In these situations, when presented with a cheque for payment, ask yourself this:
"Would you accept a handwritten IOU for the amount?"
A cheque is very similar: A promise to pay.
A cheque does not obligate the bank to pay you the amount shown on the cheque. Nor does it prevent the person from signing it to just phone the bank and say, "Don't pay it"-- if the person does that, the bank will take those instructions and you won't get the money even if its there.
Cheques are still used for many things, but I find that they are more often used between established businesses where credit card fees are desired to be avoided.
EDIT: Also, accepting a partial payment to hold the vehicle is a very bad idea in this kind of situation. Don't do it. Lots of reasons why.
|