Buying guide
How to check an equipment seller is genuine
Most sellers of used business equipment are exactly who they say they are. The checks below are not about suspicion; they are about making the small number of bad transactions impossible rather than merely unlikely, and most of them cost nothing but time.
Confirm the legal entity, not just the brand
Trading names are not companies. Ask for the registered company name and number, then look it up on the Companies House register and check the status is active and the registered address is consistent with where the equipment is.
A seller who cannot or will not give you a company number is telling you something useful.
Establish who owns the equipment
- Ask directly whether the item is owned outright or subject to finance, lease or hire purchase.
- For vehicles and plant, run your own outstanding-finance check; it is inexpensive and the risk is yours.
- Ask why it is being sold. A clear, specific answer is a good sign.
- Get the answer in writing rather than on a call.
Watch the payment route
Pressure to pay quickly, to pay a personal account, or to move off the platform you found the seller on are the three warnings that matter most. A genuine business seller has no reason to need any of them.
Paying on a platform that holds the money until handover is evidenced removes most of this risk, because the seller is paid after the equipment moves rather than before.
See it, or have someone see it
Photographs can be old, borrowed or of a different unit. For anything substantial, inspect it or send someone who can. Ask for a photograph taken today with something identifiable in frame if a visit is impractical.