[lazybird]

Hi BHPians, this is my very first thread so please excuse any mistakes I have made. As the title suggests, I wanted advice on a situation i have got myself into recently. This is about selling car which I own directly to seller on OLX platform. Generally I have had good experience buying/selling on OLX and haven't faced any issues from the time I started using it (disclaimer: I am in no way connected to this platform). To cut the chase here is what happened.

I had advertised my car (Renault Fluence) and I needed to sell it off at an attractive price (since it is discontinued model as well) before moving to a different place. So two days back one Mr X pinged on this platform. It didn't look anything out of the ordinary so I went ahead and shared my mobile number for further talks and negotiation. I also requested him to make a decision within few visits so we can avoid interactions during this pandemic situation.

The buyer asked to visit the day he called (26th May) but due to evening rains here in Bengaluru, it got postponed to next day (27th May). On the morning of 27th, he visited, took a test drive, I explained all the things including pending work that needs to be done. Looking satisfied, he asked for time till evening to decide on the deal.

By that evening, he had decided to buy the car and requested for my account details knowing well that it would be impossible to make transfers immediately after adding a new payee. He wanted to make cash payment as much as possible. I had been insisting online payments as much as possible so he relented and paid cash/UPI in parts.

Next day evening (28 May), he pinged me on whatsapp informing about a sudden tragedy in his family and requesting for cancellation of the deal. I will let the whatsapp screen shots do the talking.

As of now, I have given the delivery of the car unfortunately with 70% payment and I am holding the original RC till CC is applied and given to him for ownership transfer. I have also got his AADHAR as Id Proof handy. I have taken sale receipt but my signed form 29/30 are with him. I am not revealing the identity as of now. Request members to suggest the way forward. Thanks

Not to moderator - Please move to appropriate section

[AtheK]

Looks like a geniune concern to me, but then i have been fooled before. I would suggest maybe you can accompany him to hospital tomorrow and offer him that you will pay the admission cost. You can pay from the money he has already paid you and get your car back with all the documents. This stands good ofcourse if he is not lying and shows up with his dad.

You still haven't got the remaining 30%, and by the looks of it that money is not coming. If indeed he is saying the truth, i would suggest to return the money and take the car, this is a matter of life and death, and that too of his father. Humanity should prevail over money at this point. Your car can always be sold in a couple of days, or a friend can help sell it, if nothing else cars24 always works.

Just my 2 cents.

[McLaren Rulez]

I don't know exactly how the Indian banking system works but there is a chance that this is a version of the well-known overpayment scam - https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-o...rpayment-scams. Check with your bank before you initiate the refund.

However, if the 70% has indeed been credited to you (i.e. your bank confirms that this transaction cannot be reversed), then I see no reason to doubt this man's story. In these circumstances, I would try to help out and refund him. It is a blow for you but he's being quite reasonable and his situation is a tragic one.

[jkrishnakj]

Looks genuine to me. He first is offering 10K. Subsequently, he is willing to forgo 15K.

I think he should be given a fair chance. Please take the car back with you, get a nicely worded written document that he claims no ownership of the vehicle and that he has got his dues back. While returning, let the transaction not be cash.

I'm sure you'll find another buyer soon.

[akash_v12]

Looks like a genuine case to me too as he seems to giving a lumpsum of ₹10000 too.

I feel that if you’re willing to, you should take back the car. As BHPian jkrishnakj said, Please take the car back only with appropriate documentation that the deal has completely fallen off and that the car is still owned by you. Only pay him the money back once the car is back with you and not before.

[asit.kulkarni93]

I would suggest doing this-

1. Check for online traffic offences since you gave him the car.
2. Take an experienced mechanic/Bhpian with you to inspect the car.
3. Take back all the signed forms and keep his Aadhar copy with you.
4. If the Aadhar copy has space then you can write a small agreement then and there that the car has been taken back and money returned.
5. You can hold on to 10k if you find anything suspicious in the case.

For future deals, Please do not hand over the car before 100% payment. I would suggest every seller to do the RTO transfer. Spending 1.5-2k via an agent for the RTO transfer is much cheaper than visiting courts and police station if something goes wrong.

