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My parents have decided that they no longer want to caravan and are selling up. They put the van on gumtree Sunday afternoon and at 6pm someone wanted to view it and they were travelling down from Hatfield (to Bristol 2.5hrs).
Apparently the van is for his parents and not him.
He wanted to pay cash but eventually agreed on a bank transfer (10k).
Now.... The postcode he has given appears to be a permanent travellers site. We have only found this out this morning. He wants to pick it up tomorrow.
Would you return deposit and walk away???
WHy? As long as you do the usual checks on the money, a traveller's money is as good as anyone else's.
Because all of the dealings my family (brother) has had with travellers over many years has been incredibly bad
I'd get my drive done as part of the deal
I had a traveller want to purchase my car after he’d checked it over he said he’d get back to me. The car got stolen the same night coincidence is unlikely.
From mine and others I know personally what travellers can’t buy they’ll steal. You’re too far into the deal to back out now take the money, if it’s cash check it’s not dodgy.
I never knowingly deal with travellers they have gained a reputation they seem to constantly live up to.
That is the problem, we have only just found out!!
He wants to pay you, you want money, what's the problem?
Let's frame this another way, if he was black and from the inner city, would we be having this discussion?
there is a fine balance here between not stereotyping orand facing a reality.
The reality here is that trading with travellers can be very risky and a lot of people have experience of this.
If you want to pull out of the deal I would be very clear to say that the caravan has been sold and collected, no longer at the property and definitely not there any more.
If you want to go ahead then (obviously) check bank transfer complete, both online and a phone call to bank, before handing it over. Belts and braces. That would be the case for any buyer.
Finally, I would be properly increasing security. Proper clamps, cameras, perhaps even considering moving the caravan to secure storage until sold.
That is a statement of fact.
Evidence?
That is a statement of fact.
Evidence?
I edited my reply to remove that as I thought it would be fair question to ask. I can't pull facts but I can draw on my own experience, as can many others.
Why did he give you the postcode that he’d be travelling from? Seem odd unless he’s asked you to complete the V5c ahead of time 🤔
You are in too deep now, the buyer would be well justified to be very pissed off if you pulled out on that basis.
Make sure you have a receipt, and perhaps an independant witness conveniently on hand.
franksinatra
Subscriber
That is a statement of fact.Evidence?
I edited my reply to remove that as I thought it would be fair question to ask. I can’t pull facts but I can draw on my own experience, as can many others.
Posted 34 minutes ago
My brother has bitter experience of this, he is not an isolated case by any means.
There is a permanent site close to his business and he has been plagued with problems (mainly theft) from them for years. The police acknowledge it but do not act.
The latest experience was in broad daylight three men from the site drove into his yard with crow bars and balaclavas, threatened a member of his staff, hitched up a 25k chipper and drive off. Despite having CCTV and the chipper having a tracker that showed it being on the site, the police were not interested.
He was at the end of the tether, called the police and told them he was going to collect it. They told him not to and eventually turned up on site as my brother was being confronted by the travellers as he hooked up his property.
The police seemed to know quite a few of them and calmed the situation down and my brother drove off, butcher again no further police intervention.
This is nothing to do with colour/race etc as someone above suggested. It is to do with the experience of many people.
Hence my original concerns of selling something worth 10k.
This is nothing to do with colour/race etc as someone above suggested. It is to do with the experience of many people.
Many people from a given sample of one. And it wasn't about colour or race, it was about stereotyping.
This guy is willing to drive 2 and a half hours and pay cash then a bank transfer when that wasn't good enough, what exactly is the problem here? They could have as easily found out where you lived by posing as a buyer, not shown up then pinched it without going through the hassle of all that.
I used to store a classic car in a very well hidden barn with caravans and motorhomes. All indoor storage so some nice stuff in there. The place was owned by a family friend and never advertised, nor were there regular movements it was just for winter.
So someone advertised a big caravan for sale. A few viewings, then it was stolen.
Seems to be common practice, go and view a few, choose the one you like, have a look at security then go back and Nick it.
