Couriers Must Get Moving Before The £300 Million Runs Out Says Boxby

For couriers to qualify for the governments’ £2,000 van scrappage discount they must be.

1. The owner of the new van must be the same person who owned the scrapped van.
2. Your van must be over ten years old. Any vehicle offered must have been registered before 31st August 1999.
3. Trade-in a ten year old vehicle for a brand new van under 3,500 kg.
4. You will need a current MOT certificate
5. Any van offered must have a valid DVLA registration documents in the name of the owner.
6. The owner must have owned the van for at least 12 months prior to trading-in the vehicle.
7. Initially it was thought that the vehicle should also be legally taxed and insured. After further clarification by the Telegraph Motoring, the SMMT have decided that neither a tax disc nor car insurance will be required.
8. All vans offered for scrap must be a van weighing up to 3,500 kgs
9. First registration date of new van must be Britain 18th May 2009 and there must be no previous owners of any description and should meet British specification only.  This excludes bargain priced vans unused and already pre-registered and unused foreign specification vehicles.
10. The new van can originate from any motor manufacturer anywhere in the world.
11. The brand new vehicle should be fuel efficient and low-polluting.
12. Participating van dealerships need to sign up to the Government incentive to be able to operate the scheme.
13. Van dealerships are required to contribute £1,000 towards the £2,000 discount being offered by the Treasury Department

Couriers Give Boxby Full Support

Couriers are 100% behind Boxby’s idea to scrap courier vans over 5 years old

Boxby have had a huge response to the idea of scrapping vans that are more than 5 years old.  Many small courier companies buy ex parcel company fleet vans, and the vans have high mileage and high levels of wear and tear when the smaller courier companies acquire them. 

Boxby wants the government to reduce the age limit for scrapping vans from 5 years from the existing level of 8 years, enabling the couriers to replace their inefficient knackered out vehicles with a modern environmentally better fuel efficient vehicle.

Scrap the inefficient vans early, says Boxby

Boxby couriers suggests that the government should  help couriers to scrap vans at five years old, not eight. 

Couriers need to replace old vans at five years old and not at eight years as the Government van scrappage scheme suggests.  Courier vans have a very hard life on the road, six days a week,  on all sorts of roads and surfaces, with lots of starting,  stopping,  and heavy braking.  And that takes toll on any type of van.

Some of the small independent courier’s vans are just worn-out, and most of the vans have done more than 500,000 miles by the time they’re five years old.  With that amount of mileage the vans use as much as 20% more fuel than a new van, and theyuse more oil and pollute more.   “If the scrappage scheme let couriers replace vans at 5 years instead of 8, this would have a huge impact on the courier industry” said Alistair Patterson from Boxby couriers. “It would help the couriers to replace their ineffecient vans and reduce their expenses and stay competitive.”   Scrapping worn out vans early will also will increase the number of van sales and give the commercial vehicle industry in the UK a much needed boost.

Another Courier Disaster

The average price of diesel went up by almost 5p between May and June, which Boxby Couriers warns is another disaster for the transport industry.

The average cost of diesel currently stands at 104.66p per litre, compared to 97.68p per litre in May.  Companies are already feeling the strain of fuel rises at a time when budgets around the country are already at full stretch. The Government’s imminent increase in fuel duty will further negatively affect businesses, and that means all increases will need to be passed on to the customers. 

“The latest fuel cost rises mean that refilling a typical 70-litre fuel tank will now cost an extra £3.50″ said Alistair Patterson Director of Boxby.  “This will come as a massive blow to van drivers and couriers as they look to limit their outgoings during the economic downturn.”  Van drivers and couriers, as well as many other small businesses, will no doubt be looking to the Government to provide them with additional support as they try and cope with this latest set of fuel rises.

There are a number of steps van users and couriers can take to remain frugal during the economic downturn. For instance, more drivers are investing in Satellite Navigation technology to ensure that they get to unfamiliar target destinations much quicker and save fuel in the process, and using companies like Boxby to help keep their vans full with extra deliveries.