Banker's Draft

[davieG]

Anyone ever received one of these in payment for something?

If so how did you handle/manage the handover of the goods being exchanged as it would seem they can still be stopped or be fakes?

Are there any better more reliable options that are practical and acceptable to the seller and buyer?

[AoWW]

I didn't think a banker's draft could be stopped or 'bounce' as such. My understanding is that the banker's draft is taken directly from the financial institution / bank (the drawer will already have effectively transferred the funds to the bank) so it's much safer than a cheque from an individual drawer's account. As such the only things that can 'go wrong' would be if the banker's draft is a forgery or if the bank were to go out of business before the draft is deposited and cleared.

Not sure about alternatives. Paypal?

[davieG]

I didn't think a banker's draft could be stopped or 'bounce' as such. My understanding is that the banker's draft is taken directly from the financial institution / bank (the drawer will already have effectively transferred the funds to the bank) so it's much safer than a cheque from an individual drawer's account. As such the only things that can 'go wrong' would be if the banker's draft is a forgery or if the bank were to go out of business before the draft is deposited and cleared.

Not sure about alternatives. Paypal?

I've been doing some research on the web and most say what you say but also add that some banks will still agree to stop them, I guess it depends where you're coming from if you're a buyer and you realise you've bought a 'lemon' then you may have just cause to stop it but as a seller I obviously need a guarantee it's going to be completed without any trouble.

I guess the alternatives depend on the two people having the same facility, is Paypal instant?

[Smudge]

I used to receive a Bankers Cheque or money order for goods sold. In the US it's as good as cash. I'd bank it and when all was cleared I'd ship the goods.

Although it costs you about 3%, Paypal is a safe option.

[davieG]

I used to receive a Bankers Cheque or money order for goods sold. In the US it's as good as cash. I'd bank it and when all was cleared I'd ship the goods.

Although it costs you about 3%, Paypal is a safe option.

I'm selling a vehicle so I'm assuming the buyer will want to take it when handing over the draft and from a buyer's perspective who can blame them, but there is a risk I could end up with no vehicle and no money, there may be actions I can take to recover it or get the money but I'd sooner have an assured payment method than have to go through the distress of trying to recover the situation.

Or am I being too cautious?

[stix]

I'm selling a vehicle so I'm assuming the buyer will want to take it when handing over the draft and from a buyer's perspective who can blame them, but there is a risk I could end up with no vehicle and no money, there may be actions I can take to recover it or get the money but I'd sooner have an assured payment method than have to go through the distress of trying to recover the situation.

Or am I being too cautious?

I think it is quite common for the seller to hold onto the vehicle until the bankers draft has cleared in your situation davie. I have read it lots when viewing cars on ebay.

[AoWW]

It's a tough one as there always has to be an element of trust from one party or the other.

Cash is the obvious answer and the (arguably) safest method but, realistically, it depends how much you're selling the car for and whether the buyer is willing to agree to this. Numerous daily trips to the cashpoint to get £250 / day are a pain in the arse so I can understand why some buyers might not agree. Of course, they could get the cash out direct from their bank. There's always the risk of fake notes, though - check them carefully.

Aren't CHAPS bank payments instant? Never used one myself but might be worth looking into.

I'm not sure there's a perfect answer, tbh, and a lot depends on how comfortable you feel with the buyer and how genuine they seem (hard to judge, I know). Don't be afraid to ask for proof of address documentation (and take a note of it!) and a landline number.

[AoWW]

I think it is quite common for the seller to hold onto the vehicle until the bankers draft has cleared in your situation davie. I have read it lots when viewing cars on ebay.

Maybe, but as I buyer I'd be very wary. The seller then has your funds and still has the vehicle. What's to stop them from doing a disappearing act?

[davieG]

Maybe, but as I buyer I'd be very wary. The seller then has your funds and still has the vehicle. What's to stop them from doing a disappearing act?

Yes this the problem, I can see it from both sides, I think cash maybe be a no no as it's XX,000s.

