Scrap Metal Theft Petition

P

Possel

The price of all scrap metal, particularly lead and copper, continues to rise and there is a corresponding rise in the theft of all such metals. This sort of thing has a huge effect on old properties (as well as train services!) and the cost of the theft is far greater than the "benefit" received by the miscreants. At present it is very easy to take scrap to a scrapyard and receive cash without any questions asked - not even proof of identity and address.

I'd like to ask everyone please to sign up to an e-petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406 which asks the government make an amendment to legislation to prohibit cash transactions and to make payment by cheque or directly into a bank account mandatory. Hopefully this would at least deter the most idiotic thieves, like the ones who took a few bits of lead off my roof last November.

Matthew
http://houseintheenchantedforest.blogsp ... -lead.html

PS not sure if there is a more suitable category...?
 
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Sorry to here of your lead theft.

The price of lead is actually going down at the moment.

I'm currently working on a house where all the lead ridges, hips and a lead flat roof were stolen, it's not good for our trade as continued theft of lead will inevitably lead to people specifying different materials, which will be a nightmare for all lead working specialists and the industry as a whole.

The ending of cash for scrap is just not going to happen - people will always want to cash in their scrap materials, and there will always be someone willing to try to make a profit out of it. Most scrap metal merchants are good hard working people just trying to make a living. If you're doing a boot sale to raise some funds would you only accept cheques? - for most people it's cash they want.

The only way to stop this type of theft is to make things more secure - the £4m house I'm working on just sits there empty 350 days a year (someone's 5th home) and has had no security arrangements, not even a gate at the top of the winding drive for at least the last 4 years, and this in an area where people are losing there jobs, losing everything left right and centre - I think I've got more sympathy for the desperate rogues that stole the lead than the banker that owns the house and got us all into this mess in the first place.

Sorry to sound so negative about your idea, but I believe it will be a waste of your time.
 
I'm all in favour of making it cashless.

I was at a scrapyard recently. Some itinerants came by in their flashy van, the scrapman said he knew them, they are living on an illegal site nearby. He was trembling as he went out to take a couple of car betteries off them, he reckons they were looking round to see what he'd got, and he thinks they'll be back after dark to collect it.

It seems to me nothing but good to record all sales with name and address, and description of goods, and pay through bank account.

Might also be a way of making sure that people are paying tax, even if the goods aren't stolen.
 
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well lets hope they don't f**k it up again because without cash transactions we will be down the river without a paddle
 
making it cashless will not prove that tax is being paid at all. The issue here is to stop metal theft.
Photo id at the merchants helps a little as would regular uv scanning.
unfortunately there would all ways be merchants that skirt round the regs.

Metal theft is nothing new, I believe it has been made worse by everyone banging on about how much scrap metal is worth...
Incidentally the price is lower now than it was and am sure it will drop lower with all the crap going on in China.

We have on certain jobs used anti theft systems on lead and copper and even these can be circumnavigated obviously i'm not going to say how..

So imho a petition is worthless and will achive nothing.

better off talking about how the bottom has fallen out of the scrap market.
 
datarebal said:
making it cashless will not prove that tax is being paid at all.
Click to expand...
Let me check that:

"Having a record of payments going into a person's bank account does not make it easier to track down or successfully prosecute tax evaders. It is no easier than if they received anonymous cash paymentsd under a false name"

Nope, I think you're wrong there.

I also think it would make it easier to track down and prosecute, or at least seize funds from, a person who sold five miles of 250mm2 copper cable marked "Railtrack"
 
They should introduce a licence system in order to run a scrap yard. If they are found to have accepted stolen scrap - then a life ban should be the outcome. Simples.
 
datarebal said:
We have on certain jobs used anti theft systems on lead and copper and even these can be circumnavigated obviously i'm not going to say how..

.
Click to expand...
I`d connect a farm electric fence power unit to any lead on my roof :mrgreen:
 
"Having a record of payments going into a person's bank account does not make it easier to track down or successfully prosecute tax evaders. It is no easier than if they received anonymous cash paymentsd under a false name"

It might make it easier to track if sometjing is being tracked.

I actually said being paid by cheque does not mean tax will be paid it means nothing. I think you are wrong there...

Where there is a will there is a way.
 
I usually deal with EMR, they will not buy any metal unless seller provides name, address and vehicle reg number. I know any name and address can be given, but vehicle reg is harder to fiddle.

They also have a rogues gallery on the office wall..... ;)
 
and if they paid by bank transfer, and you were a crook, it would be possible for an official investigation to track you down
 
But anyone could take scrap in ,get paid cheque ,bank transfer or what ever still does not mean tax is paid or does it mean these person have sold stolen metals.

There is no real way to stop the sale of stolen metals..to think it can be done is simply a dream..
 
no, and nobody has said it causes tax to be paid or prevents metal being stolen.

However it does make it very much easier to investigate and track down criminals.

That's why criminals prefer the false name, cash-in-used-notes option.
 
D

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