[GTO]

I don't know whether his situation is genuine or false, but I'm going to have to say a FIRM NO. A car once sold is sold. There are too many things that could have gone wrong. He could have swapped parts (he mentions servicing it), or used it for a criminal offence. I don't think anyone having money to buy a Renault Fluence wouldn't be able to afford health insurance for his family.

If he is actually in a dilemma, he can sell the Fluence to someone else at the same / lower price, but there is no way you should take the car back. Do so at your own risk and be prepared to face the consequences (legal and otherwise).

You seem to be too nice a guy ; I would prefer if you get a sterner or legally-adept friend / family member to handle this matter going forward.

You also made a mistake by giving delivery against 70% payment. Why the heck would you do that? Below quote is from our used car article. Your holding the RC has limited value as he can still drive around in your name (in fact, many used car buyers don't transfer the registration for years!).

Originally Posted by GTO

You must sign the transfer papers & proceed with delivery ONLY after the payment has been received in full. Strictly no part payments or EMIs (they can go to a bank for that). If the car's buyer is paying via cheque, wait for clearance. Don’t blindly trust demand drafts either, fakes have been circulating in the market. Only when the cash is received, or your bank confirms the deposit, should you hand over the car. Remember that the cheque / demand draft must be in favour of the registered owner of the car.

[androdev]

Awkward situation to be in for sure. While the family emergency is a genuine crisis, I am sure he would have other options to manage the funds (given he aspires to own this segment car). I think this is a case of buyer's remorse, amplified by the family crisis and covid environment. I personally would take the car back giving him the benefit of doubt - it is just not worth living with that lingering feeling that you may have caused misery to someone However you can charge considerable penalty with provision to refund some of it based on your new sale price.

[Miyata]

Certainly a mistake to release the car without full payment and completion of transfer formalities.

Where is his hometown? Which hospital is this? If there is a BHPian in that locality he can help you check on the genuineness of the case? Alternately, you could call the hospital to possibly get that information.

If genuine, it would be a kind act on your part to let this pass and go through again the process of selling it - but this time please ensure you have no loose ends anywhere.

Parts of his message suggest that he might not be too honest - just a gut feeling, no accusation! Within a day he has managed to do some "servicing" and replacing of the horns? You may have to find out if he also owns another fluence and there might be a case of parts-swapping!

[2000rpm]

Friend, in such scenarios, I have a simple approach, if people want to fool me by taking advantage of me. Let them. But I want my conscious to be clear. (Its not easy to fool me )

Also a simple analogy on a lighter note.
From Hera Pheri
Baburao - Waise bhi chor log chashma nahi pehente

Similarly
Chor log 70% of requested value through bank transfer + Aadhaar copy nahi dete


If you had bought a New Fluence and are selling it now, you have already taken a very big hit. Holding on to it for a few more days, shouldnt be a problem.

But as some of the people above said, this can be buyers remorse which happens when newbies in the car world try the used car route for the first time. Just ensure that no legal misuse has been done. Try to get some proof from him or call up the hospital where he claims to have admitted someone using google search (dont take number from him).

Also ask him to provide you the servicing bill from the garage, speak to the garage guy to assess the work, tell the garage guy that if there are any parts replacements done, he will file a complaint against him later. That will motivate him to react to the situation correctly.

Also, another aspect will be the head ache part. This guy will keep following up and irritating you for days.

So after having bought 6-7 used cars, a cut and snip is the only way to do a clean deal. Never do a partial deal unless the person is a friend or family member.

[vigsom]

Prima facie, this looks like a cock - and- bull story.He must have been psyched by someone into believing he's holding onto a slow moving car and hence is trying his luck.

I for one never part with the car or even the key or any document unless I've received full payment and a delivery note with proof of identity of the buyer including their Aadhar card.

I have faced this situation twice and in both cases, I knew the buyers were chickening out.

Since I knew in both cases the guys were genuinely apprehensive, I took the car back after

1. full inspection of the car
2. checking the odo and for traffic offences
3. Taking a written signed statement from them that they were returning the car after using from Date x to Date y and returning the car because they aren't able to keep it for xxx reasons.
4. Receipt that they have received the refund after deducting part money as agreed.

[ninjatalli]

On the outright, I'd suggest we all stop questioning if the buyer's got money or not. Basically if I was in his shoes, and this was a genuine case, then yes; even if I had lots of money in the bank even after making the payment to you, I'd want to cancel the deal. A father in the hospital during this pandemic is a big big issue. Who wants to deal with a used car purchase in this situation. Obviously yes, he'd want to back out of the deal; anyone with common sense would do that.

