Safe trading
The vast majority of trades go smoothly. People meet, look at the item, agree, and make a good deal. But unfortunately there are some who want to exploit that trust — so we have gathered the most important advice in one place. Most of it is common sense, and that is exactly the best safeguard you have.
Finnting is a meeting place: we connect buyer and seller, but we do not handle money and are not a party to the transaction itself. You manage the dialogue and the agreement directly with the other party. That gives you full control — and a little extra responsibility for making the smart choices along the way.
The golden rules — in brief
Do this:
- ✅ Meet in a public place in daylight. A shopping centre, a petrol station or an open square is safe. Feel free to bring a friend.
- ✅ Inspect the item before you pay. Look, touch, try it. Does it match the listing and the photos?
- ✅ Use traceable payment. Vipps or a bank transfer gives you a receipt and a trail you can point to afterwards.
- ✅ Ask for a receipt for larger purchases, and keep the message dialogue.
- ✅ Trust your gut. If something feels wrong, walk away. There is always another listing.
- ❌ Do not pay in advance to someone you don't know, and never for an item you haven't seen.
- ❌ Do not share BankID, passwords or one-time codes — with anyone. Ever. A serious buyer or seller never asks for these.
- ❌ Do not fall for offers that are too good to be true. If the price is suspiciously low, there is usually a reason.
- ❌ Do not let yourself be rushed. Pressure that you «must decide now» is a classic scam trick.
- ❌ Do not move the conversation quickly over to email, SMS or unknown links. Keep the dialogue on Finnting for as long as you can.
Payment — how to stay safe
Traceable payment is your best friend. Vipps and an ordinary bank transfer give you a receipt and a trail showing who received the money and when. Cash can be fine for small purchases face to face, but provides no documentation.
Be extra alert when someone:
- asks for an advance payment or a «deposit» before you have seen the item
- wants you to pay via a link they send you
- asks you to provide BankID, card numbers, passwords or one-time codes — this is always fraud
- sends an «overpayment» and asks you to refund the difference
Buying and selling a car
A car is often the biggest transaction people make between themselves. A little extra diligence pays off.
Before buying:
- Check the car's history and whether there is debt registered against it (liens) with Statens vegvesen.
- Ask to see the service booklet, the EU roadworthiness test (EU-kontroll) and any workshop history.
- Take a test drive, and consider an independent condition inspection at a workshop for more expensive cars.
- Write a purchase contract with names, dates of birth, the car's registration number, mileage, price, date and signatures from both parties. Keep a copy each.
- Complete the ownership transfer digitally with Statens vegvesen — it is quick and gives both parties peace of mind.
- Make sure insurance is in place before the new owner starts using the car.
- Pay with traceable payment, and confirm that the ownership transfer is registered before the money is transferred.
Buying and selling a home
A home is the biggest transaction most people ever make. If you're buying, take your time. If you're selling, you can absolutely do it yourself — with a little help from us.
Buying?
- Go to the viewing and see the home with your own eyes. Photos don't tell you everything.
- Ask for the condition report (tilstandsrapport) and read it carefully. It says a lot about what you are actually buying.
- Put your bids in writing, and ask to see the bid journal so you can check the bidding round is run fairly.
Selling — ideally yourself? You skip the estate-agent commission, which can easily run to tens of thousands of kroner. You're in charge, and you take on a little more responsibility. Here's how to do it safely:
- Get a condition report (tilstandsrapport) from a qualified surveyor — it's usually required by law when selling and protects you against later claims.
- Build a clean listing. Finnting generates a free, professional sales prospectus (PDF) automatically from your ad.
- Run an open bidding round and keep a simple bid journal — so every bid is traceable and treated equally.
- Use a settlement company or a lawyer for the money settlement and title registration. It costs a fraction of an agent's commission, and you never handle the purchase sum yourself.
- Get everything in writing: purchase contract, handover protocol and deadlines.
Would you rather use an estate agent (eiendomsmegler)? That's perfectly fine — the agent then handles settlement, contract and handover for you. Our point isn't to push you away from agents, but to make selling it yourself a real, safe option. Read more: Selling your home yourself, step by step and How to run a safe bidding round.
Renting? Be sceptical of «landlords» who demand a deposit or first month's rent before you have seen the home, or who cannot meet you. This is a very common scam in the rental market.
Report a suspicious listing
See something that doesn't add up? It only takes a moment to speak up, and you help the whole marketplace.
We review all reports and remove listings that break the rules. If you suspect you have been the victim of fraud and lost money, you should also contact your bank and report the matter to the police (politiet.no or 02800).
We work continuously to keep the marketplace tidy — but together with your common sense it becomes truly safe.
Finnting is an independent Norwegian marketplace and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or in any other way connected to FINN.no or Schibsted/Vend.