Cash payments for scrap metal banned

[yorkie]

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20576580

Scrap metal cash payments banned

Cash payments for metal at recycling yards in England and Wales are no longer legal under new laws aimed at reducing cable theft.

Thefts have plagued the railway industry for the past few years, disrupting services across the country.

Penalties for those breaking the law have also been increased in amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Workers in the metal recycling industry say legislation alone is not enough.

The metal recycling industry is worth about £5.6bn annually and employs almost 8,000 people in the UK.

Home Secretary Theresa May announced the changes in January, saying cash payments had led to "anonymous, low-risk transactions" for thieves and meant "poor record keeping" within the industry.

The Scottish government has proposed the introduction of similar measures.

The Association of Chief Police Officers estimates that metal theft costs the UK economy £770m every year.

Incidents of railway cable theft have dropped from more than 2,600 in 2011 to under 1,300 so far this year amid a police campaign to tackle the problem.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) said: "People in communities across the country are suffering because of cable theft, whether through disruption to train journeys, disabled phone lines or desecrated war memorials."

It said the new measures would be "a real asset in the ongoing fight against metal theft" and welcomed the changes.

British Transport Police deputy chief constable Paul Crowther said metal theft remained a serious threat to infrastructure in England and Wales.

Video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20577638

About time! It's been far too easy for these thieves to cause havoc to railway operations by stealing cables, and even if they are caught they are let off due to inadequate sentences that are not a sufficient deterrent. It's not clear if the new sentences are tough enough (probably not) but it's a start at least. Combined with the existing police campaigns, it should reduce delays due to cable theft further - but whether it will be enough, time will tell...

A name and shame photo gallery would be good too, it would be a deterrent and also allow the thieves to be recognised.

 

[Sidious]

About time! [...] it should reduce delays due to cable theft further - but whether it will be enough, time will tell...

Unfortunately, it is one of the worst thought out pieces of legislation since the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The intentions are brilliant, however the legislation has been written in such a way that it is practically useless.

All that it outlaws is cash transactions - however it does not ban cheque payments. A scrap merchant in my area has set up a side business - cheque cashing service for 10%.

So Billy Thief goes in with his stolen cable, and is given a cheque. The transaction is not in cash so it complies with the law. Billy Thief then takes his cheque to the office next door, who for 10% cash it for him then and there.

Not to mention that the legislation exempts people registered as an itinerant collector, whom the local borough council will be more than happy to register.

I foresee business as usual for cable thieves unfortunately.

 

[merlodlliw]

Do they not have to show some identification before payment, if the scrap merchant has set up a cheque cashing service, will he bank the cheque or just keep the 10%.

This sounds too crooked in my opinion.

 

[D2022]

Back in the day it was all too easy to pick up a few chairs, maybe some keys or pandrol clips and shoot off down the scrappy, made a few bob no but seriously we used to grab the railways van and do the usual runs, no ID, no paper work, no questions. Our van wasn't marked in any way and no company logo. We could have been anyone. Especially as we all had different companies HVV on most of the time.

 

[Temple Meads]

The intentions are good, but some of the details are flawed.

 

[paulusthegnome]

Here in the USA (Oregon), scrap processing rules are a lot tighter.

To haul scrap requires a "certificate of transport" to be visible in the vehicle, signed by the operator and detailing the contents. Failure to comply is a misdemeanor offense.

At the scrap yard, your vehicle is photographed back and front, you are photographed and copy taken of your photo ID. The scrap is also photographed as it is weighed.

Nonferrous material is processed separately and a cheque issued to the address on the photo ID after five business days.

Ferrous material is payed for in cash but any "suspected railroad material" requires a letter of disposal on company letter head and is subject to the five day rule.

The concept is that the state attorneys office receives and manually examines all the images from the various yards and checks for known thefts. Unfortunately, in our state, those positions have been eliminated due to budget cuts so the entire system falls flat. Some Californian operators haul
scrap north to Oregon for this reason.

On the West Coast, scrap is a big business. Most of it goes to China in those empty containers that imported cheap consumer goods.