Trading Standards warn Warwickshire residents ober car scrapping scam
Thursday 10th January, 2013
ROGUE online scrap dealers are ripping off consumers in Warwickshire – taking their cars, failing to hand over cash and then passing the vehicles on to be used by criminals.
Watchdogs at Warwickshire Trading Standards have now issued a warning to residents to be on their guard after receiving complaints from people who claim to have fallen victim to internet crooks.
Some have even been hit with parking fines and driving penalities after cars they believed had been scrapped were caught still on the roads and breaking the law.
“What we are finding is that consumers are allowing their vehicles to be taken by scrap merchants without the proper paperwork being completed, and then not receiving the money they were promised.
“Most of these dodgy scrap dealers advertise on the internet and some are using false names and addresses.
“Having handed over their car, the owners then find out later that their vehicles are not scrapped at all, but are instead repaired and sold on or used by criminals.
“And all the time, the original owner continues to be responsible for the vehicle.”
The rising price of metal has seen theft of products containing the material soar across the Midlands – creating havoc for local authorities, police, businessers and householders alike.
The Association of Chief Police Officers has estimated that metal theft costs the UK economy approximately £770 million every year.
Earlier this month, dozens of officers from West Midlands Police raided more than 40 scrapyards as part of a national fight against metal thieves.
Officers seized tonnes of stolen BT, Virgin Media and Western Power cables from a number of yards, along with two skips worth of Calor Gas bottles, which should also only be recycled through approved yards.
Four vehicles were also seized for either failing to have legal documents, or for being used to carry waste illegally.
The crackdown, called Operation Tornado, comes as a change in the law means yards are now banned from paying cash for scrap. Sellers will also now have to provide ID when offering up their wares to recyclers.
And in November, the Telegraph revealed that metal thieves have struck nearly 200 times on the rail network in Coventry, Nuneaton and Bedworth in the last three years, causing chaos for commuters as services were cancelled. Stockingford was the worst hit area with 29 recorded incidents of metal theft in 2011, more than once a fortnight.
