Seller won't accept cheques. Reckon it sounds dodgy?

I'm in communication with a guy selling a Creek OBH11 headphone amp on Hififorsale and he says he won't take a personal cheque as payment (citing some recent scare story on Radio 4's 'Money Box' about cheques being cancelled weeks or months after they've been cleared), only cash or postal order.

I must say I've never heard of anyone refusing a cheque before and it just seems a bit unusual. Anyone had any similar experiences? Or would you not touch it with a bargepole?

 

Pete, TBH, this is becoming more common as it is possible to cancel a cheque after it has been handed over to the recipient. A postal order shouldn't be too difficult to get. If it's a worthy purchase it may not be so much of a hassle.

However, bad vibes are best heeded.

 

Pete,
I would never accept a personal cheque as payment because of the hassle of cashing it.
Postal order seems to me ok even if the best would be bank wire transfer (depending on the commissions). I also pay a lot by PayPal but not a lot of people have it.

 

be carefull.
postal orders are ok but check first.
i sent off 200 quids worth of postal orders that never got to their destination on time , i checked it out and even if they were cashed there was nothing i could do about it, i wasent covered.lucky though cos they did arrive eventually and all was ok , never again though.
you can cross postal orders so they can only be cashed at a bank.this is the best way , at least they can be traced.

 

I would never accept a personal cheque as payment, unless I was a friend of the buyer and therefore trusted them.

 

Sorry to be a bit dim but what's the problem witth a personal cheque? I quite often pay and receive payment by cheque and so far haven't experienced any problems. I thought it was fairly safe to accept cheque as long as you wait for it to clear before sending the goods.

 

I have to say, I have never had any problems with any payment methods, cheque, bank transfer or postal order, it is just a matter or preference.

If I don't know the person or have never so much as emailed them then I wait for the cheque to clear, but usually I send it as soon as the cheque arrives (maybe I am just trusting!!). I do the same with bank transfer and even paypal when the site is down and have never had any problems yet.

Generally, most people are authentic, its just a shame that there are a few who ruin things for everyone else!!

 

I may misunderstand the postal order.

Is it when you get the parcel you have to pay the postman also the cost of the item?
... or is it a postal cheque (the postman brings the money to the seller)?

@Dev
how do you cash a personal cheque?

 

problem with cheques:

The cheque can be cancelled, even after the money is showing in your account. My bank tells me you are not even 100% safe 30 days later!

Cashier's Cheque:

A cheque from the bank cashier so to speak, but if it gets lost you have effectively lost cash. The value is in the cheque itself as if it were money.

Postal Order:

Havent used one in ages, cant remember sorry.

Electronic Bank Transfer:

What I always like to do on E-bay. Get bank details and stuff money straight in, or vice versa. Non reversable and happens in 2 days. I dont know of any problem with it (other than of course they may take the money and not send the goods - but isnt that always the risk?)

Can anyone add more? thats about the sum of what I know on the topic.

Chris

 

If the cheque is made out to me, I just deposit it into my current account. When the amount is added to my account, I send the goods.

I didn't know the cheque can be cancelled after it's cleared. At what point is it safe then?

Edit: so WTF's the pointy of a cheque?

 

Call me suspicious but the only way I'll sell is face to face, cash in exhange for the goods.

 

for me face to face buying or selling is the way to go. if that's not possible then try to get a trusted 3rd party to act as an intermediatary. if THAT's not possible then it isn't the bargain it seems to be.
cheers


julian

 

Pete,

I would be very wary about doing business sending cash or a postal order. Fine if it's face to face, but at least with a cheque or bank transfer you have a trail to follow if things go wrong!

If the deal is up to the value of your cheque guarantee card (£250?) then the seller might be satisfied with the number on the reverse of your cheque which means that you cannot cancel it once issued.

Is personal collection of the item out of the question?

Steve

 

Dev

I would venture it's never safe, as with all forms of payment if it's fraudulent the money can always be clawed back, as far a postal orders go even crossed they can be cashed by virtually anybody (the variation is ay best not good) these things and wire transfers and such are really only suitable for sending money to people you know and trust.

Stuart

 

Well. you have to go to the bank! (at least I had to). That is for me too much hassle.
With a wire transfer or even better PayPal I can do everything from my computer...

 

Hi,

I have heard of overseas cheque being cancelled long after they have been banked, but it does seem that it can happen to UK cheques.

Here is the article.

Looks like we have to beware.

SCIDB

 

Titian I think you were spot on initially, Postal order is cheque than can be cashed at post office, buyer pays at PO counter and receives cheque to that value (like a gift voucher I suppose) when seller receives they can cash this at any post office, no so popular nowadays, people have their own cheque books, and I think you are charged around £1 when you purchase one.

 

Apparently you buy postal orders at the post office (you're charged an alarmingly high rate for them which is a bit annoying - it'd cost me about £3.50 for a £50 item) and send them to the seller who can then cash them at any other post office - there seems to me to be a problem with tracing them should anything go wrong. I wasn't aware you could cross them to have them only cashable at a bank though.

Unfortunately it's too far away to pick up myself otherwise I'd be there in a shot.

 

where is it?
perhaps someone from the board could pick it up for you.

 

That's all very easy to say but in practise it's not so simple, especially as the people I buy/sell from are usually not in the same country as I am. If I'd followed your rules I wouldn't bought or sold anything on eBay and I wouldn't have got my DAC64 or Teac T1 transport for bargain prices.

I've had no problems using electronic bank transfers and PayPal for both buying and selling. It's usually fairly easy to tell if the person you're dealing with is honest.

Michael.