Dealing with the money

In an ideal world, you’d be paid cash during office hours which you’d pay in immediately, but this isn’t always possible. If you do receive cash, try to get it handed over in a bank, so you can pay it in immediately and the cashier can check for fake notes. If your buyer gives you cash outside banking hours, pay it in as soon as possible.

A far better way is electronic transfer. It allows you to transfer funds online, but it can take a few days, so don’t release the car until the bank tells you the funds have been successfully transferred.

Personal cheques and bank or building society cheques can cause problems. Personal cheques can be cancelled or issued without the available funds in the account, so if you’ve already handed over the car, you could be left seriously out of pocket. Despite common belief, bank or building society cheques aren’t as good as cash; forged cheques are common.

Other precautions you can take include:

• Ask the bank if you can draw funds against the Cheque; asking if the Cheque has cleared can mean something different.
• If possible, go with the buyer to the bank to draw the Cheque.
• Ask the buyer for ID with an address and landline telephone number; if they’re reluctant to give this information, be wary.