• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Wire funds for rental

dchilds

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
192
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Colorado
I have a week for rent, and someone from Mexico City wants to wire funds to my bank account for the rental. The bank says there should be no problem. Does anyone have info to the contrary?
 

TheTimeTraveler

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
5,952
Reaction score
2,857
Points
648
Location
Florida
I think directly from a Bank to a Bank should be okay, however I would urge you to open a NEW bank account with $1 dedicated to receive this one time wire transfer (and you may want to do it at a neighboring bank).

Why? I wouldn't want to provide anyone an account number for my regular bank account which I normally use on a daily basis. This way no one will know what your regular bank account number is and you can protect it's privacy.
 

Dave M

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
12,242
Reaction score
12
Points
623
Location
Sun City Hilton Head, SC
Agreed. If it's a fraud attempt, the funds in your account will likely disappear quickly once you give out your account info.
 

Talent312

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
17,461
Reaction score
7,277
Points
948
Resorts Owned
HGVC & GTS
I concur.
I have a separate account that is not OD protected for transactions with individuals who I do not know personally (and my ATM draws), just in case someone tries to misuse my account information.
 

Dave H

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2007
Messages
417
Reaction score
3
Points
228
Location
Orlando
I agree with all of the above. As a title company, I have a seperate wire account that at the end of the day, the bank transfers direct to by escrow account. It is blocked from someone trying to wire out and it is flagged as no check activity permited so no one can go print checks and try to pass them. That way, no one has the actual escrow account number, just a basic dummy account the bank uses to hold the money until the end of the banking day before my transfer in.

Learned all that when we had a person come to closing that was printing checks in his car..... guess you can buy a $29 program at any of the office supply houses and print checks with whatever information you want on them.... Scary...
 
Last edited:

djs

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
1,340
Reaction score
21
Points
399
Location
South Boston, MA
I know some credit card companies offer a "one-time" account number that people can use for on-line transactions (Citibank comes to mind). I wonder if any banks will a similar service with regards to one's checking/savings account. Routing/ABA number would be the same, but the number you'd have would be a dummy number that your bank knew was linked to your account. After the wire is received the dummy account number would cease to exist.
 

Bill4728

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
11,038
Reaction score
598
Points
899
Location
Lake Tapps, WA
I never heard about this idea of a "dummy" account for wire transfers. BUT what a good idea. :clap:

Thanks all.
 

mjs

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
279
Reaction score
0
Points
16
I have a week for rent, and someone from Mexico City wants to wire funds to my bank account for the rental. The bank says there should be no problem. Does anyone have info to the contrary?


Just use Paypal.
 

Talent312

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
17,461
Reaction score
7,277
Points
948
Resorts Owned
HGVC & GTS
I suggested PayPal. He said he doesn't have a PayPal account. Is PayPal as easy for non-US people?

I think it can be. I've used Paypal to pay a merchant in Australia for pet-meds. You can also use your account to send a Paypal bill via e-mail (the process is a bit clunky, but I've done it). It provides a method for charging the payment. The charge appears in your account as a credit. If you have a bank account linked to your Paypal account, you can electronically deposit it in your bank account. This is how I recently processed a refund from a Mexican merchant for the grand total of $15.00 US.
 

richardm

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
1,263
Reaction score
36
Points
409
Location
Orlando
Rental escrow service...

It probably isn't too late to use a rental escrow provider.. The cost of about $100. may be worth your own piece of mind.
 

knottymaid

newbie
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Clermont, Florida
When I sold something to a couple from Curaçao, Bank of America gave me number for an incoming wire transfer that was for incoming only and guaranteed it was secure I think it was only for a one time use
 

mjs

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
279
Reaction score
0
Points
16
I suggested PayPal. He said he doesn't have a PayPal account. Is PayPal as easy for non-US people?

As already mentioned, you can send him an invoice through Paypal. It takes 3 minutes to set up an account. If he is unwill to do this, it could be a scam, move on.
 

chellej

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2005
Messages
2,530
Reaction score
1,261
Points
548
Location
Spokane, Wa
As already mentioned, you can send him an invoice through Paypal. It takes 3 minutes to set up an account. If he is unwill to do this, it could be a scam, move on.

