Face to face trade, my story.

[FocusMedia]

Hello, just a little background before I type it up. I only really got back into Bitcoin a couple of days ago and  before I found this forum I used Local Bitcoin to found a local seller so this is how it went.


Around 7PM the night before I checked to see if there was any sellers, with luck there was a seller selling at £75. I was a little skeptical at first but I have done a previous face to face trade around a year ago while I was at university. So I took the plunge and contacted them, I managed to get their phone number and I gave him a call the night before. Everything seemed good and he was a nice person on the phone and we went ahead and arranged a place to meet. After a little bit of a discussion about the right place to meet we settled on a McDonalds on Oxford street in central London, all different thoughts were going though my head from getting robbed to them not turning up and wasting my time but he seemed serious so I agreed and we worked out a deal on 8 Bitcoins at £75 each.

I decided to hit the sack at around 10PM due to having to get up early as we arranged to meet at 10:30PM the following day and I had to go to the bank first to get the cash. So tomorrow comes around and I get ready and grab my Laptop, bank card and my wallet and off I went. Still a little nervous I caught the next train into town which only takes 15 minutes to get there. On the train I started to get butterflies in my stomach because I am a pretty shy person to people I haven't met before but still I was on my way now and didn't want to let them down. Once in London I head to the bank, walk in and ask to withdraw £650, 600 for the coins and the extra 50 just in case. They turn round and go, "Sir, since it's quite a big transaction we're going to need to see some ID." Alarm bells started going off in my head and I didn't have ID. I was really starting to panic at this point and didn't know what to do so I grabbed my card back and headed to the local coffee shop nearby to think what I could do. By this point I still had about a hour till we planned to meet. Then, I had a amazing idea. I could connect to the WIFI in the coffee shop I was in and transfer my funds online to my other bank account with a different bank and try my luck at that bank. So I quickly transferred my funds, put away my laptop and headed straight for the bank without even drinking a sip of my coffee as I was so apprehensive about if this was going to work. I went into the bank and it was empty, not a single customer. I head up to the counter and give them my bank card and say I would like to withdraw £650 please. She checks my account, I was a bit worried at this point because I haven't used this account in a year as I didn't keep anything in it and had switched to my new one which had just let me down. She comes back to the counter and explains my account was empty and nothing was in it, another blow but I explained I literally just put money into the account so she goes and speaks to someone and then tells me to go sit down and wait 5 minutes and come back to the counter.

At this point I was starting to panic, I had traveled all the way up to town and didn't have the cash to give to the seller and he had started texting me to say he was heading to the McDonalds now if I was ready. I replied and said I was "In the bank now, just getting the cash" and hoped for the best. The women calls me back over and asked for my card again and explained it can take a little while for a transfer so she checks again and tells me it's all fine and she can now give me my funds. I felt relieved and she handed me my money. I was just about to text the guy back to say I couldn't get the money and I was going to meet him anyway and give him £20 I had in my wallet to cover his travels due to wasting his time but I now had the funds and headed to the McDonalds.

It was about 10:10AM at this point and I was still a little early so I walked into the location and looked around for someone with a laptop and guess what it was full of people with laptops so no hope there. I send him a text and he texts me back he is in line to get some food so I look at the line and he is at the back so I join him in the line. I walk over to him and introduce myself and shake his hand and we make some small talk while in the line and we each grab some McDonalds breakfast each and head over to the seats. We both load up our laptops and I grab the money out of my pocket while he loads up his Bitcoin wallet and then I proceed to do get my receiving address up. I then give him my address and he types it in and then he sends the 8 Bitcoin and I hand him over the cash. He does a quick check to see if it is all there and the deal is done. I now have 8 Bitcoin successfully bought.

