New Scottish Law, stops cash payouts for scrap vehicles
Published Date: 1st Sep 2016
The new law being brought in is part of a new measure from the Scottish government to crack down on illegal scrap metal theft. From September the 1st you will no longer be able to get quick and easy cash from scrapping your old motor or weighing in some scrap copper, aluminium or lead.
The Scottish police have estimated that the total cost of theft whether its cables, lead flashing and other metals from the infrastructure has cost the country somewhere in the region of £770 million.
They will be brought in under the Air Weapons and Licensing Bill that covers metal dealers in a sub-section.
In the bill a metal dealer can only make payment for scrap metal via a cheque or electronic transfer of the funds from an account in the name of the scrap merchant. They’re also required by law to keep records of all the transactions made with the name and address of the seller verified via official identification documents like a driving licence or passport.
How can you make sure your car is properly dismantled?
Every vehicle that is being scrapped needs to be dismantled and recycled properly so that hazardous materials like antifreeze, brake fluid, batteries, air conditioning gas, engine and transmission oil are disposed of in the right manner.
If you are scrapping a vehicle make sure you use a reputable scrap yard that has an Authorised Treatment Facility or ATF licence. Another point would be to make sure they can provide you with a certificate of destruction so the DVLA will be notified that your vehicle has been destroyed. All of this will make sure that no tax bills or motoring violations in your name will make it through your letter box.