They could have pinched it to weigh in. I've seen Transits with several new looking bikes & prams on them. I foiled some scrap thieves a while ago and they had a Record No5 vice in their haul, worth what £50? perhaps a fiver for scrap.
Wast of time.
One of the local scrapyards, is a total mess, nothing new there I here you say, but I believe there to be good reason, as soon as a load comes in it's mixed up with the rest of the huge pile, making it impossible to locate any items that may only have been stolen that day.
I don't like regulation however if the scrap collectors were licensed, and only licensed to take scrap within a given area, and to only nominated scrapyards then it might just stop it.
There were 13 scrapyards raided about 4 months ago around my area, one was closed down, (he was a known dealer in stolen gear.) The one a spoke about been messy was arrested items removed, and a large amount of cash was found.
They now take copies of I.D. when you take metal in. I don't know if this a local thing or a new legal requirement.
They didnt take one off me when i took an old nissan in a week or two back
The only partial solution would be to stop cash payments and pay direct into either the account of the person taking the metal or to a company account. At least you have a paper trail. Good CCTV to see whois tipping what may also help.
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They now take copies of I.D. when you take metal in. I don't know if this a local thing or a new legal requirement.
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