WWYD buying large value item and money transfer question

[Twospaniels]

Buying something for £20k.
We have to drive 250m to get it.
Do we transfer the money before we go so it’s cleared funds for the seller?
Or transfer the money when we get there and have seen the item?

Conundrum is, we could pay then get there and find it doesn’t exist!
Or for the seller we could take the thing away and our money doesn’t come through?

Either of us could be scammers.

If I transfer from Santander to HSBC will it be instant?

We can’t go all that way twice.

We done plenty of research online and have no reason to believe it doesn’t exist.

So would you pay before you go, or pay when there but risk not being able to take the thing away there and then?

Transfer the money when/after you arrive & inspect/check it's ok. Definitely not before.

For 20k I would transfer after and wait to clear or get a draft.

Find out how long the transfer will take to be seen on their account. You could also see if they will accept proof that you have completed the transaction. Also check with your bank that they will not require a fraud verification on.that size of transfer.

Yes I’m going to call into my bank tomorrow to ask how quickly the transfer will show in their bank.
I tried to phone today but it’s all automated and voice activated and I got nowhere!

I believe with Santander the maximum amount to transfer is £25k a day (online not banking app) and it should arrive almost instantly. Do not transfer anything without inspecting the item and being in the presence of the item and any relating paperwork to transfer ownership. I assume it is a vehicle or jewellery or similar. What you could do is ask for the bank details and send a nominal amount in advance e.g. a £1 and ask them to confirm safe receipt.

Definitely don't pay beforehand.

I've done something similar and the bank will tell you that they have no control over how long the money will take to get there. It could be instant or might be stopped for security checks.

I'm guessing you're buying a vehicle as I was, luckily the money went through quickly for me and it wasn't so far away so I didn't have that complication.

Unless you take a bankers draft you'll have o keep your fingers crossed the money moves quickly.

We did it for a car, checked it was all legit as we could. Bank warned us we were not protected if a scam. The money was sent the day before and car arrived fine. Still a worry tho! If it's instant then it should be fine to do it there. We had to go into bank to transfer funds.

Transfer money to a solicitor and then authorise them to release it?

I went into Santander and they told me that I will have to go into a branch near where I’m travelling to, and they will do the transfer for me at the desk. They will give me proof which I will then take to the seller, or the seller can come to the branch with me to see it’s done.

Glad I went in to ask now.

Good update, better than carrying a draft at least.

That sounds better and the seller can check with their online banking too.

I went with DP a few weeks ago while he bought a £6k car from a private seller. He transferred the money from our Santander account on his phone while the seller watched and checked all the numbers and she could see the money had gone but it hadn't got to her account.

It took a good hour of pissing about with Santander on the phone while they questioned him about was he buying the car on his own free will, had he checked the condition, how much our mortgage was, what day the council tax came out, what that payment for £26.91 on the third of last month was and all sorts of other nonsense before they would release the money. The seller said that she had sold some furniture a few weeks ago and the buyer had also paid by Santander transfer and that had been a ballache and that was only for a couple of hundred pounds.

Do not pay until you've seen and checked the item and you're happy with it. Supposing you paid then turned up and discovered that although it existed it was in such poor condition it wasn't worth half or even a quarter.

A bankers draft is a good idea. You have to pay a bit but it would at least give some certainty and if you don't like it you don't hand it over (just don't lose it)

Are you paying a private individual?

I've transferred sums between 10-20k from one bank to another and it's been received by the time I've logged into the receiving one. From memory though, I may have had to split payments over 15k?

These were all "known" accounts I had used before though, although I did still need my little card reader gadget to authorise it.

Could you try a token good faith/test payment to set up the payee and check if it's an instant transfer in advance?

All went well.
We arrived, inspected the item (caravan) and it was better than expected.

We went to the local Santander where the lady at the desk did the transfer for me. She asked for my ID and to see the invoice. She asked me if I was transferring the money of my own free will and not being coerced.

By the time we drove back to the dealership the guy had the money in his account.

So a very smooth transaction in the end but I’m glad I went into my local branch and discovered that I had to do this transfer in the branch and not online. It was just over £20k

And now we have our lovely van and look forward to some lovely UK breaks, and maybe France once this corona is over.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Thanks for the update. Sounds great. Hope you get many lovely memories with it.

We nearly did this the other day for a caravan and were going to do an online transfer at the time.

Our seller pulled out due to corona so I am gutted.

Glad it all went well though and good approach.

Tell us about the van?