Hatton Garden Metals Review: What They Pay, What They Deduct, and Who Should Sell Elsewhere
Hatton Garden Metals is the postal gold buyer most UK sellers end up comparing against. This review answers the questions people search before posting a parcel: whether the quote is fixed, what changes the final payment, what happens if you say no, and which items are worth more somewhere else.
A well-documented, long-established buyer whose published prices are among the higher postal offers for scrap jewellery, bullion coins and bars, with a price lock, free insured postal pack and same-day payment. The trade-offs are the ones every melt buyer shares: testing is destructive, stones are not returned, collectible coins are paid on gold content only, and the 2-working-day price lock is shorter than the 7 days their homepage banner suggests.
Use them for
- Broken or unwanted hallmarked jewellery with no stones
- Modern sovereigns, Britannias, Krugerrands, mixed-year bullion
- Gold and silver bars, dental gold, unhallmarked gold you cannot identify
- Sellers who want a fixed figure before posting
Sell elsewhere if you have
- Rare-date or proof coins (numismatic premium ignored)
- Jewellery with diamonds or gemstones you want back
- Working luxury watches (movement is removed, not reassembled)
- Antique silver that is worth more as an object than as metal
Hatton Garden Metals: key facts
- •Hatton Garden Metals Limited, company no. 06426684, incorporated 14 November 2007, status active (Companies House, checked 11 September 2026).
- •Counter at Plouviez House, 19–20 Hatton Place, London EC1N 8RU. Open Monday to Friday 9am–4pm, no appointment. Phone 0207 404 4000.
- •Published scrap rate on 11 September 2026: about 84% of gold-content spot value at every carat; bullion coins about 96%; bars about 95.6%.
- •Price guaranteed for 2 working days after an online quote (sell pages). Homepage advertises 7 days.
- •Same-day payment by Faster Payments bank transfer, PayPal, cheque or cash (cash capped at £8,000 per household per 12 months, ID required).
- •Official Partner of The Royal Mint, LBMA Affiliate Member, Trading Standards Buy With Confidence approved.
What Hatton Garden Metals paid on 11 September 2026
The figures below are the buy prices shown on their sell pages at 12:40 UK time, set against the spot price of £103.76 per gram of pure gold at the same moment. They move daily with the London fix, so use them to judge the percentage, not the pound figure. For today's live comparison across buyers, see our gold buyer price comparison.
| Scrap gold | HGM paid per gram | Pure gold value per gram | % of spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9ct | £32.56 | £38.91 | 83.7% |
| 14ct | £50.80 | £60.70 | 83.7% |
| 18ct | £65.12 | £77.82 | 83.7% |
| 22ct | £79.54 | £95.12 | 83.6% |
| 24ct | £86.83 | £103.76 | 83.7% |
| Coins and bars | HGM paid | Gold content value | % of spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full sovereign (mixed years) | £732.93 | £759.52 | 96.5% |
| Half sovereign | £362.69 | £379.76 | 95.5% |
| 1 oz Britannia | £3,118.34 | £3,227.30 | 96.6% |
| 1 oz Krugerrand | £3,116.33 | £3,227.30 | 96.6% |
| 1 oz gold bar | £3,086.20 | £3,227.30 | 95.6% |
| 100 g gold bar | £9,923.46 | £10,376.00 | 95.6% |
| Silver, platinum, palladium | HGM paid |
|---|---|
| Silver 925 | £1.01 / g |
| Silver 999 | £1.09 / g |
| 1 oz silver Britannia | £42.45 |
| Platinum 950 | £31.69 / g |
| Platinum 999 | £33.33 / g |
| Palladium 950 | £22.23 / g |
Three things stand out. The scrap rate is flat across carats, so 9ct is not penalised the way some buyers penalise it. Mixed-year sovereigns and half sovereigns are priced on gold content only, which is fine for common dates and a mistake for rare ones. And the same rate applies whether you send one ring or a kilo: their own comparison page says they do not pay volume-based prices.
Get a fixed quote from Hatton Garden Metals
Enter carat and weight, lock the price for 2 working days, free insured postal pack
Affiliate partner — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
How a postal sale works, step by step
- Quote online. Enter carat and weight on their sell form (or coin and bar quantities). You get a figure and a six-digit Enquiry ID. If you do not know weights or carats you can skip this and just request a pack.
- Lock the price. Submitting the quote fixes it for 2 working days. Post within that window or the live rate on the day of receipt applies.
- Post. Use their free insured postal bag, or your own Royal Mail Special Delivery (guaranteed by 1pm next working day). If you post yourself, insurance is Royal Mail's and HGM states it is not liable for Royal Mail claims. Put the Enquiry ID, your name and contact details inside.
- Testing. Jewellery is acid-tested and may be filed; stones may be removed. Coins and bars are tested by X-ray. Watches are disassembled. All of this is stated on their help page and it is irreversible.
- Final offer. If the tested carat or weight differs from what you entered, they contact you with the difference. Unhallmarked gold is paid at the same rate once assayed.
