One thing that people do not realize is, you may have funds in your account, sent from funds of someone other than the "buyer". In other words. "jim" may be out of town and the scammer hacked "jim's" account. Wired the money to you. Jim comes home in a month or so and sees he is short say 20k. He calls the bank, the bank comes after the money. You lose a car and the money. Thats just one scenario that has been happening
I don't know of any way someone can reverse a wire transfer. Even in the scenario above, the sending bank eats the mistake. The fraud occured on their end. Money had to be in the sending account. Banks are absolute about that with wire transfers. If he fooled the sending bank, they go after him. Money was already sent to your bank. Recieving bank/client wouldn't be held liable. I think you're fine, but I would still talk to your bank manager just as a safety net. You never know with internet deals, it's scary. Car is still in your possession so that's good. If things go south you can always have a new title issued to you. Just talk to the bank manager before you let that car go anywhere, but I think you're OK on this. You were careful, got advice from others along the way, and covered your butt. Not EVERY weird deal is a scam. You're doing it right, just keep being careful
Just how did he find out about your car? Was it on eBay or Craig's List? I had a call similar to that after having a '49 Shoebox on eBay, I did not even discuss the car with him. At this time I am waiting to get my 26,000,000.00 from some guy in Uganda that I'm helping out.
When selling a car, if someone is vague in their questioning, does it drive or steer etc. first thing I ask is if they are familiar with the type of Honda I have for sale (never had one, never sold one). If they say yes, it is a scam and I move on. As for this deal....hope for the best, but the thing is a giant red flag. Any more communication from the buyer? Has he told you his shipping company?
Things have gotten so scarey these days, you can't trust anyone. The scammers are so good at what they do that even careful people get screwed in ways they never imagined. When I sold my 23 a couple of years ago I took it to the Street Rod Nats in Tampa and put a sign on it at 9 am, then we went off to look at all the cars on display. At 11 am a man calls me and says he wants to buy my car so we went back over to talk with him. After a little negotiation he agrees to buy it and went back to his truck to get a check. He said I could keep the car and the title until the check cleared. I felt a little uneasy about the transaction, especially since he never asked me to start it, he never sat in it, and he never drove it. So Monday morning I called my banker and he suggested the guy do a wire transfer and we void the check. I called the guy and he agreed and did the transfer. However, my banker told me not to release the car or title for a few days until they had a FIRM CONFIRMATION the money was there and was not being retracted. He said there are ways to scam people even with a wire transfer. A few days later I called the banker and he checked and said "Ok, you are good to go." So the man came and drove off in his new T and I was paid. The point is, I would not do a thing until my banker told me the funds could not be reversed somehow and that I had his guarantee on that. Don
I don't understand the concern; he sent you money and you pulled the money out of the account. You now have cash in hand, and you still have the car. I assume that your bank gave you the money only after the money transfer cleared all of their security checks, right? So what is everyone concerned about? If anything, the buyer should be worried! If you are still concerned, ask your bank to double check the transfer before letting go of the car.
If for sure you have the money in your account and if I were you.....I would be at my bank to insure it's there and cannot be reversed......you should be fine. Does sound a little strange though. Good luck!
I've done wire transfers before no problem. Probably the best one would be a guy who paid me in three installments, paid off the car, then dropped off the face of the earth. Eventually (two years later) I resold the car, but there never was an issue on the money.
Except for one or two posts, they're all predicting possible or even likely doom for you. I disagree...I believe you'll be fine. A wire transfer...especially the way you did it, with a separate account only for this reason, and the way I do it too...is probably the safest possible method, short of cash-in-hand. The "weird" part is only that the buyer didn't ask a whole lot of questions. But I suspect that was because you did a good job of explaining all the particulars in your ad. It can seem strange sometimes, when the buyer is less than cautious and more than eager to send you money...makes ya think that something might be up. But in your case, I think it's more that he really wanted your car, felt confident about condition vs price and didn't want somebody else to get it before him. Let us know how it goes.
Ricky, I am kind of with you on this one as far as finding out how things go. I don't know of funds can be reversed on a wire transfer or not. It would be good to know if it turns out that they can. I once got a cashiers check from an insurance company and my back would not release the funds until the check cleared the issuing back. it seemed hokey to me but my banker said that even though it was a cashiers check that the sending party to stop payment on it up to the point that the issuing back released the funds. I just said all that to say that maybe there is a way to reverse the funds on a wire transfer that we do not know about and it would be good to know. I have a wealthy friend that buys collectible cars on line and has been doing so for a long time. He always sets up an escrow account where the funds rest until both parties are satisfied. It costs him a little more to do it that way but it works and no one gets ripped that way.
Was thinking the same thing. Maybe the guy only knows how to drive cars not fix them and doesn't know the difference between a 9" rear to a banjo, or whatever...
I know this sale seems a little shaky. I have the money & I closed that account, he has the title, which was sent certified mail.. It's been a week & I'm still waiting for his shipper to pick the car up which is his responsibly. We did a Goggle search on the buyer & found out he has a business & makes 3 to 5 million a year. But I guess you can pretty much post on the net whatever you want.
I've bought and sold cars at a distance using wire transfers, but I never dealt with a buyer who didn't ask reasonable questions about the vehicle. The OP's buyer not asking anything specific is what sends the red flag up IMO. Didn't notice RDAH had posted before me ... wishing you nothing but good luck, the deal just seems weird.