I have always thought paypal was a good idea .... BE VERY CAREFUL. My Son just sold one of his gaming accounts, had the guy pay via paypal. The funds were verified in his account. He transferred the gaming account and then the "real" owner of the paypal account disputed the transaction and paypal has taken back the funds. The buyer now has the gaming account and my son has no recourse. The Paypal account owner claims his password was stolen, (which is very possible)

Paypal ONLY protects the seller for tangible goods that you can prove delivery. If the rental is months in the future you are probably fine but if it is in the period it can be disputed, you may not be protected.
 

brucecz

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,819
Reaction score
1
Points
36
Location
Kansasville, Wi, center of the universe
I have a week for rent, and someone from Mexico City wants to wire funds to my bank account for the rental. The bank says there should be no problem. Does anyone have info to the contrary?

We have had quite a few out of the country said they wanted to rent so we tell them we will only take Paypal and that Paypal is easy to set up.

They in a lot of cases then give us a story about payment being made for some reason by their employer by certified check.

We again state to them that we only excecpt Paypal in that type of situation.

In about 100 or more contacts like that over the years, none have sent a paypal payment.

Beware. Your person may be honest, but be very carefull.

I had a person who suposely wanted to buy but wanted to wire funds to my bank account for a sale, I said no but I would do Paypal. They got angry on the phone, but I would not cave in. It was IMHO not worth the risk. My feeling on giving bank account numbers is very similar like the one Dave M posted.

In fact we now have all bank statements, etc sent to a PO Box as a mailbox is IMHO unsafe for those types of materials with all the ID thiefs around.

Bruce :D
 

SDKath

TUG Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
3,076
Reaction score
16
Points
273
Oh great thread! I just emailed all my account info to someone who wired me money from Canada. WHile I am sure they are trustworthy, I did have to give a lot of info to get the wire to go through.

THey asked for my name, bank and wiring info, my phone and address! I felt very uneasy. We were trying to avoid the paypal fee, which is substantial and I didn't want to take the loss ($4500 rental) and the renter didn't want to pay the fee. So the wire only cost $35 (to them).

Anyway, I am going to ask for a new bank account for these type of transactions. Excellent suggestions.

I too hate Paypal by the way. The money sender is completely protected and you as the seller/receiver get docked the money the INSTANT someone refutes something. Total BS in my mind. I had someone pay me with paypal once, I sent them the item, a month later they claimed it was broken and boom, my paypal account was drained the money. I had no recourse and no way to prove that it was NOT broken (and that the buyer chose NOT to have shipping insurance). It was a nightmare.

Katherine
 

MaryH

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2005
Messages
1,485
Reaction score
1
Points
398
Location
Ottawa, Canada
SDKath,

I am in Canada and keep US dollar accounts on my Canadian banks for my frequent work travel there. The cheques are easily cashable but may take a few weeks to clear.

We have also bought a money order from my bank TD Canadatrust to pay for a Euro training class and I think it cost a total of $7.50 Canadian for the money order. But this would entail mailing the money order and that may take 1 week or more.
 

pammex

TUG Review Crew: ELITE
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
1,019
Reaction score
31
Points
408
Location
Chapala Mexico & USA
Just a tad of info....I am in Mexico. Paypal is horrendous to set up if you are a foreigner here. Took me months to get mine verified.

In regards to Mexico or Mexico City or any Mexican.....this is common practice here in Mexico to go directly thru banks ( you of course need to be cautious etc. but for a mexican they may not understand your hesitation).

When we make a big purchase here in Mexico or such we just go to bank and deposit or wire money directly into the sellers account. It is a very common practice here. So I assume the person from mexico City if honest may be wondering why the hesitation.

You of course need to protect yourself I am just sharing some tidbits about Mexico that those in US may not be aware of. It was certainly a strange thing to me when I first moved here!

Best Wishes and good luck.
 
Top