After this it was kind of awkward at first, you try eat a McMuffin and a Hash Brown with a guy you met 5 minutes ago haha. After a while we really started to get chatting about all sorts of things. He mostly told me stuff due to not being in the Bitcoin loop for nearly a year, after we finished we headed for the door and said goodbye and he gave me his number in case we wanted to do it again sometime and there I was, walking away with 8 Bitcoin and the taste of success.

If you actually read this, hope it helps you experience what it is like to do a Face 2 Face trade with a stranger and what you can expect. I had a bit of fun writing this out and if I do anymore trades I will write another one.

Thanks.

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[miernik]

So in UK they let you withdraw money from a bank account at the counter without an ID, unless its a "big amount"?

Surprised, all my life they asked for ID even if I withdraw 1 Euro, 1 dollar or whatever. Otherwise anybody could come and steal money from my account, no?

So better not keep any cash in UK banks, as anyone can walk up to the counter, and chances are he could steal my money without having to show my ID.

[runam0k]

So in UK they let you withdraw money from a bank account at the counter without an ID, unless its a "big amount"?

Surprised, all my life they asked for ID even if I withdraw 1 Euro, 1 dollar or whatever. Otherwise anybody could come and steal money from my account, no?

So better not keep any cash in UK banks, as anyone can walk up to the counter, and chances are he could steal my money without having to show my ID.

Nowadays they usually have a card machine at the counter and you have to enter your pin, so no ID is fine (up to a point).

[Terk]

Don't you have ATMs over there in Britain?

[aepfel]

Nice story, very enjoyable to read. 

[miernik]

Don't you have ATMs over there in Britain?

Yea, that's the second thought - why didn't you use an ATM?

[FocusMedia]

Don't you have ATMs over there in Britain?

Yea, that's the second thought - why didn't you use an ATM?

You can only withdraw 300 GBP a day from them.

[miernik]

You can only withdraw 300 GBP a day from them.

Do all banks in UK have such ridiculously low ATM limits, or are there some which have higher limits?

ATM withdrawal limits in German banks are commonly 1000 EUR or 2000 EUR a day (roughly 850 GBP or 1700 GBP), in Polish banks 5000 PLN a day is most common (around 1000 GBP).

Why do UK banks prevent people for using ATM's for larger amounts, while on the continent many banks have no problem with that, which is very useful when for example buying a used car from someone. So when you buy a used car in UK after bank opening hours you can't withdraw the money from an ATM, but have to do it earlier, and then carry the cash around - not very safe. Better keep it on the account until the deal is decided on, which can often happen in evening after-work hours when banks are closed. A thousand or two worth of Euros or pounds is a common amount to pay in cash for a used car, so UK banks force unsafe practice of having to withdraw earlier and carry cash around in such cases?

[FocusMedia]

You can only withdraw 300 GBP a day from them.

Do all banks in UK have such ridiculously low ATM limits, or are there some which have higher limits?

ATM withdrawal limits in German banks are commonly 1000 EUR or 2000 EUR a day (roughly 850 GBP or 1900 GBP), in Polish banks 5000 PLN a day is most common (around 1000 GBP).

Why do UK banks prevent people for using ATM's for larger amounts, while on the continent many banks have no problem with that, which is very useful when for example buying a used car from someone. So when you buy a used car in UK after bank opening hours you can't withdraw the money from an ATM, but have to do it earlier, and then carry the cash around - not very safe. Better keep it on the account until the deal is decided on, which can often happen in evening after-work hours when banks are closed. A thousand or two worth of Euros or pounds is a common amount to pay in cash for a used car, so UK banks force unsafe practice of having to withdraw earlier and carry cash around in such cases?

Yea, it's the limit everywhere. Not sure, think it is for fraud purposes. ATM fraud is high in the UK, helps avoid someone cleaning your bank out.

[Terk]

You can only withdraw 300 GBP a day from them.

That is weird. In my country you can usually set your own limits for each card. ATMs have hard limit of a single withdrawal amount but it's mostly due to number of bills that can be disposed in one go (20-30 bills). But if you want more, you can simply withdraw twice. I used to withdraw equivalents of 3000 GBP without any problems.

