Simple Tips for Motorhome Buyers on How to Spot a Fraudulent Listing

While owning a motorhome is a wonderful thing that brings many advantages and benefits, you should always exercise care and attention when it comes to finding and buying your perfect vehicle.

Online fraud is a problem in all walks of life now and unfortunately, the motorhome and caravan industry is not immune to it.

It’s a growing problem and it’s one we want to help prevent you from falling prey to.

We’ve noticed an increasing number of fraudulent listings for motorhomes and caravans being offered for sale over the internet.

Surprisingly, fraudulent listings continue to crop up on trusted sales and auction websites, despite their best efforts to prevent it.

However, there are some common things to look for in such listings, and we have prepared a quick checklist of what to look out for, to help you avoid being caught out.

Here are our top tips:

The price is much lower than for similar listings and looks too good to be true

It always pays to take some expert advice on motorhomes before you buy, or at the very least, do some research. Once you have decided what make, model and year of vehicle you want to buy, have a look around for similar vehicles and get a feel for their value. If the price offered on the vehicle you are looking at is significantly lower, it’s probably a scam.

The seller asks you to pay a deposit before viewing

Never pay anything up front. A trusted or reputable seller will never ask you for money to even view the vehicle, so if this happens, it’s a red flag.

The seller has no feedback on their website profile

This should set the alarm bells ringing. Do some digging around to see if they are a genuine seller or not and if in doubt, avoid.

You are unable to speak to the seller in person

If the seller is difficult to get hold of or evasive, proceed with caution. Quite often they will give plausible reasons such as they are working abroad, so be careful, but try to find out as much about the seller as you can before you commit to buying.

There is a link somewhere on the listing which takes you away from the main listing website

If you’re being taken from a trusted website to another site elsewhere to complete the purchase, be careful. Not only could it be a scam, but you will also lose the protection that buying from a trusted suite will give you.

There is a phone number with the listing which does not work

Again, try and find out as much about the seller as possible. Phone numbers which don’t work, bogus addresses and email addresses are all red flags and should set the alarms bells ringing.

The bank account you are asked to pay the deposit into is not a UK account

Fraudsters will often use fake or overseas bank accounts to collect money as they are harder to detect, so if you are being asked to pay money into an overseas account, treat it as a red flag.

Also, remember that you’ll lose any protection that UK legislation may give.

If any, or particularly several, of these warning signs are present on a motorhome or caravan listing, be very careful.

Remember, if in doubt, just move on and forget about any suspicious looking motorhomes or caravans for sale.

And of course, the way to really guarantee you don’t get caught out by fraud is to buy through a long established, respected company like www.motorhomedepot.com.