How to sell a caravan or motorhome without being scammed

Keep the caravan or motorhome, its keys and its log book until the full price is in your own bank account and your bank confirms the money has cleared. Nearly every scam aimed at sellers is a way of getting you to break that rule, or of getting you to send money to the "buyer".

The schemes below are the ones the Caravan and Motorhome Club, Auto Trader and MoneyHelper warn sellers about.

Fake payment confirmations and fake banking apps

MoneyHelper warns that a scammer may send a payment confirmation by email or as a screenshot, or turn up in person, get you to put your bank details into a fake app, and show you a confirmation. They then say the payment has gone through, or that it can take a couple of hours to show. Check your own account. Auto Trader adds that money appearing in your account is not the same as money that has cleared, so confirm with your bank.

Overpayment

The buyer pays more than the price, then asks you to send back the difference by another method. Auto Trader describes the version where the original PayPal payment is then cancelled; the Club describes the one where a cheque never clears. Either way, you have refunded money you never had. Turn down any overpayment and ask them to pay the right amount.

Fake escrow

An escrow service holds the buyer's money until the sale completes. Auto Trader says a genuine one will never ask you to wire money directly to another party, and that fake ones use false licence numbers, logos and copyright details, and mobile numbers made to look like foreign landlines. Check an escrow firm's credentials with the Financial Conduct Authority before you rely on it.

Fees to people who say they will help

The "perfect buyer". Someone offers to set you up with a buyer for a fee. The Club says these buyers don't exist and the middleman disappears with the money. Auto Trader calls them canvassers, and says never to put your phone number in the advert description.
Transport or shipping. An overseas "buyer" pays, then asks you to pay a transport company, and the payment is later reversed. Auto Trader describes the same thing as a fake shipping fee.
Top of every site. The Club has seen messages offering top listings on every classified site, and the first page of Google, for a one-off payment of over £100.

Your log book and bank details

Show the V5C to a buyer in person only. DVLA and Auto Trader both say not to send a photo of it or give out its document reference, which can be used to get a fraudulent copy. Give your bank details by phone or on paper rather than by email: Caravan Depot reported a case in 2018 where an emailed document with bank details was intercepted and altered.

Taking payment

Bank transfer. The Club calls an online bank transfer the safest method, because you can see the money in your account. For a motorhome, Auto Trader suggests the registration as the payment reference.
Cash. Go to the bank with the buyer, so a cashier can check the notes.
Cheque or banker's draft. Don't hand over until it has cleared. Auto Trader says a banker's draft can be faked too, and to be wary of a buyer who turns up after the banks have closed with a draft already made out.
Keep messages on the site. Auto Trader suggests keeping communication on its platform where possible.

If it happens

Call your bank first. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040; it replaced Action Fraud. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. Forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and scam texts to 7726.

For the paperwork that goes with a genuine sale, see paperwork to sell. What each way of selling costs is on the caravan, motorhome, campervan and static caravan pages.