Staying safe on TreeBay

Buying kit, machinery and vehicles

• See it, and see it working, before you pay. Meet somewhere sensible, in daylight, and take someone with you if you can.
• Before you travel, ask the seller to send a photo of it in TreeBay messages, beside a note with today's date and your TreeBay name. It shows they have it today, not that it's theirs, so still do the other checks.
• Check the serial number on the maker's plate matches the paperwork. Ask for the original invoice, proof of ownership and the service history.
• Before you pay for a vehicle: check its MOT history and tax for free on GOV.UK, check that the V5C logbook is in the seller's name and that its VIN matches the vehicle, and run a history check for finance, write-off and theft. Never pay before seeing it.
• Ask the seller for the serial or PIN number and check it with TER, The Equipment Register (ter-europe.org). It shows whether plant or equipment is registered as stolen or has finance on it. TER may charge for a check. If you think something is stolen, don't buy it: report it to the police on 101 and to us.
• Bladed tools are sold 18+ and in person only. Don't ask for them to be posted.
• Never send a deposit for something you haven't seen.
• Agree the price with the person who hands it over, and check your money is going to them or their business. If they think it's already been paid for, or name a different price, stop: someone may be in the middle, taking your money for someone else's kit.

Buying machinery and plant

• Check the serial or ID plate matches the paperwork, and ask for the original invoice and service history.
• Ask the seller for a TER check (ter-europe.org), or look for CESAR markings on plant. They help show whether it's registered as stolen or has finance on it.
• See it at the seller's yard or home, not a lay-by or service station.
• Selling as a business? Call the firm on a number you found yourself. A matching Companies House entry doesn't prove you're dealing with them.
• Common tricks with machinery: a forged bank transfer confirmation, or a cheque paid in at a bank machine that bounces days later. Wait until the money has cleared in your own banking app.

Selling

• Don't hand anything over until the money has cleared. Money paid in, especially a cheque paid in at a bank machine, can show in your balance and still bounce a few days later. Check in your own banking app, and wait until your bank confirms it has cleared. A screenshot, an email or a link the buyer sends is not proof.
• Never pay a fee to receive money, such as 'courier insurance', a 'release fee' or a 'verification fee'. A real buyer pays you; you don't pay them. Refuse unexpected fees.
• Never send back an overpayment. If a buyer pays too much and asks for the difference back, stop: it's a common scam. Tell your bank instead of sending any money yourself.
• If the money comes from someone other than your buyer, don't hand anything over until you've checked with them. It may be a scam victim's money, and your bank can take it back and may freeze your account.
• Stay with your kit when someone tries it, and keep hold of the keys.
• Be wary of buyers who won't see it first, want it collected by a courier, or are "working away".
• If a buyer asks for a photo of it beside a note with the date and their TreeBay name, that's a fair request. Send it in TreeBay messages, and keep your house, street and any paperwork out of the shot.
• Show kit by appointment, and don't say in a listing when your yard or van is unattended. Mark valuable kit and keep a note of its serial numbers, so it can be traced if it's stolen.
• Give the address where the kit is kept only once a viewing is agreed. Fit a hitch lock to a towed chipper or trailer whenever it's unhitched.

Jobs

• Never pay to apply for a job, or for training or kit as a condition of getting it.
• Never let anyone use your bank account to receive and pass on money, whatever a job advert says. It's money laundering: you can lose your bank account or be prosecuted.
• Don't send ID or bank details until you've spoken to the employer.
• Check the company is real before you give personal details. Limited companies are listed on Companies House.

Training and courses

• Check the provider's accreditation with the awarding body before you book.
• Book through the provider's normal booking process, not a personal bank account.

Taking on day-rate help

• Agree the day rate, hours and what's included in writing before work starts.
• Ask to see tickets and insurance for the work.

Working at a day rate

• Before you start, agree in TreeBay messages the day rate, the days, what's included and when you'll be paid. Make sure you know who you're working for: their name, and their company's name if they have one.
• Ask to be paid weekly or at the end of each job, so unpaid days don't build up.
• Not paid? Ask them in writing for what you're owed, for which days, with a date to pay by. Keep the conversation: you can download it from the thread.
• Still not paid? You can make a court claim without a solicitor. In England and Wales, send a letter before claim first, then claim at gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money. Unless they're a limited company, the letter should follow the court's debt claims protocol, which gives them 30 days to reply. In Scotland, use simple procedure. Northern Ireland has its own small claims court.
• If they're a business, you can usually add interest and a fixed sum for paying late: gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery.

Land and property

• View the land or property in person before any money changes hands.
• Use a solicitor. Never send a deposit to hold it.

Hire and leasing

• Get the hire terms, deposit and insurance in writing before you pay.
• Inspect it at handover and note any existing damage. Take photos.
• If someone says their bank details have changed, check by phone on a number you already had, not one in the message, before you pay.
• Hiring your kit out? See the hirer's photo ID and proof of address, take a deposit, and put the hire terms in writing, including when and where it comes back.
• Check your insurance covers it while it's on hire. If it's on finance, check your agreement lets you hire it out.
• A tracker fitted out of sight can help find it if it isn't returned. Say in your hire terms that it has one.

Logs, timber and firewood

• Agree the quantity, unit and price before delivery or collection.
• Pay on delivery or collection, not before.
• If someone says their bank details have changed, check by phone on a number you already had, not one in the message, before you pay.

Tip sites

• TreeBay never charges to see a tip site's details. Agree any charge for tipping with the owner directly, and don't pay anyone to 'unlock' or 'book' a site through a link.

Warning signs

Walk away if:

• The price is much lower than it should be.
• They won't let you see it, or say it's already with a courier.
• They push you to pay quickly, or to pay a deposit to "hold" it.
• They want to move the chat off TreeBay straight away.
• The name on the bank account doesn't match the person you're dealing with. Your bank will usually warn you about this when you set up the payment.
• They ask you to forward a TreeBay sign-in email or send them the link. TreeBay will never ask you to share a sign-in link.
• Never pay a fee to receive money, such as 'courier insurance', a 'release fee' or a 'verification fee'. A real buyer pays you; you don't pay them. Refuse unexpected fees.

If something goes wrong