You’d be forgiven for thinking that scrapping a vehicle would be a comprehensively safe and simple process. Working with Take My Scrap Car, that’s exactly what it is – and financially rewarding to boot.

Nevertheless, you’d probably be surprised of the prevalence of car scrapping and buying scams across the United Kingdom. Some of which can be harder to spot than others, so it’s important to be proactive and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious.

Here’s a brief overview of the kinds of things we’re talking about:

Cash in Hand

For some time now, it’s been illegal for car scrapping and recycling firms to pay cash for the cars they collect. There needs to be a formal paper trail and all payments must be transferred into an appropriate account. Hence, if any supposed ‘reputable’ dealer offers you cash in hand for your car, they’re breaking the law. And you could end up in trouble if you work with them. 

No Certificate of Destruction

When a car scrapping and recycling specialist refuses to provide a certificate of destruction, ask yourself – why might this be the case? On one hand, it could be that they’re operating illegally and don’t intend on leaving a paper trail of any kind. On the other, it could be that they intend to patch up your car and put it back into circulation. The problem being that as its registered owner (without submitting proof of destruction to the DVLA), you could be held liable for any subsequent mischief it gets into.

Suspicious Quotations

This works in both directions – anything that seems out of the ordinary should be treated with suspicion. For example, you may be told that your car is in insufficient condition to warrant you are receiving any money for it. They may even ask you to pay for your car to be towed away, despite the fact that condition has minimal impact on scrap value. Likewise, a quotation that’s too good to be true is also a sign of something sketchy. Even if you’re not entirely sure how much a scrap car is worth, you’ll know when any quote you receive is completely OTT. 

Theft Without Payment

Last but not least, it’s not uncommon for unscrupulous car scrapping and recycling specialists to simply take vehicles from customers and never pay them. They either make excuses about not paying, or simply cut off contact entirely. The problem being that unless you’ve formal proof that you handed your car over to them and were guaranteed some kind of payment, you may not have a leg to stand on in a legal sense.

Ask the Experts…

As a trusted local business, you can count on Take My Scrap Car to provide the honest and impartial advice you need on all aspects of car scrapping and recycling.

For more information or to discuss your requirements in more detail, contact a member of the team at Take My Scrap Car today.