Organisations looking take part in the Mayor of London’s £23 million van scrappage scheme need to ensure they have all the correct paperwork, warns CarTakeBack.

The scheme will initially help London’s micro-businesses – defined as those with fewer than 10 employees – to switch to the cleanest vehicles, including electric, ahead of the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ).

This will mean than from April 8, diesel vans, which do not meet the latest Euro 6 emissions standards will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive in central London.

Under the City Hall scheme, grants ranging from £3,500 to £6,000 would be available to scrap vans that do not comply with the new ULEZ standards, but which are driven into the ULEZ zone regularly, helping thousands of micro-business owners update their vehicles.

Alison Price, spokesman for CarTakeBack, said: “Many microbusinesses and charities may be uncertain about how to ensure that they are scrapping their vehicle in the correct way and will be issued with the necessary paperwork.”

The eligibility criteria must be met and approved by Transport for London before the vehicle is scrapped.

The applicant then needs to provide evidence that their vehicle has been scrapped by an authorised treatment facility (ATF), evidenced by a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) that they will recive from the ATF.

Price said: “It's important to let the ATF know that you're participating in a scrappage scheme and that you will need a CoD.

“And of course you need to ensure you avoid 'dodgy dealers' – scrap car recycling centres which don't hold an ATF licence.

“They will not be able to supply you with the Certificate of Destruction (CoD) you require.

“Some operators try to trick vehicle owners by offering fake certificates with names such as 'Destruction Certificate' or 'Certificate of Collection' but these are not valid.

“Ways to spot dodgy dealers include badly constructed websites and unauthorised use of DVLA or car manufacturers logos.

“Another red flag is if they offer payment via cash rather than cheque or bank transfer. This has been illegal since the Scrap Metal Dealers' Act of 2013.”