- Payment. Same day, by Faster Payments (usually within two hours of processing), PayPal, cheque or cash at the counter.
For packaging and insurance limits in detail, see our guide to selling gold by post.
What can change the final payment
There is no fee on the sale and no charge for the pack. The money is lost or gained at the edges, and all of the following is in their published terms:
- Stones are never returned. Anything left in the metal is crushed or melted. Remove diamonds and gemstones before posting, or sell the piece intact to a jeweller.
- Non-gold items are only returned free if you ask on the form. Otherwise they are held for 20 days then destroyed. A return requested afterwards costs £8.95.
- Carat disputes. If you enter 18ct and the test says 14ct, the quote drops accordingly. Check the hallmark with our hallmark numbers guide before you enter anything.
- Mounted coins are paid twice over. A sovereign in a ring is paid as the coin plus the mount's gold. They deduct 8g for a full sovereign or 4g for a half to work out the mount weight.
- PayPal receiving fees are PayPal's and are not refunded by HGM. Take the bank transfer.
- VAT on silver. Silver prices are quoted ex-VAT; only VAT-registered sellers receive the VAT element.
- Cash limit. £8,000 per household in any rolling 12 months, with photo ID and proof of address.
If you decline the offer
Their guarantee reads “100% customer satisfaction guaranteed or your items back free of charge”, and the scrap page adds that rejected items go back insured. That covers the normal case. It does not undo destructive testing: a disassembled watch comes back as parts and removed stones do not come back at all. If you are unsure whether an item is worth more intact, get an in-person valuation first. Our Hatton Garden dealers guide lists walk-in buyers within a few streets of their counter.
Reviews and complaints
HGM advertises five-star ratings on Trustpilot and Freeindex and publishes its own testimonials page. There is also a critical thread on The Silver Forum titled “Hatton Garden Metals tried to rip me off”. Read both sides before you post; we link rather than summarise because we have not verified the individual accounts.
The complaint pattern that recurs for every postal buyer, HGM included, is a final offer below the online quote after testing. Almost always the cause is a carat or weight entered wrongly by the seller, or plated items in the parcel. Weigh on a scale accurate to 0.1g, read the hallmark, and photograph everything before it goes in the bag.
How they compare
| Buyer | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Hatton Garden Metals | Scrap at a flat ~84%, bullion at ~96%, fixed quote, same-day pay | Destructive testing, stones lost, 2-day lock |
| BullionByPost | Large bullion lots, established buy-back | Scrap rates similar; check the day's published figure |
| Gold-Traders | Higher published scrap percentage at times | Compare on the day; rates move against each other |
| Hatton Garden walk-in dealers | Intact jewellery, stones, watches, second opinions | Haggling; bring ID; prices worked off the live fix |
| Coin auction / BNTA dealer | Rare dates, proofs, Victorian shield-backs | Commission and weeks to settle |
Live figures for the first three sit on our price comparison, and the scrap gold calculator shows what each would pay for your exact weight. Our broader gold buyer reviews page covers the rest of the market.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hatton Garden Metals legit?
Yes. Hatton Garden Metals Limited is company number 06426684, incorporated on 14 November 2007 and listed as active at Companies House, trading from Plouviez House, 19–20 Hatton Place, London EC1N 8RU. It is an Official Partner of The Royal Mint, an Affiliate Member of the LBMA and Trading Standards approved under the Buy With Confidence scheme.
What percentage of spot does Hatton Garden Metals pay?
On 11 September 2026 their published scrap rates worked out at about 84% of the gold content's spot value for every carat (9ct £32.56/g up to 24ct £86.83/g against spot of £103.76/g). Bullion coins were paid at roughly 96% (full sovereign £732.93, 1 oz Britannia £3,118.34) and bars at about 95.6%.
How long is the Hatton Garden Metals price guaranteed?
Their sell pages state prices are guaranteed for 2 working days once you submit a quote online. The homepage advertises a 7-day guarantee. Treat 2 working days as the figure that applies and confirm the expiry on your quote email.
Does Hatton Garden Metals charge any fees?
There is no fee on the sale itself and the postal pack is free. Costs arise at the edges: stones left in jewellery are crushed or melted and never returned, non-gold items are only returned free if you tick the return box on the form (a later request costs £8.95), PayPal may deduct a receiving fee, and if you post with your own Royal Mail Special Delivery any loss claim is against Royal Mail, not HGM.
What happens if I decline the Hatton Garden Metals offer?
Their terms say the valuation is no-obligation and, if you are unhappy with the offer, your items are sent back insured and free of charge. The exception is anything already destructively tested: watches that have been disassembled cannot be reassembled and removed stones are not returned.
How does Hatton Garden Metals pay?
Same-day bank transfer via Faster Payments (typically within two hours of processing), PayPal, cheque by first-class post, or cash at the London counter. Cash is capped at £8,000 per household in any rolling 12 months and requires ID.
Ready to sell? Lock a quote with Hatton Garden Metals
Remove stones first, weigh to 0.1g, and post within 2 working days of the quote
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