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I''ve found a Land Rover Freelander 2 for sale in Spain - is it safe to buy?
I am in the process of buying a car UK registered car currently in Spain. The owner moved there some months ago and is arranging the sale via a shipping company. I have received an email with an eight-stage process to complete the purchase, the full transcript of which is below. What are the pitfalls, if any?
"Further to your request, we confirm we have the vehicle you mentioned (2008 FREELANDER 2.2 HST 5 doors Diesel - Reg. no : VX58 EVF) in our warehouse and it has been already inspected by our LandRover certified inspectors. They have found the car in excellent overall condition, same as it's papers. The vehicle will be delivered to it's new owner HPI clear and free of any outstanding finance. The seller has already paid for our third party services meaning that we will have to follow the next 8 steps to purchase the vehicle.
"1. Both parties agree to terms of the transaction, which includes a full and accurate description of the merchandise, sale price, number of days for the Buyer's inspection (2-3 days).
"2. We begin the shipping process, send you the Sales Agreement /Sales Invoice signed/stamped by the Spanish Ministry of Justice ,our company's solicitor and the Seller. The Agreement has legal tender in front of any court of law. The agreement is in electronic format and you will have to print it , sign it, scan it and send it back to us.
"3. Once we receive the agreement signed by both parties we will start the shipping process. (The shipping will not take more than 12 working days tops anywhere in Europe and the vehicle will be delivered to your home address; you do not have to pick it up from a port or terminal.)
"4. We will provide you the payment details.
"5. You will have to submit the payment, by bank transfer, into our company's solicitor escrow bank account in maximum 48 hours after you will receive the payment details. The money will remain in our company's solicitor escrow bank account and will NOT be forwarded to the seller until the buyer receives, inspects and accepts the vehicle.
"6. As soon as the vehicle leaves our warehouse we will send you the shipping receipt and the tracking number.
"7. The Buyer has a number of 2-3 days for an inspection and the option to accept or reject the vehicle.
"8. If the buyer accepts the vehicle, we will forward the payment to the seller. Should you dislike the vehicle for any reason, we will refund you in FULL in maximum 48 hours and return the vehicle to the seller at his expense.
"If you agree with our 8 steps transaction terms and you want to buy the vehicle you must provide us with your details. As soon as we will receive your details our Legal Department will legalize the papers in electronic format and we will send you the contract signed by the Seller and our Company's Solicitor and you will have to sign it and email it back to us."
"Further to your request, we confirm we have the vehicle you mentioned (2008 FREELANDER 2.2 HST 5 doors Diesel - Reg. no : VX58 EVF) in our warehouse and it has been already inspected by our LandRover certified inspectors. They have found the car in excellent overall condition, same as it's papers. The vehicle will be delivered to it's new owner HPI clear and free of any outstanding finance. The seller has already paid for our third party services meaning that we will have to follow the next 8 steps to purchase the vehicle.
"1. Both parties agree to terms of the transaction, which includes a full and accurate description of the merchandise, sale price, number of days for the Buyer's inspection (2-3 days).
"2. We begin the shipping process, send you the Sales Agreement /Sales Invoice signed/stamped by the Spanish Ministry of Justice ,our company's solicitor and the Seller. The Agreement has legal tender in front of any court of law. The agreement is in electronic format and you will have to print it , sign it, scan it and send it back to us.
"3. Once we receive the agreement signed by both parties we will start the shipping process. (The shipping will not take more than 12 working days tops anywhere in Europe and the vehicle will be delivered to your home address; you do not have to pick it up from a port or terminal.)
"4. We will provide you the payment details.
"5. You will have to submit the payment, by bank transfer, into our company's solicitor escrow bank account in maximum 48 hours after you will receive the payment details. The money will remain in our company's solicitor escrow bank account and will NOT be forwarded to the seller until the buyer receives, inspects and accepts the vehicle.
"6. As soon as the vehicle leaves our warehouse we will send you the shipping receipt and the tracking number.
"7. The Buyer has a number of 2-3 days for an inspection and the option to accept or reject the vehicle.
"8. If the buyer accepts the vehicle, we will forward the payment to the seller. Should you dislike the vehicle for any reason, we will refund you in FULL in maximum 48 hours and return the vehicle to the seller at his expense.
"If you agree with our 8 steps transaction terms and you want to buy the vehicle you must provide us with your details. As soon as we will receive your details our Legal Department will legalize the papers in electronic format and we will send you the contract signed by the Seller and our Company's Solicitor and you will have to sign it and email it back to us."
Asked on 1 June 2010 by romansway
Answered by
Dan Harrison
This is a scam, known as Escrow fraud. Do not hand over any personal details and if you have sent over any information already that could be sensitive (i.e anything that could also be a log-in password), change it immediately and do not hand over any money - you will never see it again, or the car. I've done a Google search for "VX58 EVF" and the car appears for sale on a number of sites. The pictures are almost certainly from a car review somewhere and have been stolen for this fake advert.
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