Strangely enough I am selling a property privately, viewer puts in offer then wants all private details, then pulls out. Could be purely honest but you have to be v careful.
If there is already actual money in your folks' account as a deposit, then that seems legit. As above, bank transfer for the balance and it should go reasonably amicably. If the aim is to get it for a relative to actually live in, then the priority is to get a nice one in good condition, hence willingness to travel.
If be tempted to take the cash rather than a transfer but make them come to the branch with you and have them hand it direct to the cashier (i.e you never touch the money).
Is it a very large caravan that a traveller might live (most seem to be twin axle jobs) or is it too cheap and they're buying it to sell on?
Not a large one, and I think it is around the going price.
Just had an update from my dad who said the money has been transferred to his account and they want to pick up tomorrow.
Either some kind of scam or they are very trusting because they met us once on an off-site storage facility and have not been to my parent's house and have not seen any proof of ownership and have now transferred 10k.
I just cannot see what the scam would be.
Then it would seem to be turning into a positive experience which hopefully it will.
I’ve heard way more negative experiences that friends have had with travellers than positive.
I have one friend who’s a Doctor he is the only person I’ve met who has ever had a neutral experience of travellers, but he was patching them up after a brawl.
Put it up on its little legs and take the wheels off, take them into the house and give them a good scrub up. Make a noticeable difference.
If you get a 'cant make it today' call or something odd/different/change, you can be happy its unlikely they've have brought spare wheels with them.
Should they come to pick it up and query why the wheels were off, you can say you thought them a bit grubby so gave them a clean.
Odd yes, but cant really suggest anything else without coming out with a blank accusation, and thats unlikely. Also be an idea to get the driver/et all on a vid or such. maybe leave a positioned dashcam to record it.
said every person ever who was just about to get scammed 😂I just cannot see what the scam would be.
Tell your Dad to move the cash to another account !
The price of all things camping has gone up during this current madness. What was a fair price might be a good deal now relative to other caravans.
I'd sell our campervan if I knew the prices would drop again next year
As above, transfer the cash from your dads account to yours, check its landed with the bank.
If you want to pull out of the deal I would be very clear to say that the caravan has been sold and collected, no longer at the property and definitely not there any more.
If you do this move the van
Also be an idea to get the driver/et all on a vid or such. maybe leave a positioned dashcam to record it.
I had the same idea on the way home. I will leave my dashcam on and discretely position one of those new chilli tech cams in my dad's car.
anagallis_arvensis
Member
As above, transfer the cash from your dads account to yours, check its landed with the bank.
Will get him to do that later.
I'll report back, they are meant to be collecting tomorrow afternoon.
If the money is in the account then there's nowhere for it to go.
Just as a variant. I had a good experience with travelers. My motorcycle broke down. there was a laybe with some travellers parked up vans and caravans. I asked them if they would take me to my destination 10 miles away in their van for cash. They agreed, On the way there they found I was a nurse and refused to take any money from me.
Just to counter that, I once crashed a motorbike with-in sniffing distance of some travelers. In the time it took for the copper who attended and I to do a full circuit of the roundabout I crashed on they were wheeling it back towards one their vans. They just dropped it and stood there, no shame whatsoever.
On the other hand, I attended the wedding of a traveler my wife worked with with our new baby. By the time we left there was about £300 in the pram "fur da babby". You can't refuse it either, they would be insulted if you tried, they don't do modesty and family is everything.
In summary, some people are dicks, some aren't, and some people can be both dicks and not dicks as the mood or situation takes them.
Picking up later today, I'll let you know.
Taught maybe 6 (I think) traveller kids over the years.
Of that sample 4 + families were lovely, and the other 2 (brothers) were little shits.
So generally in line with the normal ratio of nice people to dicks in the population!
Well, that seemed to go ok. Turned up, prepped van for towing (clearly knew their way around a caravan!). Hooked up and drove off. Very courteous and friendly
Caravan has gone and money appears to be safe.
I will update if there are any further developments!