+1 on meeting at a bank.  At my job I see counterfiet certified checks / money orders / cash and now it seems traverls checks are picking up a bit also.  If at all possible go to a bank that the check is drawn on and cash it before he gets the bike.

 This guy seems sort of shady, you might want to check the serial # with your local Police dept., but be careful what you tell them, if the bike is stolen you might never get your money back. Just say you were interested in this bike someone is selling, but he does not have the title and he acted weird about it or something. Or he just needs to pay off the lean on the bike before he can get the title?  Sorry about your situation though, its a shame that so many people out there can't keep there ducks in a row!

+1 to what everyone is saying about not trusting the certified check.  If he won't bring cash, then insist on holding the bike until the check clears.

Ouch, what a horrible situation.  Sorry you have to go through all this...   

So what happened with the lien?

Chris

Quote from: Chris2P on July 25, 2006, 02:30:13 PM
So what happened with the lien?

The previous "owner" still owes a ton of money on the bike.

DON'T TAKE A CHECK! EVER EVER EVER!


MEET HIM AT A BANK!  MAKE HIM BRING CASH!  DO NOT TAKE A CHECK! EVER EVER EVER EVER!!!

Amazing...

I hope you have all of this well documented, it looks like you're going to need it.  If you don't get CASH in the next couple of days it will be time for you to talk with a lawyer.

How much money does he owe, if it is less than the selling price, offer him the difference as long as you contact the lien holder to ok a payoff.  If it isi more than make home pay you for the difference.  If you dont want the bike demand cash and threaten to contact a lawyer.


Just a thought.


Chris

The previous "owner" owes (a lot) more than Altephor paid for the bike, unfortunately.

I could not convince him on the cash deal.  So it will be a certified bank check, unfortunately.  He is coming Saturday.  I will be writing a lengthy, detailed bill of sale/receipt for both of us to sign and I have all of his e-mails and what not.  I will also be making a copy of his license.  If the check does not clear, then it is larceny and he will be arrested. 

The bike is not stolen.  Actually it's kind of funny because when we discussed it with the local PD they entered the VIN and it calls up similiar VINs as well, one was a Suzuki motorcycle that was stolen.  The officer said so and my heart stopped for like 2 minutes and then he was like, oh wrong one.

Call the bank and ask to speak to the teller that issued the check before you hand over the bike.   

I will

Well, maybe I won't.. god.. he's getting the check from HSBC (sound familiar?).. I tried to get the number of his branch and the damn customer service people are like 'yeah, we don't give the numbers, we have an internal network so we can only transfer you, only if we speak to the customer first'.  So I guess I will make him call.

Now why would he be getting a check from HSBC if HE owes THEM a pile of money for the bike? 

My question exactly.


I think before I ask him that, however, I will just wait til he comes here, call the bank, verify if it's valid.  That way if it's not, I know exactly where he is and can just call the police.

Man, this guy is a read d!ck head.  Everyone is telling you right.  Don't trust him as far as you can throw him.  Honestly a bank check or cashiers check is gotten from a bank branch and if He lives in CT as well I don't think there is a single HSBC branch in that state.  At least www.yellowpages.com can't find one.  I know they deal mostly over the phone but I don't like the sounds of this guys plan.

dude... here's a problem... BANKS CLOSE EARLY ON SATURDAYS!


I used to work at a business, and if we had a check for over 300 dollars, we had to call it in to the bank, to check to make sure it was legit.

Well, on saturdays, we'd ALWAYS get people wanting to write big checks after 2pm, because for sure ALL the banks were closed.....



My only ONLY ONLY advice other than DON'T TAKE A CHECK!! is that you get his ID card, the witnesses ID card, him to sign something saying that the check if a valid document, and have a notary with you to verify all that. 



seriously, you're gonna get screwed, I can feel it.  Maybe no one else will come out and say it that bluntly, but you need to know, you're about to get F'd in the anus, without any lube.

Force your point. Don't roll over so easily for this duck head.... You seem like a rather passive guy, and people are going to walk all over you.

Quote from: TragicImage on July 26, 2006, 11:12:37 AMseriously, you're gonna get screwed, I can feel it.  Maybe no one else will come out and say it that bluntly, but you need to know, you're about to get F'd in the anus, without any lube.

Force your point. Don't roll over so easily for this duck head.... You seem like a rather passive guy, and people are going to walk all over you.

Well said. 

Tell him you don't trust him, and you're not going to give him the $50.  He is going to take his sorry butt to you on his own expense and he is going to refund you full in cash.  Tell him it's not a negotiation.  He had choices before he chose to take advantage of you.  He crossed the negotiation line after he'd been jerking you around the last few weeks.  It's a simple yes or no question for him.  He says no then get your lawyer and be done dealing with him directly.  Tape the phone call because if I can read this guy right he isn't going to like being told what he's going to do and will probably say something really stupid.

You really are going to get screwed if you keep letting him call all the shots and whether you want to admit it or not, he is calling the shots.  I'm not busting on you or anything but you need to get a little aggressive and stop being so naive, he's dictating how everything is going down.  Give him the option I outlined above and if he doesn't take it then call a lawyer.  It's time you put your foot down. 

Again, don't take any of this personally, I'd hate to see you get taken advantage of any more than you already have.  I'm just trying to help.

He is coming early on Saturday, and I checked on the times that his bank is open on Saturday (til 1 pm).  He will be arriving around 10 am, which gives me 3 hours to call his bank and verify the validity of the check as well as deposit it at my bank.  He will not be leaving until all that has been completed and the amount is in my account.

I wouldn't recommend depositing the check in your account.  I would take the check TO HIS BANK.  There, you can cash the check with a simple liscense.  THEN go to your bank for a deposit.

If you call to verify the check, he can still put a stop payment on the check.