We are selling our van and have had a buyer who I believe was a scammer, its made me really nervous and distrusting of anyone approaching us. Has anyone else encountered this, I could understand if we had a high end expensive van or really old vintage but its just an older van not that desirable to a scammer. Can anyone give me pointers to settle my mind?
What made you feel uneasy about him? Has he been to see the caravan or is just an initial approach via email? Has he asked to pay by Paypal or Western Union? It may be legit but it's always best to be safe and careful about giving away too much information.
I am so distrusting of people these days that even if somebody collects and pays cash I still make a note of car registrations etc just in case something crops up in the future.
Rob
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If you do manage to sell and its a cash deal do not take cash in twenty pound notes as there is a lot of fakes going about.Its your van and you might not see it again.
Even if they say theyve just been to the bank dont take them and if they say they will just go to a bank offer to go with them for just a run or make some excuse.
The person emailed and when I sent photos they then said they would send a courier and wanted my address. Im worried that I'm gonna come home and find a caravan missing if I give out my address to a scammer. I checked the persons email address on Ebay, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter and nothing came up, I know thats not foolproof and not everyone has a history on the internet but then they told me they were disabled in a wheel chair and deaf, so couldn't view the van and they were buying it for the cousin and so a courier would visit and take the van on to County Down. It was all too suspicious.
Thank you for your comments I had made notes for future reference but the whole thing still scares the pants of me!
Do not entertain a deal with anyone who has not viewed the caravan and who will do anything other than pay cash on collection or transfer into your bank (which you can see on your statement on line.
£20 notes are ok if you use a UV scanner to check them. They are inexpensive. We have one for such eventualities.
In a viewing you will soon get a feeling about the person and if they are caravanners or scammers.
There are actually vastly more genuine buyers than scammers. Do not think ill of everyone.
I would say trust your gut feeling. It is scary nowadays with so mnay scammers etc.
Forged bank notes, getting refunds for paypal payments made and so much more!
Bank transfer as mentioned and no goods handed over until funds are clearly in your account in a manner than does not allow payment to be stopped by the buyer once he is round the corner with your van??..
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
Yes you are being scammed,the courier will take the van and the other person will say that they paid but never received it,do not give it to any courier,the person who tried to scam my friend said she was disabled thats why she needed a courier and she was going to pay by paypal,luckily he found out that she would have got his camper and claimed a refund from paypal as goods not received
If someone wants a van they will view it,Its something you need to see before you buy,but whatever,be it cheque or send cash with courier,make sure you have cleared funds.Then who cares what happens.But dont lose van and money.I would not accept paypal as they can easily get it back.If i sell my van i would want cash on collection only.
Almost all genuine buyers will want to view before they buy. Anyone outside the UK or offering to collect by courier should be avoided. Ask yourself this - as a buyer from outside Britain, would you really buy a caravan, sight unseen, and arrange for it to be shipped by courier? Obviously not.
Genuine buyers in this country will want to pay by bank transfer or cash (which can be checked with UV light - this was done when we bought our van from a chap in Norfolk to confirm the notes were not forged - fair enough, we weren't offended, I would have done the same in his position).