I recently posted an ad on Gumtree to sell a fridge & microwave. I received a call from a guy who said he wanted to buy the stuff. I had asked for cash only, but he said he would do a direct deposit into my ABSA account. I told him this was fine and that I would only send him my address once the money had cleared in my account.
The next day, the money was in my account and available, not pending. I immediately moved the money into another bank account. The guy came to pick up the stuff and on the Tuesday the money appeared in my other bank account.
On the Wednesday I received a sms which stated "Returned Cheque" as it was, and my debit card balance was now in the negative.
I realize that I am in the wrong for handing the stuff over, but I was under the impression that a cheque takes up to 10 days to clear, and that it will show as a pending amount until such a time that the cheque has cleared and only then will the amount become available. This was not the case here, the money became available and I transferred it out of my account and into a account at a different bank.By allowing a cheque to become available immediately ABSA are aiding this type of crime.
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