Buying car with cash, will HSBC let me?

Malt_Vinegar

Malt_Vinegar

Malt_Vinegar

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I am going to see a car on Sunday, I want to have the cash in hand to do the deal on the day. I have taken out large sums before but apparently HSBC will ask me to prove why I am withdrawing MY cash!?
I only just discovered this and wanted to make sure I will not have any issues tomorrow am when I get to the branch...
Has anyone done this recently and how easy was it?
 
Its best if you ring them up beforehand but doubt you'll be able to do that now. The reason they ask you to prove it is so YOUR cash doesn't get stolen.
 
I am perfectly happy with all the old style checks...
Why not just ask for photo id and a bank statement or something?
It just seems a really pointless exercise that will only ever inconvenience legitimate users...
 
by the sounds of it you're over thinking it.

The branch will have a nose for who is legitimate and who isn't. If they ask why, you'll be able to talk forever about what car it is you're going to see, where it is, why you're trading up from your current one.

Ask a fraudster this, and watch them tie themselves up in knots and get all defensive and say they don't have to answer those questions. This now says otherwise.

You won't have any issues. I promise you.
 
Fr0dders said:
by the sounds of it you're over thinking it.

The branch will have a nose for who is legitimate and who isn't. If they ask why, you'll be able to talk forever about what car it is you're going to see, where it is, why you're trading up from your current one.

Ask a fraudster this, and watch them tie themselves up in knots and get all defensive and say they don't have to answer those questions. This now says otherwise.

You won't have any issues. I promise you.
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The question begs itself as to why you should have to when presenting adequate ID? If my passport is enough to transport me across the world, it should be enough to get my own damn cash out.

And sometimes I don't want to share the reason why I'm taking out large sums of cash. Doesn't mean I'm doing something illegal, I'd rather not tell them. :confused:
 
because ID can be forged.

Simple.

Its why you will sometimes see people getting taken aside for further questioning from immigration because they aren't happy with the details you provided them.

At the end of the day, this is your crash they are protecting from fraud. If it were to be stolen fraudulently, the lack of inconvenience when you last took out cash wouldn't be at the forefront of your mind, you'd be asking why didn't they do more.
 
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Ring them in advance.

I have always just walked into Natwest, straight into the secured room with the thick glass windows. Never been asked for ID, just why i am withdrawing.

Get more questions when depositing cash.
 
Use A debit card. Much easier. Though mine got declined when I bought the 530d then I got an anti fraud phone call. Which was a bit annoying, when we got the girlfriend's mini it went straight through No questions ask.

Most places won't take cash for over 10k anyway.
 
Used debit card for the FN2 too, never brought up any fraud checks etc.

Most i've withdrawn in cash was about £4k, they asked why I was withdrawing it but it was far from an interrogation, accepted my answer straight away and proceeded to give me my money.
 
I've always used my debit card, it helps to let the bank know you're making a car purchase on the card before hand but I've still had the transaction blocked. HSBC just phoned me on my mobile a few seconds later, asked some security questions and then allowed me to process the payment in another transaction.

Oddly my Fiat got blocked (£8k~) but the Boxster didn't (£18k~).

I was told anything over a few grand (£5k I think) and the dealer wouldn't accept it.
 
Fr0dders said:
because ID can be forged.

Simple.

Its why you will sometimes see people getting taken aside for further questioning from immigration because they aren't happy with the details you provided them.

At the end of the day, this is your crash they are protecting from fraud. If it were to be stolen fraudulently, the lack of inconvenience when you last took out cash wouldn't be at the forefront of your mind, you'd be asking why didn't they do more.
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Last time I looked, passports (the newer style) are exceptionally hard to forge. Add to the mix of having to do the same for my driving license, passing all the security questions etc.

All of that..........................................and then they're going to be stumped as to what they want to do with the cash????

Its ridiculous.
 
Malt_Vinegar said:
Private seller, so no debit card
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In which case pay a deposit on the day (few hundred quid) and then bank transfer the rest before you pick it up.

You could probably bank transfer the entire amount on the day in front of the seller and go for lunch to wait the few hours for it to clear if you wanted.

HSBC won't let you move / send more than £10k in one day though, so if it's more you might need to send it from 2 different accounts.
 
When I tried to get cash out of HSBC on a Saturday to buy a car (this was ~7 years ago) they simply couldn't give me it. They didn't have any of the "checkouts" open. I had to get a bankers draft, which cost me a £15 (or £25?) fee, and must have made the seller pretty nervous when I drove off and left him holding a funky looking £5k cheque.

More recently, I've found they simply won't give me my money no matter how much ID I have unless I can provide them with my cheque book.

They are pretty awful.
 
I've never had any issues with HSBC but then again I've never tried to withdraw a large amount of cash. With same day bank transfer now I can't really see the need.
 
cheesyboy said:
When I tried to get cash out of HSBC on a Saturday to buy a car (this was ~7 years ago) they simply couldn't give me it. They didn't have any of the "checkouts" open. I had to get a bankers draft, which cost me a £15 (or £25?) fee, and must have made the seller pretty nervous when I drove off and left him holding a funky looking £5k cheque.

More recently, I've found they simply won't give me my money no matter how much ID I have unless I can provide them with my cheque book.

They are pretty awful.
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so I should just use a cheque?
Great!
That's easy enough :)
Thanks!
 
Malt_Vinegar said:
Would rather deal in cash than bank transfer.
Want to do the deal quickly if it suits as will have the Mrs and baby with us.
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When the buyer came to look at my Boxster he sent me £10k from a HSBC account and the rest from a second (Santander) account from his laptop on my WiFi. He then went to a local pub for lunch and popped back about 45 minutes later once I'd confirmed the funds had arrived and were accounted for.

It's much more secure and safe than carrying £15k in cash around.
 
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