Every reputable scrap car breaker legally has to provide you with a Certificate of Destruction as part of their service, because it represents the final stage in transferring ownership. We\u2019ll always send you yours within seven working days of scrapping your car with us, but if you\u2019re using another company it\u2019s a good idea to ensure you get yours just as promptly.<\/p>\n
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What Happens Without A Certificate of Destruction?<\/h2>\n
If you never receive one, there\u2019s a good chance your car is still legally registered to you. As you\u2019ll quickly find, this can end up posing all sorts of tricky problems.<\/p>\n
For starters, without a Certificate of Destruction, your car isn\u2019t considered to be off-road; so in the best case scenario, the DVLA could well be charging you \u00a380 for road tax long after your car has been scrapped. Nobody wants to get that letter through the door! Even after that, it\u2019s not the sort of thing the DVLA forgets about easily, either. They\u2019re quite serious about taking legal action, and they can level hefty fines against vehicle owners who can\u2019t definitively prove that they\u2019re no longer the owners of the car.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, remember that if you don\u2019t get a Certificate of Destruction, there\u2019s no guarantee that your car even will be scrapped. One of the most common scams that unscrupulous scrap car dealers operate is to simply tell you that it has been, without providing you with a Certificate as proof. If you\u2019re happy to take their word for it, that leaves them free to (for example) make very superficial repairs on your car before selling it on to an unsuspecting new buyer.<\/p>\n
This means that not only is someone else driving around in a potentially unsafe vehicle, but if it\u2019s caught on the roads (and it will be), it will still be registered to you. Similarly, if your car is deliberately used for something illegal, you\u2019ll be the one facing the consequences.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, even if you\u2019re the victim of a disreputable scrap car breaker, the DVLA won\u2019t accept you simply pointing the finger. Whoever you\u2019re dealing with, the DVLA sees it as ultimately your responsibility to make sure you get your Certificate of Destruction, so the buck definitely stops with you!<\/p>\n
A word of warning about your COD<\/h2>\n
A Certificate of Destruction is very carefully worded, and another common trick for unscrupulous car dealers is to try and fob you off with a false but similarly named document. Don\u2019t accept any made up names like Certificates of Collection, Documents of Destruction, or Certifications of Destruction. They\u2019re close, but no cigar. Don\u2019t get tripped up!<\/p>\n
How Do I Get A Certificate of Destruction?<\/h3>\n
Of course, you don\u2019t have to worry about any of that with Scrap Car Network. Every single partner within our network holds the status of Authorised Treatment Facility, having been vetted and continually monitored by the Environment Agency. Our entire business model has been carefully developed to make everything as easy and simple as possible, and this includes your Certificate of Destruction.<\/p>\n
When you scrap your car with us, you\u2019ll need to quickly fill out your details on Section 9 (the yellow section) on your V5C, which is sometimes known as your logbook. Then, tear off Section 9 and send it to the DVLA, and don\u2019t forget to tear off and keep Section 3: Notification of Sale or Transfer of a Vehicle. When we come to pick up your car, one of our drivers will then take the rest of the logbook off your hands.<\/p>\n
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- If you don\u2019t know our details<\/strong>: our drivers are only too happy to provide this information for you when we come to collect the car.<\/li>\n
- If you don\u2019t have your logbook<\/strong>: don\u2019t worry \u2013 you\u2019ll just need to visit the DVLA website to declare that you\u2019ve scrapped your car.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n