Seller refused sale because I wanted to use a cashiers check

[Peasantgirl]

Ok, I guess I'm just wanting to rant for a minute here. Oh yeah, new member here, hello everybody!

I'm in the process of looking to buy my first RV ever. I found one on Craigslist in a town about 90 minutes away. Seller insisted on meeting in the evening, after 5pm. I drove all the way down there, inspected it, liked what I saw, told him I wanted to buy it. Explained that I'd have to wait for the bank to open the next day - sorry, dude, I don't just walk around with $6k in my pocket, and you can't withdraw that much from an ATM in one day. I think $5k is the limit? But I digress.

My bank (credit union, actually) had pre-approved me for a personal loan which was how I was planning to pay for it, but they didn't want to just disburse the funds to my account, they wanted to know what it was being spent on. They wanted an invoice or something to show where the money was going, and then they would make out a cashier's check directly to the seller. I don't know the reason for this policy but it is what it is. They made me do the same thing when I bought a storage building. It's a PITA but only for me, not the seller.

Anyway, long story short, I asked the seller if he could make out a bill of sale - UNSIGNED, so he wasn't committing to anything - which he sorta did, he scratched out the year and model and sale price on a scrap of paper. Not exactly a bill of sale but whatever.

Emailed him the next morning to let him know I was going to the credit union that morning to get the cashier's check, and he wrote back to say that he wouldn't accept a CC because it was a scam. Sigh.

I wasn't wiring him anything. I wasn't using a "courier". I wasn't asking him to wire me anything back. I wasn't asking for his bank account info. I was using the local frikkin credit union.

I literally would have taken the guy with me to the credit union to meet the loan officer but before I could suggest that, he writes to tell me that someone else is coming that day to look at it and if they had cash he was going to sell it to them. This, despite me driving NINETY minutes (one way!) to meet him the day before and telling him I wanted it. Grrr!

I emailed back that he was a *bleep* for reneging on our verbal agreement and that I wouldn't buy from him at this point even if the other person didn't want it.

Like I said, just venting here. These cashier check con artists have ruined it for everybody.

[Calicajun]

I don't turn over the vehicle until the funds have completely cleared the bank.

[midnightsadie]

things happen ,both of you should have sat down talked this out, puting some cash down would have helped calm things over. scams happen but I think there blown up more than it actually happens.

[whizbang]

I guess I've been trusting and lucky.

I bought an RV with a cashiers check. And sold one. The buyer was even out of State.

[path1]

These cashier check con artists have ruined it for everybody.

Yep...After my Mom died we (she) got a letter with a "cashiers check" for around $300.00 along with instructions. Instructions said the cashiers check funds are being held by the bank until we (she) completes a enclosed form. The form enrolled her in their "class action data base" that would automatically enroll her in any future suites. Of course the form wanted a credit card number. Closet my Mom ever came to a lawsuit was when her tree fell over on neighbors and neighbor didn't like the speed at which my Moms insurance company was working.

Always a scam going on somewhere. Seller was probably burned before.

[George3037]

The seller probably wanted cash. Not all cashiers checks are a scam but cashiers checks can be cancelled through various means depending on the bank / finance co.

I had it happen to me once when I sold a vehicle. I accepted a cashiers check drawn on a local bank (not a bank I deal with). I deposited the cashiers check in my bank the day after the sale and my bank put a 7 days hold on the money. 7 days later the bank called me to say the funds didn't go through that the check had been cancelled. I had to hire an attorney and sue the guy to get my money. I eventually did at a cost to me plus the delay waiting for my money.

I just sold another vehicle last week and the buyer gave a cash deposit and wanted to pay the balance with a cashiers check. I politely told them no and my reason. They understood and brought cash the next day.

Here's a link to see how to cancel a CC.

https://firstquarterfinance.com/can-you-cancel-a-cashiers-check-stop-payment/

I'm not saying you would do this but you don't know the seller and he doesn't know you. Take cash and a backup person or two to any sale or purchase.

[newman_fulltime]

dont most credit unions,require a inspection before purchase. I know a do alot for the one here

[fireflock]

I understand the seller's hesitation to use a cashiers check. They are commonly forged and you're out of luck as a seller when you get a bad one. The money is taken out of your account and you no longer have the RV.

I understand this deal is long gone, but I too prefer cash (withdrawn together at the bank) and title transfer at the DMV.

You might consider paying the fees for an escrow service if a similar situation comes up in the future.

[dicknellen]

If they change their mind and contact you look at & check out the title prior to getting the c check. Dick

[Ski_Pro_3]

I agree with Gordon; DMV problems abound. Stuff like it's not his to sell, it's his grandfather's for example, who passed away.

The ONLY way I buy a used car any more from a private party is at the DMV. We both go in, we transfer everything and I hand over the cash money. The only exception to that was when I bought a car out of Nevada. I live in California. We still went to the DMV where I had the clerk provide me a receipt for the bill of sale, showing the seller was the legal owner and that the car was titled, registered and temporarily in my name and that I could drive it to California. All it takes is getting pulled over on your way home in a car not belonging to you to drive home this point.

But I gotta make an observation here;
If you can't drum up $6,000 in cash and your bank can't trust you with a personal loan without verifying the collateral of what you are spending it on, then you probably shouldn't be buying an RV in the first place.
Most likely if I were the seller, I wouldn't have taken your check either. And if I had a cash-in-hand buyer, I would have gone that route as well. As a seller, makes no difference to me if you drove 10 miles or 1000 miles. I'm not releasing said vehicle without cash and without a sales receipt exonerating me from any liability of that vehicle once it's driven away. DMV will make sure any accident the buyer becomes involved in isn't my responsibility in any way by doing the paperwork at the time of sale.

[Peasantgirl]

GordonThree wrote:
Welcome to the forums.

Could be seller got a better price from his new buyer. Could be seller wanted cash so he didn't have to share with the government or an ex-wife.

Might even be he was running the scam, maybe a problem with the title. Giving cash would be easy for him to disappear.

I do sorta feel like I dodged a bullet. Everything happens for a reason, right?

[Peasantgirl]

ScottG wrote:
I've heard that a cashier's check can be phonied up these days. I had a Toyota dealership basically tell me the same thing so they accompanied me to our bank. I probably would not accept one either at this point.
I would have suggested we both go to your CU rather than being jerk.

Exactly. I would have been happy for him to go with me to the CU. He took the post down a day or two later but then it popped up again about a week later. I hope he never sells it, lol.

[Lwiddis]

Digress back into today’s world. Fake cashiers checks are all over this country.

[GordonThree]

Welcome to the forums.

Could be seller got a better price from his new buyer. Could be seller wanted cash so he didn't have to share with the government or an ex-wife.

Might even be he was running the scam, maybe a problem with the title. Giving cash would be easy for him to disappear.

[ScottG]

I've heard that a cashier's check can be phonied up these days. I had a Toyota dealership basically tell me the same thing so they accompanied me to our bank. I probably would not accept one either at this point.
I would have suggested we both go to your CU rather than being jerk.