Receiving a payment by bank transfer

[Robster59]

I'm just in the process of selling my caravan on Gumtree and the buyer is in Newcastle and wants to send a deposit to show his authenticity and then pay in full before collecting. He seems genuine enough but am I safe to provide the necessary bank details for him to make the transfer and what do I need to look out for?
I may see a daft question, but it's not something I've done before.
Thanks in advance.

 

[PJ87]

I'm just in the process of selling my caravan on Gumtree and the buyer is in Newcastle and wants to send a deposit to show his authenticity and then pay in full before collecting. He seems genuine enough but am I safe to provide the necessary bank details for him to make the transfer and what do I need to look out for?
I may see a daft question, but it's not something I've done before.
Thanks in advance.

Do you ever pay anyone by cheque? Because your basically handing over the same details as you would to this gentleman involved

Account number
Sort code
Plus your name

Lots of protection provided by banks now days

If he pays deposit via it at least you can see the money's their straight away

 

[Bunkermagnet]

If you're worried, open a new account with someone like Starling (which is online only and you can control via the phone app), then you will see when someone is paying you straight away and you have the full ability to transfer that money out of there to wherever oyu want after. It also then keeps your "normal" account free and out of the picture.
FWIW, I use Starling for my business banking, and have a private account with them. I find them better than our normal house banking, and so does my wife and she worked for them.

 

[PJ87]

If you're worried, open a new account with someone like Starling (which is online only and you can control via the phone app), then you will see when someone is paying you straight away and you have the full ability to transfer that money out of there to wherever oyu want after. It also then keeps your "normal" account free and out of the picture.
FWIW, I use Starling for my business banking, and have a private account with them. I find them better than our normal house banking, and so does my wife and she worked for them.

This is also great advise.

I myself have a few different current accounts for various reasons. When someone I don't know is paying me money I give them details of the one that my wages go nowhere near and has zero overdraft.

May be overkill but hasn't steered me wrong yet

 

[Imurg]

I'm starting to be paid more by transfer and I have a separate account for it.
Its, effectively, a savings account and no DDs can be set up on it except to move money to the primary account.
Means I can give out details and jot have to worry.

 

[Robster59]

Thanks, some very helpful comments.

 

[Maninblack4612]

If you're worried, open a new account with someone like Starling (which is online only and you can control via the phone app), then you will see when someone is paying you straight away and you have the full ability to transfer that money out of there to wherever oyu want after. It also then keeps your "normal" account free and out of the picture.
FWIW, I use Starling for my business banking, and have a private account with them. I find them better than our normal house banking, and so does my wife and she worked for them.

However, if the payer recalled the payment your account would be put in debit & the bank would be after you to repay.

 

[Billysboots]

However, if the payer recalled the payment your account would be put in debit & the bank would be after you to repay.

Only if there is an agreed overdraft facility, surely.

I have used a separate online account to receive payments for years. There is no borrowing facility, and I effectively run it with a zero balance. As soon as payments come in, I transfer them to my normal account before parting with the goods purchased.

Never had a problem, and anyone trying to recall a payment after it’s been made (if, indeed, that is even possible) would not be able to do so because there would be no funds there to recall.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

However, if the payer recalled the payment your account would be put in debit & the bank would be after you to repay.

The payer can't recall a payment.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

This is all very straightforward, but for some reason people seem to get into a tizz. Even worse they make up some nonsense or keep repeating rumours.

To be double safe. Get them to pay £1 into your account. This is just to check they have used the correct details.

Then you will be a payee set up on their account. They can then use that to pay the balance.

It's very simple. For large sums they may have to go through security checks from their bank.

 

[GreiginFife]

The payer can't recall a payment.

Whilst it’s highly unlikely, any payment made from a UK bank account can have an indemnity requested against it.
Banks don’t normally accept these request without a very strong reason though.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Whilst it’s highly unlikely, any payment made from a UK bank account can have an indemnity requested against it.
Banks don’t normally accept these request without a very strong reason though.

Indeed.
But that is a very different thing to "the payer can recall a payment".

 

[Maninblack4612]

The payer can't recall a payment.

I've heard of frauds perpetrated by doing this

 

[Maninblack4612]

Only if there is an agreed overdraft facility, surely.

I have used a separate online account to receive payments for years. There is no borrowing facility, and I effectively run it with a zero balance. As soon as payments come in, I transfer them to my normal account before parting with the goods purchased.

Never had a problem, and anyone trying to recall a payment after it’s been made (if, indeed, that is even possible) would not be able to do so because there would be no funds there to recall.

I'm sure, under certain circumstances, it can be done. If so, it wouldn't matter that you had an OD facility or not

 

[Bunkermagnet]

However, if the payer recalled the payment your account would be put in debit & the bank would be after you to repay.

I think that just falsehoods. Its expressly said to you that once you send an account money via the electronic means its gone and you cannot get it back.
Starling make you confirm you want to send those monies, and thats after they have checked and confirmed the details you have entered are correct, because as soon as you press send it's gone and you aren't getting it back.

 

[Billysboots]

I'm sure, under certain circumstances, it can be done. If so, it wouldn't matter that you had an OD facility or not

Albeit many years ago, I used to work in banking. It was an easy process to manage customers’ borrowing by enforcing what were known as “strict” limits. If you didn’t want an overdraft to exceed £500, for example, you set a 500s limit. If you didn’t want them to go overdrawn at all, the limit was 0s. If that technology was available in the late 80’s and early 90’s it most certainly is today, and even back then any payments which breached a strict limit were automatically rejected.

Regardless, if I set up an online payment these days it comes with express warning that, once it’s gone, it cannot be recalled. So it’s a moot point.

 

[rulefan]

To claim back a payment the sender would have to contact their bank and the receiving bank and claim they were coerced into it and/or that is was fraudulent.

 

[need_my_wedge]

To claim back a payment the sender would have to contact their bank and the receiving bank and claim they were coerced into it and/or that is was fraudulent.

This.
When I setup a payee, there are a number of checks to confirm the account is genuine and I'm setting up the correct payment. If I send to the wrong account, it's gone. You have to rely on the honesty of the recipient to return it, which I was told by my bank that they're not legally bound to do so if they don't want to.

 

[clubchamp98]

You can use a clawback on PayPal it happened to me once.
Buyer picked up club then used this method to reclaim his money.
Eventually PayPal paid me back.
But you can’t do this with a bank ACC as far as I know.
Unless fraud is involved.

 

[Robster59]

Thanks to all. I went down the Starling Bank route. It took less than 24 hours to set it up. I put £10 from my own account to check out the process and then the buyer has sent me £100 deposit which went in straight away.
For information, I spoke to Nationwide, who I bank with, and they confirmed that Bank Transfer is one of the safest ways to receive money as it is in exceedingly difficult to get the money back once sent over. He also said that if I was paying someone I would actually be better to use PayPal as it is easier to get the money back in case of a fraudulent transaction. But make sure you make it as a payment for service, not as a gift as then you can involve both your bank and PayPal.
They also gave some other useful advice as to how to handle sales such as this. It was actually a very helpful phone call. I would have got more of this off Nationwide earlier, except their phone line operates on normal working hours.
I have spoken to the buyer, and I am pretty sure he's genuine anyway. I've told him the caravan doesn't move till the money is in my account, and he's totally happy with this. But as I don't sell many things, and there are some horror stories (and lots of urban myths), then I wanted to double-check.