Selling a caravan - is on-line banking safe ?

[RayS]

If selling a caravan privately it would be possible for the buyer to transfer funds from his account to that of the seller immediately, using the seller's computer or his own smart phone. The seller could see that the transaction had taken place and even then move the funds to some other account before handing over keys and documents.

This would avoid all the problems of bank drafts, large amounts of cash, waiting for cheques to clear etc.
Has anyone done this ?
Are there any problems or pitfalls ?
Is there any way the buyer could cancel the transaction or subsequently recover the funds ?

 

[Dustydog]

Call me old fashioned Ray but what's wrong with the good old folding stuff??
I've read stories where monies can be grabbed back by banks etc after a deal has taken place particularly European Banks !!

 

[Raywood]

To do this the buyer needs your bank sort code and account number. Sounds potentialy dangerous but your bank might be able to advise you better than us,

 

[otherclive]

Money transferred on line into your account is safe. The risky ones generally involved money orders paid in which then would not clear. You can take a cheque directly to your bank and pay for express clearance but I'd rather use on line bank to bank transfer or dear old crinklies taken straight to the bank and paid in.

 

[Surfer]

When we sold our caravan, the asked for the money in cash and then deposited into our account. I would not trust an Online transaction even if I am told it is safe. If the transfer is over £10,000 I think it is queried for money laundering purposes.

 

[DeliDave_]

I used online banking to sell motorcycle with no probs.The only details the buyer gets are on a cheque anyway and I've never heard of accessing funds with just those details,we'd all be plundered if that was possible.The other way I've used was to take the buyer to the bank and pay the cash in as you then know there is no forgeries and also you cant be robbed at all.Cash payments over £5000 can be queried by the Inland Revenue but they have probably got there hands full with the cutbacks everywhere

 

[MichaelE]

You can only transfer £10000 a day, very safe the best way to do it is what you have already said, transfer the money to another account straight away as they have a couple of hrs grace when they can stop it, also they can only transfer if they actually have the money in their account.
If they have your account details they cant access your account due to the security fobs you get, they may set up a direct debit for something but the banks write to you about this anyway.
Problem with accepting thousands in cash are forgeries, are you going to check every note? Banks are not open at the weekend to check them.

 

[otherclive]

You can only transfer £10000 a day, very safe the best way to do it is what you have already said, transfer the money to another account straight away as they have a couple of hrs grace when they can stop it, also they can only transfer if they actually have the money in their account.
If they have your account details they cant access your account due to the security fobs you get, they may set up a direct debit for something but the banks write to you about this anyway.
Problem with accepting thousands in cash are forgeries, are you going to check every note? Banks are not open at the weekend to check them.

i have transferred over £10000 when I bought my car. Is this a new limit imposed by FSA or a particular bank's limit. Also on my two on line accounts neither seem to give me the option to cancel a transaction. I get the chance to review then confirm. After that the screen tells me it will be paid and the date if it is a weekend or holiday. Surely your idea of moving the money into another account to deny the buyer the chance to cancel has a weakness. If he has two hour in which to cancel he could still do this as the money is sitting in your account for two hours where you have the option to cancel before it goes into your linked account. Seems a strange set up.

 

[otherclive]

I have just looked up Barclays, HSBC and Nationwide and the limits for Internet transfers range via £30000 per day via £250000 to $350000. So most caravan transactions should go through! Also cancelling a transaction was possible but had to be done by phone and could only be pursued if it hasn't already gone through. In my experience transfers done in the week are almost instantaneous.

