Cash For Mobiles News

The UK government has announced a new code of practice for recycling companies, which requires them to ensure that a mobile handset is not stolen before they resell it. According to the Home Office, as many as 100,000 handsets, which have either been blocked by their owners or stolen, are recycled. The Home Office expects that, with the new code, an equal number of mobiles will be taken out of circulation.

Any company that does not abide by the code may face sanctions, and so far about 20 recyclers have signed up, which represents approximately 90% of the industry, the Home Office claims. Of all the mobile phones that are stolen, around 90% are blocked in less than 48 hours, and cannot be operated in the UK again. However, by exporting these mobiles to other nations, recyclers have started a booming trade in stolen mobiles.

Now, recyclers will have to check the status of a phone with the National Mobile Phone Register, which is linked to three databanks; a police register, a list of blocked phones, and Immobilise, a voluntary system of reporting stolen mobiles. The code of practice requires recycling firms to record the time and date when they acquire a mobile, a description of the handset and, at the very least, the IMEI number. They must also record the details of the seller and the time when they checked the status of the IEMI or any other serial numbers against the databanks.

The government has implemented additional steps to try to decrease phone theft, such as the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit and an industry-wide operator agreement to block stolen handsets within 48 hours. The Metropolitan Police say that, of the 10,000 handsets stolen every month, two thirds are from children between 13 and 16 years of age.