[FocusMedia]

You can only withdraw 300 GBP a day from them.

That is weird. In my country you can usually set your own limits for each card. ATMs have hard limit of a single withdrawal amount but it's mostly due to number of bills that can be disposed in one go (20-30 bills). But if you want more, you can simply withdraw twice. I used to withdraw equivalents of 3000 GBP without any problems.

Yea, it sucks. Shame it's my account and I can't even set my own limits.

[melvster]

You can only withdraw 300 GBP a day from them.

Do all banks in UK have such ridiculously low ATM limits, or are there some which have higher limits?

ATM withdrawal limits in German banks are commonly 1000 EUR or 2000 EUR a day (roughly 850 GBP or 1700 GBP), in Polish banks 5000 PLN a day is most common (around 1000 GBP).

Why do UK banks prevent people for using ATM's for larger amounts, while on the continent many banks have no problem with that, which is very useful when for example buying a used car from someone. So when you buy a used car in UK after bank opening hours you can't withdraw the money from an ATM, but have to do it earlier, and then carry the cash around - not very safe. Better keep it on the account until the deal is decided on, which can often happen in evening after-work hours when banks are closed. A thousand or two worth of Euros or pounds is a common amount to pay in cash for a used car, so UK banks force unsafe practice of having to withdraw earlier and carry cash around in such cases?

That's because UK banks have recently had bank runs so they dont dare put the limits up.  It's something people in the UK have wanted for years.  

EDIT: Note -- expect this in germany soon!

[FocusMedia]

You can only withdraw 300 GBP a day from them.

Do all banks in UK have such ridiculously low ATM limits, or are there some which have higher limits?

ATM withdrawal limits in German banks are commonly 1000 EUR or 2000 EUR a day (roughly 850 GBP or 1700 GBP), in Polish banks 5000 PLN a day is most common (around 1000 GBP).

Why do UK banks prevent people for using ATM's for larger amounts, while on the continent many banks have no problem with that, which is very useful when for example buying a used car from someone. So when you buy a used car in UK after bank opening hours you can't withdraw the money from an ATM, but have to do it earlier, and then carry the cash around - not very safe. Better keep it on the account until the deal is decided on, which can often happen in evening after-work hours when banks are closed. A thousand or two worth of Euros or pounds is a common amount to pay in cash for a used car, so UK banks force unsafe practice of having to withdraw earlier and carry cash around in such cases?

That's because UK banks have recently had bank runs so they dont dare put the limits up.  It's something people in the UK have wanted for years.  

EDIT: Note -- expect this in germany soon!

True, if banks go bust you will have thousands of people withdrawing all their money from ATM's.

[greyhawk]

ATM withdrawal limits in German banks are commonly 1000 EUR or 2000 EUR a day (

This is rather new. I remember when the withdrawal limit at my bank was 400 Mark. Yes, Mark.

[marhjan]

In the USA - most ATMs have a $400 withdrawal limit.  Being able to pull 2000 Euro from an ATM must be nice lol

[dandirk]

I know with my bank and I can and have my ATM limit raised... Usually they even ask for how long.

[Peter Lambert]

Here in the US I think banks can set their own withdrawal limits for their ATMs? I have not checked in a while, but the ATMs I usually use have a $500 limit. A few years back I was going to buy a truck from one of my girlfriend's friends (I had just totaled my car running into a deer). My girlfriend picked me up and drove me to get the truck, about an hour drive. I had planned to write a check, but realized I forgot my checkbook at home, and it was evening so all the banks were closed. So we stopped at an ATM and both used the max withdrawal of $500 to get the $1000 I needed for the truck. I never officially paid her back, but now we are married and she just takes my whole paycheck

I am surprised they totally turned you away just because you didn't have any ID (which is a dumb thing to do, why don't you just always carry your ID?), Isn't there some sort of security questions you can answer and forms to fill out certifiying you are who you say you are in the case when you don't have any ID? All that hulabaloo for just 600 pounds?

