JustAtC

even if the bank clears the check....it does not mean that there's money in there! It's like when you write a check to say Walmart. Walmart can only check at the register to see if an account exists but they don't know how much money is in the bank until they send the bank your check and found out that you only have $1 in the bank - check bounce.

Report this guy to scam site so that he won't do it to anyone else.

vintage42

A quick yes or no would probably be only if the bank that issued the check is local, or if you already had enough in your account to cover the check if it was bad. Local banks are used to communicating with each other, and local certified checks clear in a day.

If the issuing entity is out of town, you want to verify that:
- the entity does exist (credit union, S&L, bank, whatever)
- it is legitimate, not some kind of fake operation for issuing checks.
- the entity did issue the check.
- the account holder has not put a stop the check.

You cannot be sure that you have the funds just because your bank deposits the check in your account. If the check is bad, you are liable, not your bank. If you spend the money and the check is bad or if the other person stops the check, your bank will come after you. It takes about ten days to be sure an out of town certified check has cleared. The paper check is processed through a clearing system where many banks use the same clearing house, and the paper check or a photocopy ends up back at the issuing bank. If in doubt, hold the vehicle's title for ten days.

If I was selling a car to an out of town buyer, I would ask him to wire the money. He would come into town, look at my car, decide to buy it. We would go to my bank, and my banker would call his banker and ask that the money be wired to my account and routing number. We would leave the bank and my banker would call me when the funds were wired - probably in a couple of hours. Then we would return the to the bank to do the vehicle transfer papers and notarizations.

Tomas

(Remember, too, that the particular check mentioned here was made out to Toyota Financial Services, which means that it might be weeks after the car was last seen before it was known that the check was no good, etc.)

OldYeller

If I was in the other guys shoes, I would not accept you putting a personal check in the mail to Toyota either. This is certainly the problem with private transactions where there is a third party owner on the title.......

equinox2355

That is very good info and thats what I would recommend to do... Always C.Y.A. (cover your a**)

sspdfreek

why wouldn't you accept that? if he gave me cash, he'd drive off in my car. That's a fair trade. I have no use for a title to a vehicle i don't own and Toyota Financial will be looking to me to pay off the loan. I also have in my posession forms from Toyota financial for releasing my interest in the vehicle and having the title mailed to the new owner. His main thing was picking the car up today(friday), he called me 9pm on wednesday trying to make arrangements. I also gave him the option of making an online or overthephone payment directly to TF but that still takes two full business days to process. He backed out of the deal because he was a scammer, not because i was proposing a shady deal.

Budsmoke

As long as you still “own” the title, you still “own” the vehicle. The cash he gave you would technically only be for the purchase of your keys.

If I was to purchase a vehicle with cash from someone who did not yet “own” the title and couldn’t physically sign it over (along with my signature of acceptance) I might be a little weary. The selling party could keep the cash, report the vehicle stolen, and then the actual owner (of the title) could come to me for their property. I think this may be what OldYeller was getting at….

This is a little different from the situation you were in. Glad to hear that you didn’t fall for this guy’s scam. It definitely sounds like a scam.


Here’s another tid-bit of information about personal checks . It is illegal for your bank to disclose the availability of funds to a third party, excluding other banks.

When you cash a check at the bank it is written from, if the check looks legit and the funds are available in the account, they will give you cash. If someone was to know that so-and-so had $5,000 (arbitrary amount) in their account, they could forge the check for that amount and walk away with cash.


Another thought about accepting checks for large private sales. Someone could make up a fake check from a fake bank. They could put in a phone number from an “untraceable” pre-paid cell-phone. When you call the number to verify the check, the person on the other line could tell you that the check is legit. ALWAYS make sure that your bank has received the funds from the issuing party before parting with your property.