Advertisers advice

Top 2 tips from our Trust and Safety team for vehicle dealers

We’ve asked our Trust and Safety team for their top two tips to keep in mind when selling vehicles.

Trade Me invests a large number of resources in our Trust and Safety team, they make sure our customers are protected and can go about their business with minimal risk.

1. Know your customer

Make sure that the person you are dealing with is, in fact, the person on the ID. If you conclude a transaction with a person without seeing them, you won’t know that they’re who they say they are. This should also be a precaution for anyone offering in-house finance, especially over the next 18 months when the new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations come into force. These regulations mean that all vehicle dealers will need to report suspicious transactions.

Consider video calls when concluding deals with customers remotely, as photos can be edited and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

2. Only release vehicles when all the funds have been paid

This feels like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to get swept up by someone who appears harmless. Only ever release a vehicle if you have:

All the money in cash;
The funds are reflecting in your bank account (this applies to credit and debit card transactions too);
Have a signed release note from a reputable finance house.

If you notice anything suspicious, get in contact with our support team on 0800 668 679 or support@motorweb.co.nz and they’ll figure it out right away!