EACH year in the UK, a staggering two million cars and vans are scrapped. That’s a phenomenal total – there are as many motors crushed as there are sold new!
Trouble is, not all are actually crushed. Up to half the scrapped cars each year are disposed of through unofficial means, which is bad for the environment, road safety, inquisitive exploring-child safety, you name it.
Oh, and if it’s your name on the registration document, says Rebecca Roddis of experts in the field, Cartakeback, it’s bad news for you, too. This will include responsibility for any dodgy things the car’s been up to in the meantime…
To deal with all this, back in 2003, the government introduced the End of Life Vehicle directive. This demands all car makers take back their own brand of car free of charge, and dispose of it in the correct way. For most owners, the car dealer will be one of the obvious routes they use to instigate this service.
Authorised treatment facilities were set up to handle this process. All hazardous materials, fluids and batteries had to be removed, before any part of the old banger could be recycled.
Two years later, legislators cranked up the pressure by demanding car makers and authorised treatment facilities met targets for 85 per cent recycling by weight. All of which means, explained Roddis, you can’t just take a car anywhere for scrapping. And it’s a fair old process to do yourself: which is why firms such as Cartakeback exist – ‘to take the hassle out of the car disposal process for car dealerships’.
Roddis explains: ‘We are proud to be the largest network of vehicle manufacturer approved authorised treatment facilities in the United Kingdom.
‘Our licensed car dismantlers and scrap car yards have been exclusively approved by the UK’s leading vehicle manufacturers, assuring you of a first class car recycling service in strict accordance with the End of Life Vehicle regulations.’ There’s nothing scrappy about these boys.
FUNDS
New car dealers will already be well aware of everything about using these ATFs, of course. It was by dealing with them that the all-important Certificate of Destructions were issued which allowed scrappage funds from the government to be claimed.
Cartakeback really did win here, because it has the facility to instantly issue CoDs on receipt of the vehicle. These are actually emailed to dealers directly, explained Roddis, ‘freeing them of any legal responsibility for the vehicle’. This has given the firm a great platform to build on for the future.
Cartakeback Collect is the core service. This, using one of the firm’s 300-strong ATF partners, will recycle the scrapper you have getting in the way, immediately giving you online payment.
‘We offer nationwide collection and comply with government de-pollution and other targets,’ she adds.
A more recent development is Cartakeback Drive-In. This is a development of the above service, that lets customers find their nearest ATFs – and compare prices on offer!
For dealers interested in getting the best possible price for their motors, it’s just the job. Using Royal Mail postcode look-ups, combined with Google Maps, clear and precise information is generated in seconds. The new Drive-In features are combined with the existing collection quote system, meaning lots of disposal choice for the customer.
‘It’s a significant development in our e-commerce offer, and boosts choice and convenience for dealers,’ said Roddis. ‘As scrap metal values fluctuate, it hasn’t always been easy for someone to know what an old vehicle is worth or whether there will be a cost to get rid of it. We find the highest payment that has been offered from within our nationwide ATF network.’
An even more recent development is just rolling out though, one that goes above and beyond simple car disposal. Many of those cars will be of no interest to your regular disposal partners, but will still have market value above and beyond the standard scrappage rate. What you need is a route to the sort of sellers who would give you the best price – here’s where Cartakeback Auction comes in!
This is specifically for all those lower-value part-exchanges you get in. ‘We will do the whole lot for you,’ said Roddis. ‘Collect, assess, take images, even store the vehicle offsite and manage all the viewings for you, and promise to deliver payment to the vendor within two weeks of receiving a request to collect it.’
So confident is the firm in this new offer, it will pay you £300 for any car you list before the auction even starts. ‘It is not an auction for scrapped cars,’ added Roddis. ‘Rather, it is a bespoke channel for motors that are too good for the scrapyard, but still not worth enough to be of interest to your usual disposal channels.’
Cartakeback says it has a bulging contacts book of parties interested in these cars and with the new auction service has provided a means of connecting demand with supply, which will ensure all parties win. Dealers of cheaper cars will have much more choice, while those looking to dispose of them will have a new easy way to make more from them.
Sounds fantastic. It costs £100 per car, on sale, and has the potential to make a healthy extra chunk of profit for no effort on your part – a real win/win.
Indeed, with this armoury of options, Cartakeback is going above and beyond its traditional offer of dismantling cars. This will remain the core service, be in no doubt, but there’s a whole lot more to it for 2010, too. Making it a firm to watch, we reckon, certainly one to put on your radar.
For more information log on to cartakeback.com or call 0845 257 3233
Dear All,
Please find attached a new release about HMRC’s campaign to tackle scrap metal dealers not paying the right tax.
For the attention of News Desks No of pages: 3
Date: 7 November 2011 Ref: NAT 87/11
HMRC tackles scrap metal tax dodgers
A new taskforce targeting scrap metal dealers who are deliberately failing to pay the right amount of tax has been launched today by H M Revenue & Customs.
The taskforce will pursue scrap metal dealers in Scotland and has been set up to tackle tax evasion where the risk is high. It is one of five taskforces announced today that have been set up to tackle tax evasion in different areas of the country.
The new taskforces will target:
• scrap metal dealers in Scotland, focusing on those who are deliberately suppressing their income or inflating expenditure to evade paying tax
• construction traders who are self employed or run their own company who suppress sales or over-claim expenses in the North West and North Wales
• taxpayers not submitting their statutory returns across Corporation Tax, Income tax Self Assessment, PAYE and VAT in the South East
• fast food outlets deliberately falsifying their records and mis-declaring their true sales levels to avoid paying the correct taxes in Scotland
• landlords – owning or renting three or more properties – evading their tax responsibilities in North West and North Wales.
Taskforces are specialist teams that undertake intensive bursts of compliance activity in specific high risk trade sectors and locations across the UK.
David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary, said:
“We will not tolerate those who break the rules. This taskforce will come down hard on scrap metal dealers and their customers or suppliers who have chosen to break the rules or deliberately evade the tax they should be paying. This is just the start.
“It doesn’t matter who you are – HMRC can and will track you down. You will face a heavy fine, a possible criminal prosecution and ultimately jail. Honest businesses have nothing to worry about.
“Taskforces are a direct result of the Government’s £917m spending review re-investment to tackle tax evasion, avoidance and fraud, which aims to raise an additional £7bn each year by 2014/15.”
HMRC is planning 12 taskforces in 2011/12, the first of which was launched in May, and more to follow in 2012/13.
If you are aware of someone who is evading their taxes you can tell HMRC via the Tax Evasion Hotline by phone on 0800 788 887, email, or by post. Full details can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tax-evasion/index.htm
Notes for editors
1. Taskforces bring together various HMRC compliance and enforcement teams for intensive bursts of activity targeted at specific sectors and locations where there is evidence of high risk of tax evasion. The first taskforces, launched on 12 May 2011, targeted the restaurant trade.
2. The taskforces are part of the Department’s broader work to tackle evasion and avoidance, including Managing Deliberate Defaulters, Campaigns and Offshore penalties.
3. Compliance activity through taskforces targets the highest-risk cases in specific sectors and location, typically focusing on groups of up to around 600 customers.
4. Taskforces aimed at the restaurant sector were launched in May/June in London, the North West of England and Scotland. A taskforce aimed at London fast food outlets was launched in July.
5. Follow HMRC on Twitter @HMRCgovuk
Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office
Press enquiries only please contact:
Jonathan Hall
Phone: 020 7147 0052
Email: [email protected]
or
Sara Pont
Phone: 020 7147 0394
Email: [email protected]
Out of hours
Phone: 07860 359 544
Website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk