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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to think DH was scammed

226 replies

Cath2907 · 21/05/2018 09:44

We were selling our old car yesterday through autotrader. I took out kid and dog to reduce distractions. DH was dealing. He rang to tell me car was sold for £450 less than advertised but to some lovely people.

I got home later to find they'd had trouble transferring money to our account. He'd seen them set up the transfer on their side but that the payment was delayed until today. Basically he let them drive away without paying.

No money has arrived today. Have emailed them to express concern there's been a mix up and ask them to confirm the details of the transferred money and no answer.

DH said he saw their drivers license, checked it had the same address they'd asked the car to be registered to and overall they seemed a lovely couple. He is sure the money will show up and this is all a mix up. I think they have scammed him and am quite upset and frustrated that he let someone drive away with a few grands worth of our car without actually handing over a penny.

Please tell me I am a suspicious whatsit and this is bound to be a mix up?

OP posts:
TheFreshPrincess0fBelair · 21/05/2018 15:08

I think they will take the car and use it for further crimes.

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 21/05/2018 15:09

Fingers crossed it’s ok op

Celebelly · 21/05/2018 15:14

I had a transaction stopped when I tried to pay a decorator £1500 a couple of months ago. I had to call up and go through Halifax's fraud prevention system to release the payment, so it's entirely possible. Large payments being made to a new payee as an individual can quite often trigger security stuff on the bank's side.

thecatneuterer · 21/05/2018 15:20

When I bought a car for only £2500 (from my stepdad so it didn't cause a problem) the payment was delayed by 24 hours.

cjt110 · 21/05/2018 15:21

Your bank should be able to see an incoming payment 24 hours before receipt shouldnt it? I might be wrong but I recall doing this before payday when I didnt have my payslip - calling to ask how much was going in the following day.

Oh and fraud can rear it's head over little payments. I had our card declined for a £5 transaction at a camping shop. The bank then called me and I had to go through clearance etc and confirm it really was me buying some bits for our camping trip.

honeysucklejasmine · 21/05/2018 15:26

I had to go in branch to pay our landscaper a few grand, to go through the fraud checks.

Sunisshining12 · 21/05/2018 15:26

Wow, some comments are a little harsh!

Firstly, they won’t actually become the legal owner of the car until YOU the existing owner posts off the log book (v5) to DVLA (or you can complete online).

To do this, the new owner has to complete their name, address & signature on the V5. I therefore presume your DH didn’t give them the log book V5 and hasn’t posted it off yet?

If so, you are still the legal owner.

Call your bank and see if any payments are pending.
Notify the dvla and police about what has happened.

MrsTommyBanks · 21/05/2018 15:29

My DB transfered me 6k a while ago and his bank blocked it as unusual activity. He had to pop in his branch to reactivate his account. So it's not always instant with transfers.
Hope it all works out OP.

TemptressofWaikiki · 21/05/2018 15:43

And this is why you take cash when selling a car... Fingers crossed that you get the money.

Failingat40 · 21/05/2018 15:44

I think everyone should calm down, your poor husband!!

It's most likely that the payment is delayed by the bank, nothing to do with the buyer.

A car thief wouldn't bother ringing back at all, the plates would be changed by now anyway.

All these vipers calling your dh an idiot are horrible.

Foxysoxy10 · 21/05/2018 15:49

It might be completely the wrong thing to do but If this was happening to me I would call the buyers again and tell them if I didn’t hear by X time I will be going to the address on the license. I would then follow it through and if no answer at the address or wrong people etc I would call the police and report it stolen.

WhatsGoingOnEh · 21/05/2018 15:58

Cleaning seems a bit pointless, why can't he drive over there?

QuitMoaning · 21/05/2018 16:00

@sunisshining12
Not true. The log book is nothing to do with who actually owns the car. That is the registered keeper and if you look at the very top of the V5 it says in very large letters:
“This document is not proof of ownership”.

Proof of ownership is obtained via the receipt and the transfer of money.

LakieLady · 21/05/2018 16:02

I had this when I transferred some money from my current a/c to a savings a/c. I was quite surprised, given that both a/c's were in my name.

I got a text, on the day after I did it, asking me to ring a number and answer some questions. I phoned the branch on the Monday and checked it was genuine, and they said it was, so it was fine. It held the transfer up by 2 days though, and I was uneasy that the money wasn't in any of our a/c's for 48 hours.

Normally, payments between my a/c, DP's a/c, and the savings a/c are instant, but they wanted to check this one because it was over £10k.

MumofBoysx2 · 21/05/2018 16:05

I can't believe he let the car go without first checking money had actually arrived in your account. If you have the address can you go round there? Otherwise it's very likely you have lost out.

MumofBoysx2 · 21/05/2018 16:05

Also, if they haven't actually paid then they have stolen the car. Report them!

AskMeHow · 21/05/2018 16:06

Honestly I'd be tempted to drive round there and take the car back until the payment shows up.

Either they are genuine and they will understand or they're trying to buy themselves some time.

bluemascara · 21/05/2018 16:09

It might be ok. I work for a bank and faster payments can take to the end of the next working day

PattiStanger · 21/05/2018 16:14

Oh come on Fallingat40, handing over the keys to a car worth £000s before you've been paid is the very definition of idiotic behaviour, it's not trusting it's downright stupid

Travis1 · 21/05/2018 16:21

Idiotic behaviour on your husbands parts but payments can be delayed for no real reason. We get paid by FPI and on our last payday the money didnt show until well into the afternoon and it's normally in by 6am when I get up.

adaline · 21/05/2018 16:22

Sorry @Failingat40 but he is an idiot. He let two complete strangers drive off with his car before receiving any payment!

What sensible person does that?!

Inertia · 21/05/2018 16:26

Your husband has an address for them- scammers often have genuine-looking ID. If they looked dodgy and didn't have any contact details at all, they wouldn't be convincing scammers.

TomRavenscroft · 21/05/2018 16:26

She has sent a pdf confirmation that the transaction has processed on their end

I'd send that to my bank and ask them if it looks kosher.

PattiStanger · 21/05/2018 16:30

Have you changed the registered keeper? You've also go to aware that they could be doing anything in the car today that could come back on you

Merryoldgoat · 21/05/2018 16:30

Just to say something similar happened to me recently but I was the buyer whose funds didn’t go through.

I was paying half of the money upfront for a new boiler installation, just shy of £2k so not a massive amount.

Boiler man didn’t get it. I called my bank twice to see where it was, they said the delay was the other back and no reason for it not to be processed etc. I knew he didn’t have the cash as he is family friend.

I ended up tweeting how ‘NatWest seem to have lost my money’ and that got it sorted pretty quick.

MY bank had held if for a fraud check but neglected to tell me. I was incandescent.

I suspect that similar has happe here if the buyers are in contact.

Fingers crossed for you.

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