Bankers Draft For Car Purchase

[kaiser78]

I have at last a buyer for my car, who wants to pay via bankers draft. However they want to see the car tomorrow night and take it away there and then, obviously after the Banks have shut before I can pay the draft in.

Is the bankers draft safe and will funds clear next day or 5 days as per cheques ? Thanks for any (helpful !) responese.

[centurian]

I have at last a buyer for my car, who wants to pay via bankers draft. However they want to see the car tomorrow night and take it away there and then, obviously after the Banks have shut before I can pay the draft in.

Is the bankers draft safe and will funds clear next day or 5 days as per cheques ? Thanks for any (helpful !) responese.

Pretty safe. I think the cheque still has to clear, but the funds would have been removed from their account when the draft was issued, so it shouldn't bounce through lack of funds.

Of course, whether you can establish that the draft is genuine is another matter. How many of them have you seen in your lifetime ?

[Clippy]

A quick google brings this up.

Enough info there for you to decide what to do next.

[Zippy]

Be careful as I have heard that bankers drafts are not foolproof either (sorry but I can't remember exactly where I heard that). I think you'd be better advised to only accept cash(why not use cash instead of paying for a bankers draft??) and check it very thoroughly, or refuse to hand the car over until the draft has been validated.

[swamp]

I have at last a buyer for my car, who wants to pay via bankers draft. However they want to see the car tomorrow night and take it away there and then, obviously after the Banks have shut before I can pay the draft in.

Is the bankers draft safe and will funds clear next day or 5 days as per cheques ? Thanks for any (helpful !) responese.

No. Bankers' draft is just cleared funds at the time it was written. Matie can move all his money out and the cheque can bounce. This is what my bank told me once.

[Pogle]

I have at last a buyer for my car, who wants to pay via bankers draft. However they want to see the car tomorrow night and take it away there and then, obviously after the Banks have shut before I can pay the draft in.

Is the bankers draft safe and will funds clear next day or 5 days as per cheques ? Thanks for any (helpful !) responese.

I know someone who was scammed with a forged bankers draft. If it were me, I'd want the money cleared in my account before they got the car.

[TykeMerc]

Pretty safe. I think the cheque still has to clear, but the funds would have been removed from their account when the draft was issued, so it shouldn't bounce through lack of funds.

Of course, whether you can establish that the draft is genuine is another matter. How many of them have you seen in your lifetime ?

Well a bankers draft is just a cheque (so subject to clearance), but it should be drawn against a branch holding account.
Establishing that it's genuine outside of banking hours would be impossible and all but impossible unless the branch it's drawn on is local during banking hours.

Personally I'd probably insist on payment in £20 notes (far too many forged £50's kicking about) and get my ex wife to check those since she used to work as a bank cashier so is very experienced at spotting fakes.

There's always a measure of risk with this type of thing I'm afraid

[Paddy]

BEWARE that

Bankers drafts may be

FAKE - most people aren't familiar with these things anyway; they're far easier to duplicate than a bank note. Check with the bank that issued the draft to make sure it is genuine.

STOLEN - again check with the bank to make sure the person presenting it is the owner.

STOPPED - in theory the draft is as good as cash; in reality some banks seem to allow drafts to be stopped like a normal cheque.

If he can get a bank draft; he can also get cash.

[d000hg]

Personally I'd probably insist on payment in £20 notes (far too many forged £50's kicking about) and get my ex wife to check those since she used to work as a bank cashier so is very experienced at spotting fakes.

Is she available where stacks of cash are involved, is that what you're saying?

[Cliphead]

If you are selling a car or similar expensive item, beware of the who turns up without notice after the banks have closed – usually a Friday. If the "buyer" offers a bank draft, already made out in your name for the full asking price and wants to take the item straight away (usually he/she says that they live at the other end of the country and are travelling back home that night or the next day), it is highly likely that you could be the potential victim of a fraud attempt.

Ask yourself whether the situation seems logical – would you for instance go to the trouble of getting a bank draft to buy an item without even checking its condition – or even whether it was still for sale? Better to have lost a sale rather than the item itself.

Linky