Mike makes metal clips in his workshop. He recently joined the Metal Shaping Tools group on Facebook and saw a second-hand metal lathe in great condition for $15k. He messages the seller ‘Susie’ to make the deal.
Mike knows that to help protect himself, he needs to do a $2 PPSR search to check if there’s money owing on the lathe. He goes to ppsr.gov.au to check what info he needs from Susie to do his search and sees he needs the seller’s details. He checks with Susie whether she’s selling it as a sole trader or on behalf of her business so he can get the right details (like her name and DOB or company ACN).
Mike’s PPSR search shows Susie’s bank has a PPSR registration over the lathe. Mike knew this meant Susie could owe money on it to the bank for the lathe – going through with the deal would put him at risk of it being repossessed later by the bank. Mike tells Susie he’s not going ahead with the deal until the registration is gone.