The whole opening a new account and closing it after you take the money out, Does No good!, You may think that is full proof, But If it turns out to be a scam, Your bank will come after you, I know this to be fact!!....As it happenend to a friend of mine (another hamber) He can chim in and tell you about it if he wants. (Still think you are safe?, Ask your bank what would happen If the money transfer turns out to be Fruad) The only real full proof money transfer is Cold hard CASH in hand!!.....And have a black money "marker" with you at that time....everything else is just hopes....
Back in the 80's, I sold a dune buggy to a 'shady-looking' fella, who paid for it by check. My wife didn't like the looks of him, and took the check to the issuing bank, and cashed it. A couple hours later, the bank called and asked if we could bring back the money; he had written the check on his grandmothers' account, and he wasn't authorized. We called our bank, and they said to keep the money, that it was the other banks' problem now. I had taken a picture of him writing the check, and showed it to the investigator who came to see me. Seems he had written other checks, and ended up spending time in jail for it.
Out of curiousity I just called my banker. She said the wire transfer can be cancelled, but once it is confirmed to be in your branch it is a done deal and safe. The key she said it to ask them if the funds are confirmed to be cleared, and get their assurance of that fact. Don
You guys had me worried so I went to my bank & asked some questions. A money transfer can only come from one bank account to another bank account & the first bank is responsible for covering the funds if they are not there or illegal. Once I closed my account & draw the money out the sender can't get it back.
Another paranoid and uneducated wire transfer thread. A wire transfer, properly sent and received, cannot be reversed. Once the funds are in your account, they cannot be taken out. Stupid to open and close an account for a wire transfer, just have the funds sent into your regular account. Oh by the way, are you concerned about giving out your checking account number and bank routing number? well every time you mail off a check, you do that.
As long as you got the money thats the main thing, when i purchased my HA/GR I had no choice but to bring cash as I was in Canada and was trying to get money into the USA. My Bank here had no Banking contacts in the USA that i could use to get money down there.I could have got a certified check but they look like funny money when issued here . As long as it was less than 10,000 I was ok to bring the money down South.
Good article on wire transfers here: http://www.reba.net/news/wtransfer Those who stayed at a Holiday Inn and want to play lawyer can argue about it.
Well, now, son, just whom are you calling paranoid and uneducated? Perhaps you are a financial wizard, or perhaps you are a bank executive? In that case, maybe you are the educated one. OTOH, there's a lot of experience with selling cars here on the HAMB and a lot of experience with deals gone wrong. Does experience=education? Does a bad experience=paranoia? Maybe, hopefully, all will be fine. But I'd still worry about about a gentleman with an accent who asks no questions, but readily puts up "money" sight unseen. If you didn't know about something, wouldn't you ask MORE questions? I am sure the OP is resting more comfortably know you will make up the difference if the deal goes awry.
You can be as pompous as you want, but the facts are that there are scammers out there who are better at taking our money than we are at keeping it sometimes. All the people here who "played lawyer" were simply trying to help a fellow hot rodder out and give him the best advice we could to keep him from getting burned. So get off of your high horse because I bet if we analyzed some of your past posts we would find some that were open to scrutiny too. Don
Well, like most folks here, I'm no expert when it comes to wire transfers but it seems to me like the OP did everything right. The whole idea of a wire transfer would be that it is guaranteed funds and can't be called back once it has been received. The only thing that bothered me was the phone call from the purchaser. It seemed weird. You just never know what new tricks scammers might have up their sleeves. They're pretty creative it seems. That's what would make me a little paranoid even if I knew I did everything right. I would wonder if they figured out some new way to screw me that I hadn't thought of. It should be fine. I hope all goes well, it's just strange.
I also had a few call me, and insist on buying. He said he would pick it up it the heart of winter with NO HEATER. He called, and called and Called. I wouldn't even talk to him, just figured he had a problem, and it wasn't going to be me ! Cruise On Rt. 66, not the Ocean. LOL
For those of you that are concerned about the lack of questions, I have a story for you. Many years ago I used to haul cars across the country. I got a call from a guy in Baltimore that wanted me to pickup his new to him 49 Merc convert. We agreed on the price and he sent me 1/2 the agreed amount up front. All he knew me from was the small ad in the auto trade mag. Just before our followup conservation (about 3 days after the first conversation, he asked me if i would bring the title to his newly purchased car with me when I delivered his car. So, he gave me 1/2 the cost to haul his car, had me pickup his car, and he wanted me to bring the title to the said car as well! When i got to where the car was, the seller made a comment the guy bought the car off an ad in the same trade mag he had hired me from. The only info he asked the guy was if the car ran. The guy also included several parts along with the car. The buyer wired him in excess of $10K based on a very small picture, the wording in the ad, and the seller telling him it ran. When I was about 10 miles out of Baltimore, I called him on the phone to get directions from the interstate to his house, he didn't have a clue, just gave me the address. Fortunately the guy at the gas station where the pay phone i was using gave me great directions. When i got to his house, he was like a kid in a candy store. Paid me what he owed me, fired up his new car, and drove it into a rickety old garage. Some people really are clueless. They see something they want, and buy it. Some people know all there is to know about something, and will buy something because it is something they want or need, and few things else matter. When I bought my coupe body, the only question I asked was if it was basically complete, It did not matter what shape most the parts were in, only that they were present. That guy thought I was a little weird as well, but for the money I was spending, it really didn't make much difference to me most things that may have seemed important to most guys. Gene
Tons of people buy cars and other things off eBay ads based off nothing other than the ad description. I'll ask again; what is so weird about this transaction?
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