Should I pay a deposit on Facebook Marketplace?

Why do people ask for a deposit first?

A seller, or someone using a seller’s photos, asks you to “hold” the item. The message may say the driver cannot take the rest of the money, or that the item will go to someone else today. The payment they want is often a bank transfer, before any viewing.

A deposit in a private chat is not the same as a Buy now button on a Gumtree advert. Gumtree’s payments page says the Buy now button is what shows when its own checkout is available, and that bank transfers are not supported there.

Gumtree’s online payments page, dated 16 September 2026, says buyers can pay at checkout by UK Visa or Mastercard, Apple Pay or PayPal, and that bank transfers are not supported. For delivery-enabled items it says secure payment is available on eligible items up to £250, and that the Buy now button shows when payment on Gumtree is available. For postage it says the seller is paid when the buyer confirms the item or 48 hours after the carrier confirms delivery with no dispute. For collection with online payment it says the seller enters the buyer’s 6-digit Collection Code, the sale is then complete, funds are released immediately, and that action cannot be reversed. Source

Can I get a Facebook deposit back?

Facebook’s UK help says Purchase Protection isn't available in your location right now. Its safety help says local pickup paid person to person is not covered, and that Facebook does not offer refunds for person-to-person transactions.

Do not assume a chat on Facebook will refund a transfer you sent to hold a sofa, a phone or a vehicle. Read whether a Faster Payment can be cancelled before you send anything.

Facebook’s UK help page on Purchase Protection says Purchase Protection isn't available in your location right now. Source

Facebook’s Marketplace safety help says local pickup items paid person to person are not covered by Purchase Protection, and that Facebook does not offer refunds for person-to-person transactions. It says to avoid payment links and to log in through the payment service’s own website. It also says not to share financial information, such as a PayPal login or bank details, and to reject an overpayment that the buyer then asks you to send back. Source

What if I have already transferred the money?

Call your bank straight away, on a number from its official site or from the back of your card, not from the chat. Pay.UK says a Faster Payment cannot be cancelled once it has been sent.

A reimbursement scheme is a separate process. It is not the same as reversing the transfer, and it does not cover every purchase that goes wrong. The regulator’s page draws a line between fraud and a civil dispute with a real supplier. Your bank decides the claim.

Pay.UK says that where both banks are direct participants, Faster Payments are usually available almost immediately, although they can sometimes take up to two hours, and that some payments take longer, especially outside normal working hours. It also says that, once sent, Faster Payments cannot be cancelled. Banks follow a separate Credit Payment Recovery process when a payment was sent by mistake. Source

The same Payment Systems Regulator page says APP fraud is not the same as a civil dispute, where you pay a real supplier for goods or services that do not arrive or are faulty and there is no intent to defraud. Card, cash and cheque payments are outside this bank-transfer scheme. You will not be reimbursed if you are found to have been complicit or grossly negligent. The page says gross negligence is a high bar and that this exception does not apply to a vulnerable consumer. Source

How does a SilentSale® order work?

SilentSale® is a UK marketplace for private buyers and sellers of personal goods. The buyer pays in the app. Stripe processes the payment and holds the funds until the order is completed. Buyer and seller each contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price to SilentCover® (£0.60 each on a £10 item), a discretionary protection service.

For a posted item, tracked Shipping has a 72-hour window to report an issue after delivery. For an in-person sale, use PIN Pickup: the buyer inspects the item, then shares a six-digit PIN, and the seller enters it to finish. There is no cash in that handover, and there is no dispute step after the PIN. That describes this order. It does not cancel a bank transfer you have already sent, and it does not make another website’s email real.

Where should I read next?

Read cancelling a Faster Payment, a courier who says they will bring cash, fake payment emails, selling without handing over cash and SilentSale® vs Facebook Marketplace.