Bank Transfer - Secure or not

T

Tired Paul

Registered User
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I have been looking to book a villa for hols this summer and have being in contact with the owner via email a few times about it. Would like to book the property but he is looking for a bank transfer to pay the deposit (€200). He has supplied all the bank details in sort and a/c number and its a well known bank (not in Ireland).
Is this a secure form of payment or should I be cautious.
 
Well there's always a risk of being scammed so make sure you do as much as you can to establish that he his bona fide in advance of paying anything and if in doubt don't do it.
 
A bank to bank transfer is secure. If it's EUR to EUR, there is no charge. If it's EUR to non-EUR, there will be a charge. You'll need the payee IBAN, rather than just the NSC and account number.
 
I know your question was about being scammed and safety etc - it's always a possibility when dealing directly with owners rather than through intermediaries or when paying via paypal / visa.

A word of caution however in relation to your transaction - if you don't know the villa but have a good idea of the area do lots of research - we had booked a villa through owners direct last year in the Algarve - had a niggly feeling a couple of weeks before holidays that was proved to be correct - owners only supplied photos of villa and general area it was located in - I found the villa on google maps and found that it was beside a very busy late night restaurant just off a main road sharing an entrance with two other restaurants - not ideal when you have small children. we took the hit and lost our deposit and rebooked via an agent we dealt with previously. I drove by the villa we were supposed to have when on holidays and all my concerns were upheld.
 
TarfHead said:
Does the risk of being scammed only arise if you supply your own account details ? If not, how ?
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I meant you might do a transfer to a bank account and the recipient does a runner and doesn't deliver on the promised goods or services.
 

It is the standard way of doing business in Europe. Of course the method of payment is neither here nor there when it comes to being scammed, so do as much research as you can before you take action.
 
Jim2007 said:
It is the standard way of doing business in Europe. Of course the method of payment is neither here nor there when it comes to being scammed, so do as much research as you can before you take action.
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I've checked out the company letting the property and they seem well above board. Also, I was in the complex last year where the property is located and know the area well. In the bank today and they need IBAN and Swift code before transferring. Bank seemed happy with the details that I had provided. Lots of googling and all looks well so will wait and see if property gets back to me with the a/c and code numbers to complete the transfer.
 
Tired Paul said:
Is this a secure form of payment or should I be cautious.
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As a form of payment, it is probably the safest one - it will deliver the funds efficiently to the account requested. Your issue is not about the method of payment - it is really about whether you trust the vendor
 
Managed to get to speak to vendor yesterday. I rang expecting not to get through but was surprised when the call was answered. I explained my concerns and that the bank wanted IBAN & BIC numbers for the transfer. She couldn't have been more helpful. She gave me the numbers without hesitation, apologised for not including them in her letter and gave another contact number should I have any furhter problems. It has quenched any misgivings I may have had reagrding her trustworthyness.
 
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