Ok to Accept Certified Check as Payment?

vinehanger

vinehanger

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Is a certified check a safe method of payment? Buyer says he has the check ready, 2 x $2k. Should I accept or ask for money order / cash?
 
Certified checks are a completely safe form of payment. The funds are held for a day or two depending on the bank however which is why some businesses do not accept them. Otherwise there is no way for him to swindle you by giving you a cert. cheque. I have my own investment business and I accept them and have never had a problem and have confirmed this with several banks.
 
how do you know the check is real? and not printed at home? thats my issue with checks, they are so easy to forge.
 
cash is king. if they can get a check they can get cash.
 
Have him go to the bank with you to depo the cheque. I have done this before. If he is not willing to do that, somethings up.
 
Red695 said:
Have him go to the bank with you to depo the cheque. I have done this before. If he is not willing to do that, somethings up.
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Certified checks can validated at any bank branch or the specific location that issued that branch? His bank is RBC, mine is TD. I don't suppose RBC will cash it out and just give me cash? Or is there any way to do a RBC -- to TD bank transfer?
 
if he will only pay by certified check go to the bank with him and have them verify the checks before signing the bike over to him. I have done this before while selling a seadoo.
 
Impy said:
cash is king. if they can get a check they can get cash.
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Not always, when I bought my bike I added it to my truck loan and they gave me a certified cheque to give to the seller but they would not give me cash.
 
vinehanger said:
For some reason the buyer is hesitant in a cash transaction.
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That's a warning sign that you should be too!!!!!

And Certified cheques CAN be cancelled / reversed. My mother was taken for 5 grand plus charged fees for reversing the transaction. The other party put a stop order on the check just hours after it was issued. That was the day before they gave it to her.
When we tried to file charges the police advised us to walk away as the individual was “connected”. We were told to chalk it up as a life lesson.
 
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You can email the money from any bank to any other bank but depending on the bank it could take a few days. Wires are the safest non cash form of payment and RBC is very reliable for them and they have the best rates. There really is no reason why he can't go pull 4k cash out of his bank though. I grabbed 7k in cash from RBC today no problem. If he is concerned with carrying around 4k or meeting someone with that kind of cash on him, ask to meet him at a bank inside where there are cameras. Any bank should take a certified cheque from any bank. Call your bank ahead of time to verify if you are concerned. I have had the most problems with TD bank and the best experience with RBC for these matters. But they should be able to clear up any of your concerns over the phone or by stopping in and chatting with a teller or bank manager.
 
Tell him to bring cash and meet you in front of the police station. If he still doesn't feel comfortable do the transaction in the police station lobby.
 
vinehanger said:
Not sure, but he agreed to a bank money order or a cash deal after I said no to the certified check
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Cool. In that thread I posted - cover both your butts - both of you go to his bank and get the cash, go to the MTO transfer ownership - it may cost some of your time but you're both well covered and the deal is done.
 
Definitely no to certified cheque. cash only. or in bank on the spot you visually see bank putting certified cheque together.

Or better yet money order.
 
I've had almost 5 motorcycles since 2000 and I've bought every single one of them using Certified Cheque from the bank. It's a good form of payment.
 
Someone tried to pull a cert cheque scam on me once via kijiji. It was on obvious scam but I played along to see what would happen. Dude sent me a fake cheque (not a bad forgery) via fedex for about 600% of my selling price. He asked me to deposit it and then pay his shipping agent $X dollars for his services and told me to keep the rest "for my trouble" (woohoo). The goal was to get me to withdraw funds from my account before the phony cheque gets flagged by the bank. When I told him I had no intention of following through he threatened to call the cops lol.

Btw, when it comes to declaring the price paid, cash is harder to trace ;)
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