I have advertized something on a web site for sale and had a reply saying he wants it and will pay me by bankers draft.
Now without going into the gory details about this person I don't trust him and though he says he is in Scotland his English is not good or he is a poor speller.
I asked him for his phone number so i can talk to him and he made some poor excuse it was faulty, but asked for mine.
I am reluctant to deal with this person so have put him on ignore.

A bankers draft is like a postal order, you give the bank the money and they give you the draft, you then give the draft to the other person who can cash it in at a bank.

It's what people use to pay large amounts of money safely as onlt the person the draft is made out to (you) can cash it.

Say you won't ship the goods until the draft has been cashed, he can't argue with that.

Originally posted by Cycleracer
I am reluctant to deal with this person so have put him on ignore.

That looks like the best way to deal with this person.

To answer your question:

A banker's draft looks like a cheque, but it has an actual value. If you lose it, it's gone.

The bank transfer the funds out of the account and onto the draft, and when you put it into your account it transfers off the paper and into your account. A normal cheque is a promise to pay, that your bank presents to their bank in demand of payment.

Remember, a bankers draft is NOT guaranteed money.

I sold my car recently and the buyer said he would like to pay by bankers draft.

I said fine but explained that I won't release my car until my bank tell me the funds have ACTUALLY cleared into my account.
(times vary according to bank)


He could give you a bankers draft say, then walk away with whatever he's buying from you. Then he could simply phone his bank and say the draft has been 'lost'....

The bank would then stop the draft being cashed, leaving you with a massive headache.....

Pinlock is absolutely right. A bankers draft is simply a cheque issued by a bank, which they won't do unless they know there are funds to clear it. Theoretically they are as good as cash.

HOWEVER!!!

There are a lot of fake / stolen drafts around these days. Be careful. You should still ensure that you have the funds in your account.

There is a charge for a draft in any case, so while your purchaser is paying bank charges you might as well tell your them to make it easy and do a TT (Telegraphic Transfer) of the money directly into your account. That way you get the money the same day, and your bank will be able to confirm it.

Your particular buyer doesn't inspire much confidence, so I would just insist on a TT - after all, it is easier for them to simply drop a letter of instruction into the bank than it is to write the letter, go to the bank, wait for the draft and then post it to you before waiting for the funds to clear.

Originally posted by Tony
There is a charge for a draft in any case,
Dunno about your bank, but many of them stopped charging for this. It's supposed to be more secure than lugging cash about, so they encourage the draft route to prevent their customers being mugged at the door.

The use of drafts in a fraud is to make you believe that you have their cash and so cannot lose.

BUT there are two common frauds running here.
One is fake documents. Who amongst us is going to know a forgery if we see one? As advised earlier, the only precaution against this is to wait for funds to clear (but even then a good forgery may take time to come to light.)

The second fraud is that you will recieve a draft (again fake) for more than the agreed amount. You will then be asked to transfer back the excess. Even if you still have the goods and the draft, you are out of pocket when the forgery comes to light.

The other point mentioned is to ask them to transfer the money. Unfortunately this requires you to give out account details in a situation when you don't know or necessarily trust the person you are dealing with. Not something that I would recommend.

You have gone with your gut instinct and it is better to be safe than sorry.

Good advise from all so far. As a fraud investigator for over 27 years I am well familiar with this con. The draft is most likely counterfeit. It will look as good as an original and pass initial inspection at your bank. After you deposit the draft your bank may hold the funds for up to 5 days to make sure the draft is good. Due to false routing numbers on the check it will take up to 2 weeks for the fraud to return to your bank, long after you think it is safe to take the money and complete the transaction. You, then, are left holding the bag. Even taking payment by the TT method mentioned is not fool proof as many payments originate on stolen credit cards which are used to inflate the balance on a fraudulent account. By the time the transactions all catch up with the bank, they are out large amounts of money. If the buyer sent an email, check the full header to see the IP address or the sender. Check on the ARIN web site to track the IP number and I bet it will be the Netherlands, France or Nigeria. Go with your instinct and blow this guy off, good job!

do not let goods go until drafy has cleared. i have just been ripped off to the tune of 26k for my bmw car. a guy fron london rang and said he wanted to buy the car for his wife for xmas so needed it quickly. i let the car go, he seemed genuine and the draft looked real enough. turns out it was counterfeit!! he's gone missing and so has my car and my money.

Blimey, this is an old thread of mine, almost thought someone had hijacked my name.

Meanwhile I hope you get this one sorted and let us know how it goes.

Originally posted by Cycleracer
Blimey, this is an old thread of mine, almost thought someone had hijacked my name.

Meanwhile I hope you get this one sorted and let us know how it goes.


Did you deal with this person in the end? If so how did it go?

No I did not and got a cash sale in the end.:thumbsup:

:o My goodness, are you serious??? Please tell me you reported him and got your BMW back...

Just saw that this was today. It cannot be that easy for that low-life. There *must* be something you can do??

Originally posted by melanie21
do not let goods go until drafy has cleared. i have just been ripped off to the tune of 26k for my bmw car. a guy fron london rang and said he wanted to buy the car for his wife for xmas so needed it quickly. i let the car go, he seemed genuine and the draft looked real enough. turns out it was counterfeit!! he's gone missing and so has my car and my money.

do not let goods go until drafy has cleared. i have just been ripped off to the tune of 26k for my bmw car. a guy fron london rang and said he wanted to buy the car for his wife for xmas so needed it quickly. i let the car go, he seemed genuine and the draft looked real enough. turns out it was counterfeit!! he's gone missing and so has my car and my money.

Exactly the same thing has just happened to me! £25k BMW M3 by a bloke from London. The draft was cleared and then two weeks later, the bank rang to say it was fraudulent and took back the money. Got the Tracker activated but no signal, either its been ripped out or the cars abroad. What can I do????????????????

Mike