100 paid by cash or bank transfer with the balance on collection. I had no issue with giving my bank account details (it was a savings account in any case).

I would not ask for full payment before collection as you don't know if the puppy will pass all it's healthchecks etc

I agree that a deposit is normal in these circumstances, but paying the full amount before even seeing the dog and the conditions it is being kept in is worrying.

Advice welcome on the best way of dealing with this. The buyer wants to secure the purchase now and lives almost 300 miles away from us.

Honestly? Don't sell live animals sight unseen to a buyer you've never met in an area you've never been. This is a terrible idea, for you, for the buyer, and for the dog you're selling.



To keep your bank details safe you can set up a savings account as stripeyfox mentioned, and use that for payments made via bank transfer. When money goes it, you immediately transfer it out again, that way if you give the details of that account to a scammer they won't be able to do much with it.
Beware of the buyer attempting to overpay you by another method (.e.g cheque) and then asking for a refund of the overpayment, it's a common scam.



And please, do your checks and research on the buyer before you let anyone take the dog from you. It is beyond strange that someone buying a puppy would not want to see it live in person before they make payment in full. How do they know that's the puppy they want? How do they know it's in good health, that its' temperament is suitable for them, that they even like that particular puppy?

Unless of course it doesn't matter which puppy they get, because they're planning to sell it on or use it for some other money making scheme. Is the dog from a breed commonly used for fighting? Is it from a good pedigree? Is the buyer a puppy farm? You really, really should check them out as thoroughly as you can.

stripeyfox wrote: »

We have sold a couple of litters. I tend to do as much vetting as possible upfront before I even consider letting them visit to see them. In terms of payment, I ask for a deposit of say £100 paid by cash or bank transfer with the balance on collection. I had no issue with giving my bank account details (it was a savings account in any case).

I would not ask for full payment before collection as you don't know if the puppy will pass all it's healthchecks etc

https://www.gov.uk/dog-breeding-licence-england-scotland-wales

Do you need a licence yet?

I have read before that people paying by Bank Transfer can get the money transferred back to them although I don't know the ins and outs of that but 'asmeaboutsofas' above has suggested moving the money as soon as it's in the account so that might avoid any scamming. Hopefully if they did try to transfer the money back to themselves it wouldn't put your account into a debit balance if it was only used for quick in and out again transactions. I have seen many people telling others to avoid bank transfers.


I do remember seeing a programme about scammers who were buying a car from someone and they sent a 'courier' to collect it after doing a bank transfer. Once the car was collected, they then reversed the bank transfer so the car owner lost the car and the money. This wasn't a one-off scam either as they were doing that and shipping the cars abroad apparently.


A few years ago I was selling a few furniture items and I got the same message that the person would send a 'courier' to collect a table and chairs and would pay by bank transfer. Luckily I googled at the time and it was another scam which was happening in the same way as the car.