Ensuring
safe payment
Ensuring safe payment is essential for both the
buyer and the seller. Sadly there are fraudulent bank notes, banker's drafts and
of course fraudulent credit and debit cards around, so prudent checks and procedures
are simply both necessary and wise. There are also a number of clever scams where
sellers are pestered by prospective buyers offering an advance payment by email
- these scams tend to come from Nigeria and East European countries and are often
characterised by poor English. Now assuming you have viewed the car in person
and have agreed a deal, so what are the safe ways to pay? |
Paying
cash for a private sale
A buyer should hand
over the cash payment for the car in a bank so the seller can go the bank counter
and pay it in straight away. More
on cash |
Paying
cash to a trader
Unless a trader is registered as a High Value
Dealer or HVD with HM Revenue and Customs, payments in excess of the Sterling
equivalent of €15,000 cannot be accepted in cash for amounts greater than
the limit above. More on HVD |
Paying
by banker's draft
Payment using a bank or building society cheque
or draft has been a popular vehicle payment method but sadly the fraudsters are
active.
More
on banker's draft |
Paying
by bank transfer
An immediate bank transfer can be made using the
CHAPS system for a nominal fee. Just a note of caution with bank transfers - this
is an area for many attempted scams. More
on bank transfer |
Paying
by a credit or debit card
A trader will be concerned by the card
issuer's percentage fee and they will need to ensure that the card account will
permit a large payment. More
on card payment |
Safe
trading cautions and advice
See the Metropolitan Police and VSTAG
advice online. More |
What
do car buying scams look like?
See an example. Scams
|
