http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16411400

This is now recently in force in France. I was shocked when i took a scrap car in last week to find the guy writing out a cheque for the guy in front of me.

The car i took in last week was a uk registered car. He did not want to see the log book. But took my details and vehicle registration of my van.

This week i scraped a French reg car and he wanted the log book,then lots of form filling. The log book was crossed and signed by me. I got 2 copies of a form, one for me and one to send to my county hall vehicle department.

So folk's that nice bit of cash for scrap look's to be coming to an end for most of you also.

If they pay you with a cheque, where's the problem? It's still money!

I imagine that most people prefer cash Jim,as they may not want to declare it !

I'm sure they would, Joe, but isn't it better to have the taxed money than no money if (and I concede it's a big "if"), it stops people nicking the lead off your local school roof or the wire from your local transformer/railway line?

Yes money is money,from my point if it's cheque it keeps me legal then i'm happy.
The big problem imo in the uk will be that it will have to become law to work.
Imagine if 50% go Cheque payment only. Ha their taking's would plumet.

The stealing will carry on i think.

I fear you're right, but if it becomes harder to fence ill-gotten scrap then it might at least put off the less determined thief. A forward-thinking scrap dealer might embrace the scheme to improve his public image...!

Something and nothing surely?

When I redid my bathroom a couple of years ago there was a lot of redundant lead pipe under the floor from modernisation in the 60's.
Eventually I took it to the scrappy where I had to produce ID and they noted the registation number of my car before handing over any cash together with a copy of the record they had made.

I don't see that more is needed.

I agree Pete. I suppose it is about putting out a signal.

Of course this won't stop scrap going into containers and then being sold abroad Of course there will always be ways of getting round any system but at present every petty theif is going for metal as it is so easy to exchange. The figures will drop dramatically if the proposal is adopted and it is to difficult to dispose of it unless you have very good contacts in the underworld.

Just to add to this thread.

Our road is due to be closed for 9 weeks shortly for gas mains renewals. There have been three 3 feet square aluminium signs, one at each at each point of closure, since Christmas.

Until today. There is now just 1 sign left, plus 2 sets of sandbags which held the other two down.

So that's more money stolen from me as a council tax payer on top of the dozens of cast iron manhole covers stolen locally over the past few months.

There really are a lot of thieving scum around nowadays as well as bent dealers who take it off their hands. Surely the answer is to put more resources into catching those criminals, not make life more difficult for the honest dealers and their customers.

Its the gas suppliers (and their nominated contractors) responsibility for the signs not the council. I wouldn't be surprised if the council haven't actually profited from the missing signs by fining the contractor for having inadequate signing, lighting and guarding.

Our council won't even have noticed the missing signs. It's Saturday.

Anyway we will pay for them in additional gas bille from the contractors passing on the costs to the gas suppliers.

So it is still thieving scum costing us all.

... mind you, I need some new brake pipes for my Moon. Hopefully with the copper price going down I might be able to work a deal with JBT.....

An honest scrap dealer??

I totally support making all payments for scrap electronic bank to bank transfer only.

A complete record of who made the payment and who received it will make it much, much harder for theives to turn stolen metal into money, but with no impact on honest citizens