Never heard of CHAPS bank payment will check it out, don't want to be accused of being sexist

[Smudge]

I'm selling a vehicle so I'm assuming the buyer will want to take it when handing over the draft and from a buyer's perspective who can blame them, but there is a risk I could end up with no vehicle and no money, there may be actions I can take to recover it or get the money but I'd sooner have an assured payment method than have to go through the distress of trying to recover the situation.

Or am I being too cautious?

I don't think so. I'd ask for cash and that is the only way I'd do he deal unless he is prepared to allow the cheque to clear your account.

[Jace]

OK I used to work for Natwest years ago just to clarify a Bankers Draft is a cheque where the funds have already been drawn from the account, this means once a Draft is drawn up by the bank the money is already debited so it cannot bounce so when it clears you don't have to worry about the payee not having the funds. They are very common for car purchases where people do not want to deal in cash or worry about being conned by a cheque.

PROS:

It cannot bounce like a cheque can

CONS:

They are easy to fake. All they are is a cheque with Bankers Draft printed on them anyone with a printer could forge one

You will still have to wait for it to clear like a cheque

[Trav Le Bleu]

Yes this the problem, I can see it from both sides, I think cash maybe be a no no as it's XX,000s.

Never heard of CHAPS bank payment will check it out, don't want to be accused of being sexist

Having worked for Nasty West for a number of years like Jace above, I can tell you CHAPS are probably your safest bet. They are instant, but there is a charge. You could try BACS payment, which can take up to 7 days - however if the buyer has an account at the same bank as you, a BACS payment will be instant. He/she (I'm assuming your purchaser is transexual ) can do this over the phone or internet if they have the services set up (ie, the bank is able to ID them over the phone via passwords etc.)

HOWEVER, this then puts the risk at the feet of the buyer, since they will be giving you an instant, irreversible transaction. We all know they you wouldn't rip some on off ( ), but they're not to know you from Adam I guess and so they might not be willing to do so.

Buying/selling a used car always has an element of risk, but then there are few things in life that are guaranteed (death and taxes aside).

I've read through Wikipedia's explainations of BACS and CHAPS and they seem to be correct as far as I remember (it's been 5 years since I worked at a bank) and they give a lot more detail than I could off the top of my head, so here are a couple of links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BACS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAPS

Hope this helps and all the best with your sale.

[Jace]

Having worked for Nasty West for a number of years like Jace above, I can tell you CHAPS are probably your safest bet. They are instant, but there is a charge. You could try BACS payment, which can take up to 7 days - however if the buyer has an account at the same bank as you, a BACS payment will be instant. He/she (I'm assuming your purchaser is transexual ) can do this over the phone or internet if they have the services set up (ie, the bank is able to ID them over the phone via passwords etc.)

HOWEVER, this then puts the risk at the feet of the buyer, since they will be giving you an instant, irreversible transaction. We all know they you wouldn't rip some on off ( ), but they're not to know you from Adam I guess and so they might not be willing to do so.

Buying/selling a used car always has an element of risk, but then there are few things in life that are guaranteed (death and taxes aside).

I've read through Wikipedia's explainations of BACS and CHAPS and they seem to be correct as far as I remember (it's been 5 years since I worked at a bank) and they give a lot more detail than I could off the top of my head, so here are a couple of links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BACS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAPS

Hope this helps and all the best with your sale.

Would agree with Trav personally I wouldn't buy a bankers draft myself as there are cheaper and better options these days. Internet banking making a payment is probably the cheapest and easiest. If it was me selling a car I would probably just ask for cash tbh. The problem with buying/selling cars is there will always be an element of risk no matter what you do. We last bought a car from a fairly large local car dealer to avoid these problems and hassle and they still ****ed us over big time.

What did you do at Natwest Trav? I was a CSO my dad who is on Foxestalk too is a business manager and his brother is a branch manager. Shite company to work for!

[davieG]

Would agree with Trav personally I wouldn't buy a bankers draft myself as there are cheaper and better options these days. Internet banking making a payment is probably the cheapest and easiest. If it was me selling a car I would probably just ask for cash tbh. The problem with buying/selling cars is there will always be an element of risk no matter what you do. We last bought a car from a fairly large local car dealer to avoid these problems and hassle and they still ****ed us over big time.

