anyone burner on a wire transfer?

BernieP · BernieP's Garage

Need advice. Has anyone ever been burned on a sale involving a wire transfer? I have a car for sale and have a long distance buyer, if he pays with a wire transfer ca I get screwed?

Thanks,
Bernie

nynor · 05-05-2011, 05:14 PM

huh. i'd contact your bank manager.

Jim Bremner · 05-05-2011, 05:24 PM

I don't think that they can. It's the ONLY way that I would do the transfer.

emcon5 · emcon5's Garage

Is he in Nigeria?

I would talk to your bank before agreeing to anything.

BernieP · BernieP's Garage

The bank and the freight forwarder is in Florida but the car will eventually be shipped to Finland. My bank says it's safe but they will not be the looser if it all goes sideways.

Thanks,
Bernie

nynor · 05-05-2011, 05:46 PM

withdraw the cash after the transaction. close the account. that puts them on the line.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Talk to your bank and open up a "Sweep" account. This account recieves the money and it is then transferred to your main account.

nynor · 05-05-2011, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red-beard

Talk to your bank and open up a "Sweep" account. This account recieves the money and it is then transferred to your main account.

very nice. elegant.

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

Pretty hard to screw a bank....talk to the manager....

vonsmog · 05-05-2011, 06:47 PM

I get a lot of wire transfers from overseas customers. I have an account that I use just for wire transfers. Once the money is in there, it is moved to a different account. It can't be taken back by any other bank, and my bank says the money is mine, even if they tried. There is a charge by most banks to do this service, so do charge your customer for this fee. Most banks are around $30 for each wire transfer.

LeeH · 05-05-2011, 08:04 PM

When my 911 went to the UK, I opened a new account with $1 in it just for the tansfer. Worked out fine.

KFC911 · 05-05-2011, 08:10 PM

Having been on the inside of the "banking biz", I personally wouldn't even bother setting up a "sweep account" but certainly do so if it helps one sleep better. Wire Transfers are "bulletproof"...ain't no buyer/seller gonna "scam" you. I won't say there has "never" been a wire fraud, but somebody on the "inside" is probably going to jail if it happens

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

Wire transfers are bulletproof. We use them for large overseas orders for first time customers. The "sweep" account IS a good idea. Recently had a business partner go through a ton of hassle because they were giving out their operating account number for wire transfers. Seems some enterprising individual in a country that shall remain infamous, created their own checks with that same account number.

They didn't lose money, but a LOT of time going through and checking records.

KFC911 · 05-05-2011, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cstreit

Wire transfers are bulletproof. We use them for large overseas orders for first time customers. The "sweep" account IS a good idea. Recently had a business partner go through a ton of hassle because they were giving out their operating account number for wire transfers. Seems some enterprising individual in a country that shall remain infamous, created their own checks with that same account number.

They didn't lose money, but a LOT of time going through and checking records.

I just wouldn't bother setting up a sweep account for a single transaction, but that's just me. The info required for a "wire transfer" is printed on the bottom of every check written...nothing sacred about them. A Nigerian could easily "guess" legitimate routing/account numbers too, but that's what the "financial system" is designed for, protecting the party on each end. No telling how many trillions are transferred every single day by the "big boys".

Hugh R · 05-05-2011, 11:56 PM

Sold a car for$250,000 by wire transfer no issues.

Zeke · 05-06-2011, 08:00 AM

I sold my car to a German buyer in Feb. I went to the bank to discuss the transfer. The operations manager said she would have the deposit sent to a PayPal account. That's what I did. The buyer was coming to the states to pick up more cars and look at yet even more, so I waited for the balance to be delivered in cash, in person, at the same bank. They counted the money with a scanner and deposited it in my account.

The manager simply said that if I give my account info out, that it could be risky. She knew what I was doing when I asked about the 2nd account for a transfer only purpose. She just said, "We really don't like to do that (for obvious reasons.)." Since I bank at a smaller local bank with the strongest asset to liability ratio in the state and appreciate the service I get, I complied.

KFC911 · 05-06-2011, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milt

...The manager simply said that if I give my account info out, that it could be risky. She knew what I was doing when I asked about the 2nd account for a transfer only purpose. She just said, "We really don't like to do that (for obvious reasons.)." Since I bank at a smaller local bank with the strongest asset to liability ratio in the state and appreciate the service I get, I complied.

I think you did exactly the right thing too considering the "smaller bank" and the branch manager's suggestion. I was on the "inside" of two megabanks, and I'm pretty sure I know more about "wire transfers" than ANY branch manager could possibly ever know. Her first statement is pure rubbish imo

.

BernieP · BernieP's Garage

Thanks for all the advice. I spoke to my bank today, they said the transfer could be canceled-recalled up to midnight on the day of the transaction but after that the money is in the account and can not be removed.

Thanks,
bernie

Zeke · 05-06-2011, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC911

I think you did exactly the right thing too considering the "smaller bank" and the branch manager's suggestion. I was on the "inside" of two megabanks, and I'm pretty sure I know more about "wire transfers" than ANY branch manager could possibly ever know. Her first statement is pure rubbish imo

.

Seemed pretty straight forward to me. She said that in order to do the transfer, my account info would be transmitted to the Euro bank. Maybe she was thinking I was going to email my account info to the buyer so he could take it to the bank. Either way, I had no idea whom I was dealing with. When the money showed up in PayPal. I made that the contract to buy using a PayPal invoice and stating it was non refundable.

I think it cost me more, though.

KFC911 · 05-06-2011, 10:06 AM

Glad you're set Bernie! Just to clarify what your bank "meant" when they said "up to midnight". There are several "Fed Windows" throughout the day, and if your bank is of any size, it probably won't wait until midnight. When literally 100s of billions are passing through the system, a few hours (of interest) means most large banks "clear" several times a day. Missing a "window" can earn/lose a large bank more than the annual cumultive earnings of everyone of us here on Pelican...we're talking BIG $$$

. "Bulletproof"...sleep well!