But having said that, I'll have to stick with @GTO on this. Seems very genuine but then you don't know him; there are too many unanswered questions. If this was a friend or via a friend/colleague, then things could have been done differently.


If I were you, I'd do the following

- Offer to help; and by means of that get clarity / visual confirmation on the actual medical situation at hand. This will give you some mental clarity that you/he is actually dealing with a real problem, and not a made-up one.

- Offer to re-sell the car on his behalf. Honestly, you would have planned for atleast a few days of searching for the right buyer so this is nothing additional effort for you than what was expected.

- Be completely transparent and let him make the financial decisions. Tell him clearly you'll try to get the best deal possible (same process as what you were doing a day or two ago) and will keep him posted daily. Ask for his brother or friend to support the process. Let him make the financial decisions; you are just the middle man enabling the sale.

- Ensure the 30% remaining funds payout is done to you first. And this time make sure the remaining 70% of the funds too get paid out to him before you hand over the vehicle and required documentation.

From his side, he definitely would/should be satisfied with the above setup. You are helping and he can focus on the medical situation.

Any other scenario, you probably might not see the remaining 30% of the funds. Or a looonnnng wait before it is transferred to you.

[padmrajravi]

To me, it sounds like he now regrets the purchase. The accident story is just a reason he made up for justification. But lets keep it aside since we cannot confirm or negate his claim. Any effort in trying to confirm his story is waste of time in my opinion.

Since you haven't got the complete payment, I guess you do not have any option other than to keep that 15k and take the car back. May be negotiate a higher amount for returning the 70% since you now have the risk of not knowing what happened when the car was with him. Get something in writing and take the car back after an inspection. Take the money spend for inspection from him.

[audioholic]

Has he provided any proof of the accident or any medical records? I believe we have the right to do a little bit of verification before we can take a stand and decide whether this is a scam or it is of genuine intention. If his father needs a brain surgery, then that is no simple deal and it will accompany with sufficient medical records and most possibly he is already admitted in some hospital. On one side I believe he has piled up quite some of his savings for this car, given the fact that he has used multiple sources to transfer money. A financially well off person could have handled this transaction as per your convenience and that doesnt seem to be the case here. Lets assume his condition is genuine, then:

• Check the records he provides to prove his story
• It should not be an existing illness or something, preferably with proof from the police station
• Get the car checked by a mechanic or someone familar with cars
• Return the money exactly the way he provided to you, but in installments
• If he requires cash urgently, then take the car and return one part of the money
• Get it checked thorougly take back the papers and then finish up returning the whole money
• Dont agree to one shot return of the money, at least take a day or two
• Never convert the cash portion to UPI or other forms, return cash for the amount you have got cash

If there is a hint of cheating in this, it could be in the following ways:

• Most probably he wanted to convert cash to white money
• If he is from an automotive background or even related to a mechanic or something, your car might have been used as a parts donor since the car isnt popular and finding parts is difficult. Letting go of 10k by him can be an easy way to return your car maybe with something missing or replaced with spurious parts. But this is very improbable
• Check what service was done and where. Please verify the authenticity of this garage as well.
• If there are no medical records present, then I would not believe the story, then you will have a challenge to fetch the remaining 30%, which was a mistake on your end to hand over a car without full payment

Hence, be extra careful and dont heed to urgency unless he provides substantial proof on his fathers condition. If he can talk so much then forwarding some reports and so shouldnt be a concern. If thats not the case, then there is no believing this story at all.

[vikramvicky1984]

Originally Posted by androdev

Awkward situation to be in for sure. While the family emergency is a genuine crisis, I am sure he would have other options to manage the funds (given he aspires to own this segment car). I think this is a case of buyer's remorse, amplified by the family crisis and covid environment. I personally would take the car back giving him the benefit of doubt - it is just not worth living with that lingering feeling that you may have caused misery to someone However you can charge considerable penalty with provision to refund some of it based on your new sale price.

I agree with this
Maybe you ask him to share details of his job or business.
If we works at a reputable place, you can get reference and background checks.

No reputable guy will mess his background checks for few lakhs. Common people fear cases, FIR and bad CIBIL scores which will impact their future job/ loan prospects