[Terk]

just because you didn't have any ID (which is a dumb thing to do, why don't you just always carry your ID?)

Depends on what kind of ID we are talking about. In my country there's the ID and there's driver license. I often carry the driver's license but I hardly ever carry the ID and I believe the opposite, that it's dumb thing to do to always carry the ID. I can't get a bank loan or even withdraw cash from my bank account with my driver's license - and that's a good thing. I also don't do these things in my average day. The ID on the other side is more than enough for identity theft and if you have a bank clerk working with you, it's trivial to take lots of loans with stolen IDs.

I see a lot of people with wallets full of sensitive stuff - five to ten different cards, all kinds of IDs, basically with every financial and/or personal information token they have. Now that is a dumb thing to do to always carry all that with yourself even if you hardly ever need most of this stuff. I usually have just cash and/or one low-limit/balance card for everyday usage and driver's license with me. I pick other stuff on a intend-to-use basis. I never had my wallet lost or stollen, but if I had, no really harm done. Losing a wallet with the ID and all the cards on the other side, now that's a real pain in the ass and possibility of being a victim of some financial/identity theft crime. Thanks, but no thanks.

[FocusMedia]

just because you didn't have any ID (which is a dumb thing to do, why don't you just always carry your ID?)

Depends on what kind of ID we are talking about. In my country there's the ID and there's driver license. I often carry the driver's license but I hardly ever carry the ID and I believe the opposite, that it's dumb thing to do to always carry the ID. I can't get a bank loan or even withdraw cash from my bank account with my driver's license - and that's a good thing. I also don't do these things in my average day. The ID on the other side is more than enough for identity theft and if you have a bank clerk working with you, it's trivial to take lots of loans with stolen IDs.

I see a lot of people with wallets full of sensitive stuff - five to ten different cards, all kinds of IDs, basically with every financial and/or personal information token they have. Now that is a dumb thing to do to always carry all that with yourself even if you hardly ever need most of this stuff. I usually have just cash and/or one low-limit/balance card for everyday usage and driver's license with me. I pick other stuff on a intend-to-use basis. I never had my wallet lost or stollen, but if I had, no really harm done. Losing a wallet with the ID and all the cards on the other side, now that's a real pain in the ass and possibility of being a victim of some financial/identity theft crime. Thanks, but no thanks.

I do carry ID, they wanted a passport tho.

[Welsh]

Interesting read, I have never actually done a local trade because there are no 'other' bitcoin buyers/sellers in my area, which is sad.

[nwbitcoin]

Nice story!

I have sold bitcoins a few times on a face to face basis, and its always at McD!

The issue of getting cash out of an ATM is a big problem which is just getting bigger - the most I think you can get out of a UK one is usually about £500 in the nicer parts of the country. 

Its great to hear a nice story about bitcoin which doesn't end badly!

Maybe this could become a trend?

[FocusMedia]

Nice story!

I have sold bitcoins a few times on a face to face basis, and its always at McD!

The issue of getting cash out of an ATM is a big problem which is just getting bigger - the most I think you can get out of a UK one is usually about £500 in the nicer parts of the country. 

Its great to hear a nice story about bitcoin which doesn't end badly!

Maybe this could become a trend?

I like face to face trades, just seems safe for me. Plus it's the only way I have really bought coins before. I am a pretty shy guy to people I haven't really met before so eating McDonalds with a complete stranger was a little nerve racking for me haha.

[Abdussamad]

In my country you can't withdraw funds using your ATM card except via the ATM. The only way to withdraw money at the counter is via a cheque. No ID is required though.

[ManBearPig]

Don't you have ATMs over there in Britain?

Yeah, we had the first one in the world actually:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1914560_1914558_1914559,00.html