 

[MichaelE]

You can only transfer £10000 a day, very safe the best way to do it is what you have already said, transfer the money to another account straight away as they have a couple of hrs grace when they can stop it, also they can only transfer if they actually have the money in their account.
If they have your account details they cant access your account due to the security fobs you get, they may set up a direct debit for something but the banks write to you about this anyway.
Problem with accepting thousands in cash are forgeries, are you going to check every note? Banks are not open at the weekend to check them.

i have transferred over £10000 when I bought my car. Is this a new limit imposed by FSA or a particular bank's limit. Also on my two on line accounts neither seem to give me the option to cancel a transaction. I get the chance to review then confirm. After that the screen tells me it will be paid and the date if it is a weekend or holiday. Surely your idea of moving the money into another account to deny the buyer the chance to cancel has a weakness. If he has two hour in which to cancel he could still do this as the money is sitting in your account for two hours where you have the option to cancel before it goes into your linked account. Seems a strange set up.

From what i understand a BACs payment can be recalled the same working day it was sent, but if you transfer the monies straight away to another account it cannot be recalled as it is no longer in that account?

 

[Gafferbill]

......by definition if you are selling privately then you can set the rules of the sale.
I simply would not let the buyer take delivery of the caravan until I was 100% sure I had all the money whatever the method of payment.
I would check this with my bank and ask for a definitive written bank statement of cleared funds in my account.
If the buyer did not accept my rules I would refuse the sale.

 

[otherclive]

I agree that the seller sets the rules. Howver Michael should be aware that the Faster Payement scheme covers 95% of UK sterling transactions and if being used by internet or telephone once a payment has been authorised it cannot be recalled. The Natwest websiite has a useful set of Q&As that answer some of the 'myths'. The systems have changed significantly over the last few years to reflect new techonolgy and societal trends. I'd feel safer taking £10k on line than receiveing notes.

 

[Surfer]

You can only transfer £10000 a day, very safe the best way to do it is what you have already said, transfer the money to another account straight away as they have a couple of hrs grace when they can stop it, also they can only transfer if they actually have the money in their account.
If they have your account details they cant access your account due to the security fobs you get, they may set up a direct debit for something but the banks write to you about this anyway.
Problem with accepting thousands in cash are forgeries, are you going to check every note? Banks are not open at the weekend to check them.

i have transferred over £10000 when I bought my car. Is this a new limit imposed by FSA or a particular bank's limit. Also on my two on line accounts neither seem to give me the option to cancel a transaction. I get the chance to review then confirm. After that the screen tells me it will be paid and the date if it is a weekend or holiday. Surely your idea of moving the money into another account to deny the buyer the chance to cancel has a weakness. If he has two hour in which to cancel he could still do this as the money is sitting in your account for two hours where you have the option to cancel before it goes into your linked account. Seems a strange set up.

From what i understand a BACs payment can be recalled the same working day it was sent, but if you transfer the monies straight away to another account it cannot be recalled as it is no longer in that account?

The catch is that the account that it was in will become horribly overdrawn.

 

[MichaelE]

You can only transfer £10000 a day, very safe the best way to do it is what you have already said, transfer the money to another account straight away as they have a couple of hrs grace when they can stop it, also they can only transfer if they actually have the money in their account.
If they have your account details they cant access your account due to the security fobs you get, they may set up a direct debit for something but the banks write to you about this anyway.
Problem with accepting thousands in cash are forgeries, are you going to check every note? Banks are not open at the weekend to check them.

i have transferred over £10000 when I bought my car. Is this a new limit imposed by FSA or a particular bank's limit. Also on my two on line accounts neither seem to give me the option to cancel a transaction. I get the chance to review then confirm. After that the screen tells me it will be paid and the date if it is a weekend or holiday. Surely your idea of moving the money into another account to deny the buyer the chance to cancel has a weakness. If he has two hour in which to cancel he could still do this as the money is sitting in your account for two hours where you have the option to cancel before it goes into your linked account. Seems a strange set up.

From what i understand a BACs payment can be recalled the same working day it was sent, but if you transfer the monies straight away to another account it cannot be recalled as it is no longer in that account?

The catch is that the account that it was in will become horribly overdrawn.

Why will it become horribly overdrawn? The idea of BACs is the funds have to be available, they cant take whats not there?