This is happening in Britain today. To people like you.

Right now, someone is posting their jewellery to a company that won't reveal its rate until the gold is already in their hands. Someone else is stepping into a buying van that will be gone by tomorrow. Someone else is handing over a family heirloom for cash, no questions asked.

Every one of them could be paid half what their gold is really worth. Some are paid even less. And not one buyer is breaking the law. Because there isn't one.

ANYONE CAN BUY YOUR GOLD. NOBODY IS WATCHING THEM.

Anyone can set up a gold buying business tomorrow. No licence. No duty to tell you the rate before they take your items. No check on who they are, who you are, or where your gold ends up.

That gap is being used. Through the post, at pop-up events, from mobile vans and over counters across the UK. It's not unusual for sellers to be paid between 30% and 60% of what their gold is actually worth. Most walk away never knowing.

The people hit hardest are those who need the money most. They trust the buyer to treat them fairly. The law lets that trust be abused.

I'VE SPENT 18 YEARS IN THIS TRADE. I KNOW EXACTLY HOW BAD IT'S GOT.

I've bought gold, silver and coins from the public for over 18 years. Gold Traders (UK) Ltd was the first precious metals dealer in the UK to earn Trading Standards accreditation through the 'Buy With Confidence' scheme, and we publish our rates so anyone can check we're paying fairly.

Scrap metal dealers were banned from paying cash and made to ID their sellers back in 2013. Gold and silver are even more attractive to thieves, yet the precious metals trade has no rules at all. A stolen ring or gold chain can be sold for cash today with no ID check, no questions asked.

That's not an oversight any more. It's a failure, and it's costing ordinary people every day.

FIVE CHANGES WOULD FIX THIS

I'm calling on the UK government to introduce five proposals:

1. Show the price before you buy. Any buyer must publish the rate they pay, as a price per gram, before a transaction begins. No more finding out the rate after your gold is in their hands.
2. Regulate postal buying services. Any business must give sellers a clear written offer before they're asked to post their items, and must guarantee a free return if the offer is declined. Your gold should never be held hostage.
3. Regulate travelling buying events. Any business running a pop-up or travelling buying event must register with the local council in advance, display rates publicly, and confirm offers in writing. No more here-today-gone-tomorrow vans with no paper trail.
4. Ban large cash payments. Cash payments above a set amount should be prohibited, in line with anti-money laundering rules already used elsewhere. Scrap metal dealers have followed this rule since 2013.
5. ID checks for all sellers. Buyers should be required to verify a seller's identity, creating a paper trail and a real deterrent against handling stolen goods. Right now, your stolen jewellery can vanish without a trace.

NONE OF THIS HURTS HONEST BUSINESSES

I run a gold buying business myself, so I have a commercial interest in this market. I'm asking for these changes anyway, because every one of them is something a fair, well-run business already does.

These proposals won't stop a single legitimate buyer trading as normal. They will only stop the ones who profit from keeping you in the dark.

SIGN NOW. HERE'S WHY IT MATTERS.

Somewhere in the UK today, someone will sell gold they've owned all their life. A ring. A chain. A coin passed down through the family. They'll be paid a fraction of its worth, thank the buyer, and never know.

The law could stop this tomorrow. It just doesn't exist yet.

Your signature tells Parliament this can't wait. Please sign, and share this petition with anyone who might one day sell their gold. That's almost everyone you know.

More detail can be found here:

• It's Time to Protect People Who Sell Precious Metals