Cash buyer...is it safe?

We have our Autosleeper Harmony (1996) for sale.  Tomorrow (Saturday) a chap is driving from Hertfordshire to Devon and bringing cash with him.  He may or may not buy the van, but seems to expect to be able to drive it away after paying us cash. It is a 3 hour drive and he is hiring a car specially apparently. What precautions can we take to make sure we are not conned out of our van?

The only drawback i can think of is forged notes if your local bank is open Saturday you could maybe go with the buyer to deposit the cash. When i sold my last van although it was only £2.5k the guy drove 4hrs from Scotland and paid in scottish money but i was ok. paying near 16k for my autosleeper i went on the train 3hrs with a bankers draft which i now know can be forged but the seller accepted it.

Mike

I don't understand how you think you can be conned if he is paying cash? Forged money perhaps?
Please explain your concerns.

Frank

Bank of England booklet: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

boxerman wrote:I don't understand how you think you can be conned if he is paying cash? Forged money perhaps?
Please explain your concerns.

Frank

Yes...forged money, I suppose.  The bank will be closed on Saturday afternoon so won't be able to pay in until Monday.  Also, I've just thought about tax....how does that work now?  Will he have to ring up from here in order to tax it before he can drive it? You can't carry tax over any more can you?

Momac wrote:
Yes...forged money, I suppose.  The bank will be closed on Saturday afternoon so won't be able to pay in until Monday.  Also, I've just thought about tax....how does that work now?  Will he have to ring up from here in order to tax it before he can drive it? You can't carry tax over any more can you?

He won't be able to tax it without insurance, which unless he's a trader, he won't have. Now that you've mentioned it, I don't see how he could legally drive it home?

Frank

He will have to tax the vehicle before he can legally drive it from your premises.
It can be done on line or by phone (24hrs)

The B of E booklet is good.
Have you got any ultraviolet lights that you could use to check the security?
(maybe one of those flykillers)

There is also an app, but I don't know how good it is.
You do have a bit of time to try it.

Also Staples and WH Smiths sell the banknote security pens.

All the best.

PB

When I bought my van, I arranged with the insurance beforehand, giving them the particulars of the van that I may buy, then I phoned them after I had seen the van and I was covered for 24 hours , to get it home and then did the insurance for the twelve months.
I paid some by cash, can only pay up to £9,000 anyway, then the rest by bankers draft. Private sale,

The second time I arranged with bank, then when at the dealers I rang the bank and they transferred the money to the dealers account.

There is a way around the tax, must be, get in touch with a garage and find out how they go on.
The dealer paid the tax ( I gave him the cash)  at the post office while I sat in the office.

daisy mae wrote:
There is a way around the tax, must be, get in touch with a garage and find out how they go on.

That is the buyer's responsibility, not the sellers.

Frank

peugeotboxer wrote:
The B of E booklet is good.
PB

It would be better if the images of the notes matched the descriptive text

Frank

There are two supposed threats here: forged banknotes and a follow-up visit to relieve you of the recently acquired cash. I'd imagine both are rare, the second may be apocryphal. Even so, I'd not be hugely comfortable with handling all that cash and there's really no need for it in the digital age. Even if neither of you have online bank accounts your banks should still be able to help you over the phone.

Doubtful he would pay in £5's but already there are forged versions of the new plastic fiver despite all the security built in. Because they are so new, not everyone has seen many if any and 'spotting a forgery will be hard.

Cash is reasonably safe though i understand your concern. What sort of amount is involved?

When i bought my van i viewed first taking just a small amount of cash to leave as deposit if i purchased. The van was exactly what i'd been looking for so we completed the deal and i left him £100 cash deposit. He then gave me his bank account number and the week i was due to collect the van i made a cash transfer to his account. That's by far the most secure and safe method, not to mention it saves the buyer carting a thick wad of notes around!

Why is he hiring a car? If coming alone, what's he going to do with the car. If bringing someone with him why can't they use his car. Don't let him test drive it on his own leaving the cash with you for security, that's when you find its forged.

Thankyou everyone for all your help.  I have a Santander account, but they will be closed tomorrow afternoon.  I have just been to the Post Office (which is now housed in WH Smith here) and they will be open Sat pm and can take 10K in cash into my bank...so I will take the buyer with me and pay it in there and then.  He can then tax it there if he so wishes (apparently it's his responsibility).  He says he has to hire a car because his wife can only drive an automatic and she would have to drive home in it. (You would think they would have one really, wouldn't you?) After all this, I bet he doesn't buy it!!  He says he's seen 4 or 5 and the head gasket had 'gone' on them all.  Apparently, it's a known problem?  Not by us, it isn't!

The story about the hire car may be true, but it's also a technique that some people use (I've had it done to me in slightly different circumstances) to make the seller feel obliged to do a deal. My take on it is that if they have to hire a car that is entirely their choice, and it is not a good reason why the seller should feel obliged to compromise on price.

-mojo- wrote:The story about the hire car may be true, but it's also a technique that some people use (I've had it done to me in slightly different circumstances) to make the seller feel obliged to do a deal. My take on it is that if they have to hire a car that is entirely their choice, and it is not a good reason why the seller should feel obliged to compromise on price.

I don't think that's likely to happen.  We are in no hurry to sell, and they are the first to view....and my OH is Scottish!

I would have thought if they were serious buyers travelling a long distance then they would haven the asking price with them to ensure they were not disappointed.  I certainly would not go to all that trouble and show up without enough cash.  Be strong!

If he buys it ask him to do a bank transfer while at your house.

1. Did he buy it?
2 Did you get mugged later?

bikeralw wrote:When I sold our last van the buyer came 200 miles up from Essex on the train. I met him in our car from the station and drove him the 12 miles to our house, so it was really a commitment on his part. After a test drive he handed over a big envelope of £50 notes all sealed with bank tape in blocks of a thousand, 14 of them! Even though sealed we still counted them all. The only worry I had was that neither me or my wife had seen a current £50 note before...
There were a few questions when I paid them into the building society the next day.
Al.

I'm not surprised.

Ever tried asking for a few grands worth of cash from a Bank in 50's? You are lucky if they have more than £500 quids worth and the rest will be in 20's!! 21st century and UK still doesn't have a £100 note. How backward is that?!!!  

Bulletguy wrote:21st century and UK still doesn't have a £100 note. How backward is that?!!!  

I'm led to believe (by the BBC in a recent article on their website) that the quantity of high denomination notes is deliberately restricted, because the main uses of them are illegal - either for money laundering or for transporting money between countries. One of the biggest problems today (apparently) for criminals is converting traceable cash into non-traceable cash which "proceeds of crime" actions can't take off them.

IIRC someone did a study of the largest denomination Euro note recently and found that there was almost no honest reason for anyone having them in any quantity larger than single notes, and I ~think~ they are debating whether to withdraw them as a result.

I was once given a 1000 dong note as a tip. I'll let you look that up!