A question of finance

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TENKAN

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#245247 25-Jan-2019 16:48

Hi there, I have a question that I'd like answered from anyone in the know,
I'm in the process of selling my vehicle and for the very first time I've come across something that makes me a little bit suspicious, you see I have a person you has shown a great deal of interest ( ha don't they all ) and has made an offer that I have accepted, now normally this would be a cash sale or overnight bank transfer, however the buyer has informed me that they are doing finance, which is fine by me I don't care how they get the money together, however the buyer says he needs a copy of my bank statement on the banks letter head and a copy of both sides of my driver's licence to give to their finance company and the finance company will then pay me directly and when cleared will come pick the vehicle up. So my question is this normal practice for when you borrow money from a finance company? I would have thought that the finance company would pay you( the buyer ) directly and the buyer would then pay me, any thoughts? I'm really not keen on giving my account number and licence number to someone I don't know, (you can do lot with these details I'm sure)

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Hammered
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#2167494 25-Jan-2019 16:55

I wouldn't. Smells like identity theft. Think of all the details they'll end up with. Scam city.

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Delphinus

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#2167498 25-Jan-2019 17:10

Could always ask which finance company and ring them direct to confirm that is the case. Then if it's important to sell the car to this person (and the finance company seems reputable) deal with them directly? Whole thing seems odd though.

Kiwifruta

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#2167525 25-Jan-2019 17:49

They won't need the transactions just proof of the bank account number. Having it on bank letterhead confirms the correct bank account number. However, provide this directly to the finance company, not to the buyer.

If the money is deposited in to the wrong account because you gave them the wrong number, then it is difficult and not without challenge to get it out of the wrong account.So having it on letterhead issued by the bank prevents your culpability.

But wanting a copy of your ID, doesn't sound right.

If there is a charge over the car (i.e. you financed the purchase of the car and the lender used the vehicle as security), that will need to be released. With house sales, the buyer's finance company will pay your financier directly. I expect something similar will happen with car finance.

TENKAN

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#2167560 25-Jan-2019 17:58

Delphinus

Yes we had thought of this, I'll get those details and give them a call and hopefully this will set the record straight.

Kiwifruta

Yes I was thinking this, really unusual to ask for our license details which doesn't seem relevant, and your right they would only need the letter head from the statement.

Stu

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#2167562 25-Jan-2019 18:29

No finance company should need YOUR driver's licence. You're not the one after a loan.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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Fred99

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#2167564 25-Jan-2019 18:36

TENKAN: Delphinus

Yes we had thought of this, I'll get those details and give them a call and hopefully this will set the record straight.

Kiwifruta

Yes I was thinking this, really unusual to ask for our license details which doesn't seem relevant, and your right they would only need the letter head from the statement.

I was thinking this sounded really dodgy - a scam - but perhaps it's not.

The finance company will register a security against the vehicle, they're going to want to be damned sure it's been sold by the legitimate owner. At this stage, all they can probably assume is that you're a person with the keys, they no doubt can check whether there's a security registered against the vehicle or whether it's been reported stolen, but that's about it. At some stage, they're going to need some ID from you.

TENKAN

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#2167566 25-Jan-2019 18:48

Actually that's a very interesting point ( needing our license details for proof of ownership )
Again this can hopefully be confirmed after I call them, there's no doubt in my mind that this deal could only go forward with me having direct contact with the actual finance company they intend to use, otherwise it just seems to risky for me to give my details to the buyer.

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dafman

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#2167569 25-Jan-2019 19:04

It sounds like a scam to me. I agree with the advice to only provide the information directly to the finance company, not the buyer.

Lias

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#2167573 25-Jan-2019 19:14

I'd go a few steps further.. I'd ask for the name of the finance company and the contact person, then verify that the finance company is NZ registered, has been in business for some time, etc, and contact them via their publicly listed contact details rather than anything the buyer provides.

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Stu

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#2167574 25-Jan-2019 19:15

As above, I wouldn't accept a phone number for the finance company from the buyer. Look it up yourself, just to be sure. Otherwise, it could be anyone on the end of the phone.

This stuff does happen!

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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TENKAN

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#2167577 25-Jan-2019 19:21

Lias

Yes definitely good advice, I'm thinking I'm going to walk away from this, I mean I can't understand why a finance company wants to pay me directly?
If I take out a loan from any of them once approved they simply deposit the money into my bank account and I can go and buy whatever I like with it, right?

scuwp

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#2167595 25-Jan-2019 19:51

Scam. Run Forrest run!!!!

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coffeebaron

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#2167629 25-Jan-2019 20:04

It's not uncommon for the finance company to make the purchase direct, so it may well be legitimate. But as above caution and due diligence is a must.

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tdgeek

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#2167637 25-Jan-2019 20:25

Delphinus:

Could always ask which finance company and ring them direct to confirm that is the case. Then if it's important to sell the car to this person (and the finance company seems reputable) deal with them directly? Whole thing seems odd though.

Highly agree. The finance company will want to make sure its a genuine sale, so they will want details of the genuine seller. If they are happy for the buyer to get the details, then this finance company is bizarre, just asking for dodgy buyers to create a fake deal and get free money and run

Dratsab

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#2167680 26-Jan-2019 05:20

Stu: No finance company should need YOUR driver's licence. You're not the one after a loan.

No, but he's with one who'll end up with the loan if he gives those details over. Nothing like getting a hefty loan to have your car taken away :-)

The finance company can make all the checks on the vehicle it needs without any information about the seller. Once that's done, if they need to verify the identity of the seller (proof of ownership), they can do the legwork in a nice legal manner - proper forms/letterheads and all as befitting a company setting up a legal contract.

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