The cash-on-delivery sofa is not the one in the photos. What now?

What should I do before I hand over the cash?

Ask to open the wrapping while the sofa is still on the vehicle, in daylight if you can. Compare the colour, the arms, the feet and the stains with the photos in the listing.

If it is a different sofa, do not pay. If they will not let you open it, do not pay. A promise to "sort it later" is not a reason to hand over cash. Read marketplace scams and fake payment emails.

Why do people ask for money before you see it?

Which? reported identical clear-out posts that asked a buyer for a deposit, after which the item was not at the address. People then search for holding my money because the transfer has already gone.

Pay.UK says a Faster Payment cannot be cancelled once it has been sent. If you have lost money, Which? says call your bank on the number on your card and report it to Action Fraud, or call 101 in Scotland. Read selling in a Facebook group.

In February 2025 Which? reported ten identical posts, from different accounts, in local and community groups. Each offered a late parent’s vanity table as a family clear-out, priced between £65 and £85, and each linked to a Marketplace post. One buyer was told there was lots of interest, was asked for a deposit, and the item was not at the address. Which? says that if you lose money you should call your bank on the number on your card and report it to Action Fraud, or call 101 in Scotland. Source

Pay.UK says that once a Faster Payment has been sent it cannot be cancelled. Where money was sent by mistake, banks follow the Credit Payment Recovery process. Source

What if the sofa does not match the description?

People write INAD when an item is not as described. On a private sale, the Sale of Goods Act says goods sold by description must match the description, where the consumer goods chapter does not apply. Satisfactory quality is the term that applies where the seller sells in the course of a business.

If the seller looks like a business, GOV.UK’s business guidance says second-hand furniture still needs a permanent fire label. Read regulation 14 via that guidance. A neighbour clearing one sofa is not automatically that case. For the refund question after you have already collected, read buyer wants a refund after collecting.

Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says that where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied term that the goods will correspond with the description. Section 13 does not apply to a contract to which Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies. Source

Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says there is no implied term about quality or fitness for a particular purpose except as that section provides. Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied are of satisfactory quality. Source

GOV.UK’s business guidance on the 2025 fire-safety amendments says second-hand supply of furniture will still require a permanent label. Suppliers should read regulation 14 of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. Source

What if I pay in an app and then look?

On SilentSale® the buyer pays at checkout, travels, and inspects before sharing a 6-digit PIN. Stripe holds the funds until pickup is completed. Do not share the PIN if the sofa is not the one in the photos. You can cancel before the PIN is entered and be refunded in full. There is no dispute window after the PIN.

Both sides contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price to SilentCover® (£0.60 each on a £10 item), a discretionary protection service. Compare this with Facebook Marketplace.

SilentSale® Terms: payment is processed through Stripe when the buyer confirms checkout (section 10A.2.1). Stripe holds the funds until the item is delivered or collected (section 10A.2.2). SilentSale® does not directly hold the funds (section 4.1.4). Funds are not released to the seller until pickup is completed (section 10A.2.4). After checkout the buyer is issued a 6-digit PIN (section 7.5.2). The buyer must inspect the item before handing that PIN to the seller (section 7.5.3). The seller enters it in the app (section 7.5.4). Entering the PIN is acceptance, the order is then complete, and no dispute window applies (sections 7.5.5, 7.5.6, 15.2.3 and 10A.7.3). Source

SilentSale® Terms section 10A.5.3: a buyer may cancel a PIN Pickup order in the app until the acceptance PIN has been entered, and is then refunded in full. Section 10A.5.5: once the seller has entered the PIN, voluntary cancellation in the app is no longer available. Source

SilentSale® Terms section 3.1.1: both the buyer and the seller contribute to SilentCover®. Section 3.2.2: it is free to list, and the seller’s contribution is taken only after a successful sale. Section 3.3: SilentCover® is described as a discretionary platform service. Buyer and seller each contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price (£0.60 each on a £10 item); the app shows the amount in pounds. Source