What did you do at Natwest Trav? I was a CSO my dad who is on Foxestalk too is a business manager and his brother is a branch manager. Shite company to work for!

They've talked about paying with a bankers draft so presumably not a problem for them it's just me trying to judge how 'safe' this is. I doubt they'd want to do it with cash as we're talking of £1X,000 anyway it's not sold yet.

[AoWW]

Are they local? I've no idea whether this is a viable suggestion but is it possible you accept the bankers draft, but keep the logbook on the proviso you'll given them the logbook as soon as the banker's draft has cleared.

If this is a stupid idea feel free to ignore it!

[Jace]

They've talked about paying with a bankers draft so presumably not a problem for them it's just me trying to judge how 'safe' this is. I doubt they'd want to do it with cash as we're talking of £1X,000 anyway it's not sold yet.

Bankers draft is very normal for cars providing its genuine it should clear fine. The problem is how can you ever tell if its a genuine or not it would be so easy to make a fake 1. Unfortunately with selling a car you always have to put a certain amount of trust in the buyer

[davieG]

Are they local? I've no idea whether this is a viable suggestion but is it possible you accept the bankers draft, but keep the logbook on the proviso you'll given them the logbook as soon as the banker's draft has cleared.

If this is a stupid idea feel free to ignore it!

Coalville, might be a goer.

If I took the BD to the bank while they were still hanging around would the bank be able to confirm it was genuine and clear it straight away?

[Jace]

Coalville, might be a goer.

If I took the BD to the bank while they were still hanging around would the bank be able to confirm it was genuine and clear it straight away?

Probably not because if it was from a different bank they wouldn't be able to be 100% If it makes you feel better though I was a cashier for 4 years and never come across a fake 1

[davieG]

Probably not because if it was from a different bank they wouldn't be able to be 100% If it makes you feel better though I was a cashier for 4 years and never come across a fake 1

I'll probably just go with it, they seemed a decent enough family.

[Trav Le Bleu]

What did you do at Natwest Trav? I was a CSO my dad who is on Foxestalk too is a business manager and his brother is a branch manager. Shite company to work for!

I was a CSO at Bede Island call centre for 3 1/2 years. I thought they were pretty good to work for, treated their staff pretty well, but their customers pretty badly - which is why I left. I hated the "sell, sell, sell" mentality where the "best" CSOs were those that got people to take loans and credit cards etc, regardless of their need/ability to pay.

And look where that got them!

[Jace]

I was a CSO at Bede Island call centre for 3 1/2 years. I thought they were pretty good to work for, treated their staff pretty well, but their customers pretty badly - which is why I left. I hated the "sell, sell, sell" mentality where the "best" CSOs were those that got people to take loans and credit cards etc, regardless of their need/ability to pay.

And look where that got them!

Yeah 100% agree some of the staff training I used to consider a luxury holiday. So many times I would point out that the mis selling of loans and PPI would not work in the long run. No one ever listened and I left just before the whole credit crunch kicked in. I always considered applying to work in the centre on Bede Island so I could 1 day be a Leicester season ticket holder!

[Saxondale]

Aren't CHAPS bank payments instant? Never used one myself but might be worth looking into.

CHAPS aren't instant but overnight, unlike BACS which takes 3 days to clear.

CHAPS is now effectively redundant because most banks are now subscribed to FPS (Faster Payments Service) and, if you use online banking, you can make very quick cleared payments these days.

[Rincewind]

I've had one or two quick payments online. Had a phone call Thursday from the DWP and the money was in my account Friday closing.

I'm sure the buyer can wait a day or so. Isn't Monday bank holiday though if you are doing it then?

[Jordan]

In the US it's as good as cash.

Not necessarily. If you try to negotiate that item at the institution it was issued, there is hardly a problem cashing it. But cashier's checks/official checks etc. are next-day availability items, according to Reg CC.

[Smudge]

Not necessarily. If you try to negotiate that item at the institution it was issued, there is hardly a problem cashing it. But cashier's checks/official checks etc. are next-day availability items, according to Reg CC.

Then I stand corrected but my advice was get the cash or wait until it's cleared.