Freeads advice

Our golden rules for safe online buying and selling

We do all we can here at Freeads.co.uk to make sure that anyone buying or selling on our site are looked after. We've got all the techie measures in place to ensure that it's the safest and easiest classified site to use in the UK. However while we're doing all this there are still some basic rules you should follow when buying or selling on any website.

Freeads.co.uk is a UK site designed to bring local buyers and sellers together, therefore any ads which are from overseas or involve requests to ship overseas or pay money overseas should be treated with caution. Here at Freeads.co.uk we do all we can to prevent fraud and deal swiftly with any issues brought to our attention. So, without wanting to sound like your Mother... you know we're only saying this for your own good, so take a quick look through the points below. And, just remember if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware! Once you have bought an item from a private seller, you have no legal comeback if it turns out to be faulty. Therefore, check the goods thoroughly before handing over the money. Freeads.co.uk cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or legitimacy of any ads on the site.

Payment

• Always try to meet the seller face-to-face, in our experience most fraudsters won't want you to see their face.
• For most transactions it is often easier and more convenient to pay in cash. However, in order to be on the safe side don't take more cash than you need for the purchase.
• Never send cash or cheques through the post, or place money directly into a seller's bank account, in advance or expectation of receiving goods. For more valuable items you could ask for a personal cheque to be cleared before you part with your goods and offer a receipt as proof of purchase.
• Always try to get more than one form of contacting the buyer.

Another alternative is to use an Escrow service (a list of such companies can be found using the main search engines). This is where a third party holds the funds for a purchase; seller ships to the buyer after the escrow provider has the confirmed funds.

• When the buyer gets and approves of the item, the escrow provider releases the funds
• If the item is never delivered, the buyer gets their money back
• If the buyer is not satisfied with the item, they may return it to the seller
• The seller gets the item back, the escrow provider returns the money to the buyer

Pets

A dog is for life not just for Christmas / a birthday / a bored afternoon surfing the net at work – so if you're thinking about buying a pet please don't rush into it and make a hasty decision. It's too easy to forget the reality of looking after an animal when you're cooing over the cute pictures of a puppy or kitten online. But it's a serious undertaking, you're talking about caring for the animal for the whole of its lifetime, which could be as much as 20 years in some cases – meaning that there will be 20 years of food, care and vet bills. In the case of dogs of course there is the question of daily exercise too.

When buying and selling pets ensure that all necessary certificates are produced and if you are buying from a breeder, you should request a pedigree certificate as well as worming and vaccination details. If the ad claims the dog is Kennel Club registered, remember to ask for this too. It is impossible for Freeads.co.uk to verify the background of any animals and would therefore urge that you take some checks before buying and not just meet someone at the pub or local railway station.

If it is a new litter of puppies or dogs make sure that they are from good homes or from recognised breeders and that you always see the mother. This will help to prevent you purchasing a stolen animal or one from a puppy farm. Never pay a deposit in cash to reserve that cute puppy you have seen online. We know that there is a chance that the dog will not be available, person doesn't exist or when you turn up the dog is nothing like the one pictured, therefore do not be duped into paying money by paypal or Western Union to 'reserve' the puppy you have seen.

Freeads.co.uk will endeavour to remove from the site any ads which are for animals which are banned for sale such as certain breeds of bird, monkeys and dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

When you've got your new pet at home don't forget to register them with a local vet as soon as possible, have them checked over and microchipped where possible.

Scams

We don't want to be alarmist but there are a handful of ways that a few unscrupulous people have tried in the past to scam people looking to buy or sell property on the internet. Saying that though, there are also lots of poeple who have done it very successfully – just be aware of some of the most frequent scams.

The most frequent scams at present involve fraudulent cashiers cheques which the seller will cash believing to be genuine. The key here is that the cheque WILL clear, the bank credits your account and it is not until several weeks later that the bank finds the cheque was fraudulent and will then take the money back from your account. You get NO redress from the banks at present.

Variations on this include;

1. Buyer living abroad but is owed money
   The buyer who is said to live abroad, will tell the seller that someone in England owes them money and they will make payment by cheque and will arrange for their shipping agent to collect the goods. However the cheque is for an amount in excess of the amount being requested and the seller will be asked to pay the difference back in cash.  

   Example: A car is sold for £2000 and the buyer agrees to buy it without seeing it (that should ring warning bells immediately) saying they will send their shipping agent but they will provide a cheque for more than this, ie £5000. The seller will then be asked to pay the £3000 difference back in cash. The cheque is then found to be fraudulent AFTER you have paid the buyer his £3000. Often the cheque will arrive through the post so you never even see the 'buyer' and once they have their money they won't even bother with collecting the car.

2. Not wanted any more
   The buyer will show interest in your item but again is said to live abroad and will offer to send a cheque to cover the value of the item plus an additional amount for the shipping costs. There is then 'problem' (usually a family tragedy which means he needs the money) and he can't complete the purchase and requests a refund. You check your account and find the cheque has cleared and are persuaded to return the funds, usually via Western Union or via a shipping 'agent'. The cheque is then found to be fraudulent and you are out of pocket.
3. I've sent you too much money
   As before but with a different twist. This time the buyer pays you money into your account but makes a 'mistake' and has paid you too much money. The cheque clears and you believe you are in possession of the funds so you pay them back the difference. As always this will generally be requested in cash or via Western Union payment etc. You subsequently get informed the cheque was fraudulent and are then out of pocket.

Property

Buying and selling a property is pretty much the most expensive most of us will ever do, so it's more important than ever to follow some simple guidelines when making these sorts of transactions online.

Here at Freeads.co.uk our property section is one of the fastest growing. Not only from the traditional properties to let section but also for homes for sale, both in the UK and overseas. But be careful, we've been alerted to some unscrupulous people wanting to exploit this marketplace and so have advice on how to protect you and your money when buying or selling property online.

We'd advise you to be particularly careful if you receive an enquiry from an overseas buyer about buying your property – especially if they request that you travel to meet them and that all travel expenses will be paid. We've heard of scammers that meet the person selling the property, agree terms in excess of the asking price. But then for alleged `tax` reasons you are requested to make a payment in cash before being told that full funds will then get transferred within the UK to buy your property. On a return visit with the cash, people have been robbed.

Freeads recommend that you take professional advice for all property transactions. Enquiries that require you to visit potential buyers when selling a property should be ignored as should any requests for payments in cash.