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, a pre-paid 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, the pack postage (£8.95 to £10.95) comes off your payment, 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 (scrap page). Homepage advertises 7 days. Postal sales up to £5,000 only; may be revised if gold falls more than £5/oz before receipt.
- •Pre-paid gold pack postage is deducted from your payment: £8.95, £9.95 or £10.95 depending on insurance tier (£750, £1,000 or £2,500).
- •Same-day payment by Faster Payments bank transfer, PayPal, cheque or cash (cash capped at £8,000 per household per 12 months, ID required). Silver parcels may take up to 14 days.
- •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, pre-paid insured postal pack
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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. The guarantee covers postal sales up to £5,000 combined, one open sale at a time, and their terms let them revise the price if gold falls more than £5 per ounce before your parcel arrives (a fall of more than £14.99 voids it).
- Post. Use their pre-paid Special Delivery bag (insured to £750, £1,000 or £2,500, with £8.95, £9.95 or £10.95 deducted from your payment), or your own Royal Mail Special Delivery (guaranteed by 1pm next working day). Either way the insurance is Royal Mail's: HGM states it is not liable for parcels lost in transit and any claim goes to Royal Mail, at scrap value only. 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. They work to a 2g weight tolerance. If the tested carat differs, or the weight is out by more than 2g, they email or phone a revised offer and need your authorisation before paying. 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. Silver parcels are the exception: their terms allow up to 14 calendar days.
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 itself. The money is lost or gained at the edges, and all of the following is in their published terms or help pages:
- The gold pack is pre-paid, not free. Its postage is deducted at payout: £8.95 for cover up to £750, £9.95 up to £1,000, £10.95 up to £2,500. Sending your own Special Delivery parcel costs about the same and avoids the deduction.
- 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. Boxes, certificates and paperwork are not returned either.
- Non-gold items cost £8.95 to get back. Anything that is not precious metal is held for 20 days from notification. You must ask for the return and pay the £8.95 postage within that window; otherwise the items are recycled, disposed of or sold.
- 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 and ID. Cash is £8,000 per household in any rolling 12 months, with ID (two documents above £5,000). Their terms also ask for proof of identity on any sale worth £1,000 or more.
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’s Trustpilot profile showed 4.9/5 from 7,864 reviews on 17 September 2026. Its own customer reviews page embeds the same Trustpilot feed. 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, pack postage deducted |
| 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 scrap page states prices are guaranteed for 2 working days once you submit a quote online. The homepage advertises 7 days and the selling terms refer to receipt within 5 days. Treat 2 working days as the figure that applies and confirm the expiry on your quote email. The guarantee only covers postal sales with a combined value of £5,000 or less (their help page says £2,500 for coins and bars), one open sale per customer, and not counter sales. If the gold price falls more than £5 per ounce before your parcel arrives they may offer a revised price; a fall of more than £14.99 per ounce voids the guarantee, in which case they re-value at the live price or return your items free.
Does Hatton Garden Metals charge any fees?
There is no fee on the sale itself, but the pre-paid gold pack is not free: its postage is deducted from your payment, £8.95 for cover up to £750, £9.95 up to £1,000 or £10.95 up to £2,500. Other costs arise at the edges: stones left in jewellery are crushed or melted and never returned, non-gold items are held for 20 days and a return costs £8.95 (requested and paid within that window, otherwise they are recycled or disposed of), PayPal may deduct a receiving fee, and a parcel lost in the post is claimed from Royal Mail, not HGM, whether you used their pack or your own Special Delivery.
What happens if I decline the Hatton Garden Metals offer?
Their terms say the valuation is no-obligation and, if you reject a revised offer, your items are sent back free of charge by Royal Mail Special Delivery (allow 3 working days for dispatch). You must confirm the rejection by phone or email within seven working days of being contacted. 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 their London or Manchester counters. Cash is capped at £8,000 per household in any rolling 12 months and requires ID. Their selling terms also require proof of identity for any sale worth £1,000 or more, and silver parcels may take up to 14 calendar days to process rather than same day.
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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