is there anything i can do???

okay hi very new to this so my grandma had two solar water panels on her roof she asked if my cousin and i could dismantle and take them to a scrap metal center she said it was all aluminum on outside and copper all on the inside so we took it down to scrap metal center they said there was no copper they said it was a low grade brass so there was 42 lbs of that and 10 lbs of aluminum i got $ 17.52 i started asking questions right away guy was short with me i had to ask for a receipt so i got back to my grandma's and tell her what they said and she got all the paperwork from when she bought them brand new and it says clearly made with pure copper and aluminum so i called recycle company and they said they didint care what kind of paper work i had if i had a problem have my lawyer contact theres and than hung up on me . is there anything i can do i cant afford a lawyer but dont want my grandma getting ripped off either help please any suggestions ??

Nope. Next job find another scrap yard.
Sucks but they bought it, if you questioned it you should of taken it home.

Did you break the water panels down? To get the best prices for anything you will need to separate them into each metal. You will read that there is a term "clean" Al or "clean" copper etc. "clean" means no other metals on the item you are selling.

If you did not break them down before you sold them then the grade would have likely been "dirty Al(aluminum)".

Rude employees are not good anywhere you go. He should have taken the time to educate a new person to the scrap business.

So take my advise and read the old threads and the current ones until you can decide if this is something you would like to pursue. There are many ways to get involved in this business and I encourage you to look into it 73, Mike

they were hauling it away so fast plus im a girl that stuff was heavy

low grade brass, did it have any steel screws or other items attached to it? What was the price per pound they paid for your aluminum and for the low grade brass? And I would find another scrap yard as mentioned above. And just for fun I would ask them for there lawyer information, just to see what they would say!

Better Business Bureau?

The sensible thing would be to let it go and move on.

Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug.

the yard doesn't have to care or classify anything ANY way. They can classify and pay what they want to. They could have called it shred and that is the price they would pay. You don't have to sell your items to them.....if they try this sort of thing and you don't agree on price, you tell them to STOP and bring it back, you will put it back in the truck and take away. If they won't you ask for the manager RIGHT NOW.

OTOH, the pricing difference is probably $50-75 MAYBE, if it were CLEAN #1 copper and clean AL....so court will cost you more than that to file most likely (and this would be small claims). This is a lesson/education for you. Unfortunately, some yards are not scrupulous. You HAVE to educate yourself in order to not get screwed (even some of the good yards can get a bit sideways sometimes). I know it sucks, but that is just the deal.

NOW you know to get more education here, MAKE them slow the F down when processing your stuff, KNOW you can say FU%^ NO to a price (ie put it back in the truck and go somewhere else, unless there is no other place to take it), or even ask for a manager to clarify why something is priced the way it was where you can fix it (if worth your time/effort vs $$$ received). Education can be expensive sometimes...this one was not too bad all in all...sucks, but is what it is.

Learn from this and move on. You need to know what you have before you take anything to a scrap yard.

And also, welcome to the forum.

as others have mentioned, the best way to tell whats inside is by stripping it yourself

and thats also the best way to get the best possible return bcos it takes some time & effort to strip it.


the scrapyards expect us to strip items down & seperate the different metals and then they will pay us according to what we have.

it seems youre not a scrapper so you wont already know this.

but pls keep that in mind the next time you have to take anything to the scrapyard.
still, the guy should have explained briefly what needs to be done & he should not have been rude

Did you learn anything from this experience? If so chalk it up to experience and move on. If not get ready for many more problems like this. First and foremost you should have disassembled the panels and separated the metals. No question about it then. Sad about the yard where you sold the stuff. I can see where some unscrupulous scrap yards might try to take advantage of those who simply have no clue. Like where I go to sell scrap. The guy there said most people that come in just want the cash in trade for what they brought and could care less about the details. But you knew going in to this there could be number two or maybe even number one copper in both panels. Don't let one bad yard cause you think all are that way. I have had many instances where the yard operator's tried deliberately to short change me on scrap. I pay close attention and do my homework before even leaving home.

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Originally Posted by jdnwil

okay hi very new to this so my grandma had two solar water panels on her roof she asked if my cousin and i could dismantle and take them to a scrap metal center she said it was all aluminum on outside and copper all on the inside so we took it down to scrap metal center they said there was no copper they said it was a low grade brass so there was 42 lbs of that and 10 lbs of aluminum i got $ 17.52 i started asking questions right away guy was short with me i had to ask for a receipt so i got back to my grandma's and tell her what they said and she got all the paperwork from when she bought them brand new and it says clearly made with pure copper and aluminum so i called recycle company and they said they didint care what kind of paper work i had if i had a problem have my lawyer contact theres and than hung up on me . is there anything i can do i cant afford a lawyer but dont want my grandma getting ripped off either help please any suggestions ??

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All of us deal with our personal strengths and limitations, being a girl person is both. 73 Mike

You and your grandmother should go in to the office and discuss the situation. It is hard to look into the eyes of a grandmother and say I just screwed you. I agree if you decide you want to sell more scrap, read the archives on this forum. It will save you a lot of money. Good luck.

Scrap yard owners and workers are heartless for the most part. They care about money and that's it.

Always let them look at your metal while its in your car. Do not remove your items out of the car until they tell you what they are offering per pound. If they refuse to come to your car to give a price and clear explanation, just leave.

What you said. I live by that. I hauled 2000 plus pounds of shred to a new yard this morning. Before even going near the scale I asked for the rate he was willing to pay. He was lower than my usual yard. I told him thanks anyway and that I was headed to one of his competitor's near by for a better price. He looked at my load and came up in price. They will negotiate. They obviously are not selling it for pennies. Hard for them to keep the doors open if they are not getting the scrap.

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Originally Posted by APA

Scrap yard owners and workers are heartless for the most part. They care about money and that's it.

Always let them look at your metal while its in your car. Do not remove your items out of the car until they tell you what they are offering per pound. If they refuse to come to your car to give a price and clear explanation, just leave.

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Don't know what to say. Am I surprised a business takes advantage of women? No. Am I surprised the women don't know that going in? Yes. Am I surprised that the woman didn't know what she had or had a guy with her who did? Yes. You had better watch out for auto shops, air conditioning companies, and home AV electronics salesmen, too.

I hope she posts back if indeed they broke the items down...

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Originally Posted by Repurposer

What you said. I live by that. I hauled 2000 plus pounds of shred to a new yard this morning. Before even going near the scale I asked for the rate he was willing to pay. He was lower than my usual yard. I told him thanks anyway and that I was headed to one of his competitor's near by for a better price. He looked at my load and came up in price. They will negotiate. They obviously are not selling it for pennies. Hard for them to keep the doors open if they are not getting the scrap.

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Yep scrap yards need metal to survive! As you move a lot of steel you need to go back to the new yard and see if you must ask for better price or that now they know you, you get a better price on arrival. With as much shred you are getting I am sure you could work a better deal with someone, and it seems this new place wants your metal! Good luck. And the yards are selling it for a few more pennies than what they are buying it for! a ton at $.10 a lb. is only $200 bucks and subtract the costs of running scrap yard. Granted I have always said a yard makes more money on steel than any other item for the year only because they get so much of it. All those cents add up to dollars!

thank you everyone and yes we did break it down

Keep reading and you will likely know far more than the guy operating the scale. Knowledge is power and we have the knowledge in the old threads. 73, Mike