At Take My Scrap Car, we’re often asked about the appropriate protocol upon finding a suspected abandoned car. Truth is, the vast majority of people instinctively see issues like these as someone else’s problem. You see an abandoned car, you assume someone else will deal with it and you keep walking (or driving).
Fair enough, but what if everyone does the same?
Unless someone takes the initiative at some point, the scrap car sits there and causes a nuisance indefinitely. Perhaps while leaking all manner of toxic fluids and whatnot into the surrounding area.
All of which is a shame, as doing something about an abandoned car isn’t exactly hard work.
How Do you Know it’s Definitely Been Abandoned?
In some instances, it’s plainly obvious a car has been dumped. It could be burned out, rusted through, missing its wheels, smashed to pieces etc. It could also have simply been stuck in the same place for weeks on end.
Whatever the signs it may be abandoned (and whether or not it actually is abandoned), it’s technically irrelevant. Doing something about it means the same super-simple process that takes just seconds to carry out.
You’ve technically two options – both as easy as each other:
- You call the police directly and have them take over
- You call us and we’ll take over by informing the police
These days, tracing a car back to its owner (and tracking them down) is pretty easy. The authorities simply hammer a few details into a computer and the results are returned in seconds. At which point, they’ll decide what needs to be done and do it.
At which point, your responsibility in the matter comes to an end.
If it’s not an abandoned and derelict vehicle with a traceable owner, they’ll be given a period of notice to move it. If it’s a scrap car and the owner has abandoned it, they’ll be ordered to have it removed and scrapped responsibly. In the unlikely event that it cannot be traced, the police will organise its removal.
Either way, there’s nothing for you to do but make a quick call!
Supporting the System
Remarkably, up to a million scrap cars are taken off public roads permanently each year in the UK. But what’s even more astonishing is how up to 100,000 of these cars never make it to the recycling facility.
What happens to them is a mystery, though it’s evident that some are simply abandoned and left to deteriorate.
This is one of many reasons why supporting the system by doing the right thing really is everyone’s responsibility. Rather than simply walking or driving by an abandoned vehicle in your area, take note of its location, condition, licence plates (if still attached) and so on.
Make the call when time permits, rather than simply assuming someone else will do it if you don’t.
For more information on how to get the best price for your scrap car or to discuss any aspect of our services in more detail, contact a member of the team at Take My Scrap Car today.
