Insuring a large payment?

[Sevensilverrings]

I wonder if anyone can advise?
We have put down a deposit for a large item to be ordered by a third party from Europe. The balance is due to be paid soon before we can arrange delivery. I would like to find a way to insure our payment as I’m slightly wary of the firm we are buying through and it’s a lot of money.
Is their a way I can privately insure a payment? I don’t really want to get into the details or the purchase (it’s a bit outing), it’s just whether this is possible.
Thanks!

Is it very expensive? Because a credit card will offer you protection but do you mean a third party is paying for the item, and you will pay them. Is the third party a company - what does their policy say?

Because we are no longer EU, you need to check carefully all the T&Cs.

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/brexit-consumer-rights-buyer-protection-refunds

I'm not sure you can insure against non-payment/delivery privately, it would need to be under their terms of business?

I’d have to question why you’re sending a lot of money to a company that you feel wary of. Surely the answer there is to find a trusted supplier?

I would expect any insurance policy to first expect you to go through all available legal channels should the company not send the item. Or go bust? It’s not clear what your concern is. So you’d be looking at the following the legal process in that company first.

Are you buying as a private individual or as a company?

We are buying an item for a home improvement through a small newly established company. It’s cheaper than we can get it anywhere else, but there’s no track record for the company. There’s no real reason to distrust them, it just feels a big leap to hand over money before product delivered. In non COVID times we would have probably visited their warehouse etc to see examples, but not possible for now. Photos etc have been sent. I guess it’s a bit like buying a second hand car or something off eBay! I don’t know why I’m wary really, it’s just a lot of money and I’ve never done this sort of thing before!

We are buying privately. I’m not clear what my concern is either really...but we’ve been ripped off once before buying a large item (caravan) and I’m nervous.

I would be very wary.
Some years ago we bought some items in a similar situation. We saw samples of the items. The firm went bust. The items were not up to standard. We had to replace the items at a cost of around £20k.

So the options are:

1. Cheaper + enough worry that you’re asking about insuring the risk + the insurance premium

1. Higher price from established firm that you trust

I know which I’d pick!

Also, apologies for teaching you to suck eggs... you say it’s coming from Europe, but we are in Europe. So are you saying it’s an EU to GB import? Are you fully aware of delivery costs (they’ve shot up) and the possibility of being clobbered for import tax?

I’d be disinclined to trust a new company to know what they’re doing - well established, large companies are struggling to get it right!

If the item is cheaper than elsewhere is there a chance it could be a scam? As in the item and/or company doesn't exist.

Do they accept credit cards? That gives protection up to £20 or 30k, but I don't know if that applies for overseas transactions. It's section 75 of the consumer credit act, money saving expert explains the rules in full.

If they're asking for a bank transfer or something like Western Union, I'd be concerned that it's s scam and the item will never arrive.

But even if it's legit, there's now the import duty issue to factor in. Plus it will be a hassle retuning the item if it's faulty or damaged.