[concept]

Would you welcome licensing window cleaning in England as per Scotland?

Pro's?

Con's?

[stephen s]

defo welcome it,    I know it wont solve the problems of bogus w/cs  but it would defo be a start and in time it would be reconised by more and more bodies which has to be a good thing

[Window Washers]

I would welcome it.

[martinsadie]

dont want it ,would just be another money maker for the council

[david watts]

dont want it ,would just be another money maker for the council

too right one more con nobody would enforce.

[BORBRYCE]

dont want it ,would just be another money maker for the council

too right one more con nobody would enforce.

As a Scot paying a licence fee all I can say is your council will take your £150 or whatever and give you nothing whatsoever for that money, bugger all, nano, nowt, el ziltcho,big fat zero, not a single sniff of their farts.
I pay up cos its law here, but with gritted teeth.

ps....Furthermore, in time they will divide the area up into sections and charge even more for each section.

[daniel worgan]

Will not stop dole bludgers/cowboys as it will never be enforced properly.We pay enough taxes as it is so i wiould not welcome it at all.
Why do we have to have restrictions on everything we do in this world...we are window cleaners providing a service that cannot harm anyone.How many wc's are burglars,paedo's etc.....I guess this is what the license will be aimed at stopping people with criminal convictions earning a living....heard all the rubbish before...keep it up in the land of jocks dont bring it down here.

[lee_dewing]

NO!

as stan said, no-one would chase after the cowboys, if you have work in different boroughs you'd need several license's; as i understand it....i might be wrong.

NO NO
NO thanks.

Bit like tv licence, bloody con.
only country in the world you can go to prison for watching your telly (illegally)

[lee_dewing]

well said dan

[Blue Frog Systems]

I think it would be a good idea. Would get rid of the cowboys (though only if it was enforced correctly).

I don't think you should have a licence for each county or area though. Just one that covers the UK would work.

[Mike #1]

yse if it's done properly

[Ian Lancaster]

Just read all the posts to date. 

The answer must be a resounding NO.

The reason is simple: it would not be policed.  No one would enforce non-compliants so it would only ever be a revenue generating excercise.

Law abiding 'up front' businesses with a high local profile would be targetted by the issuing authority, every anonymous window cleaner, whether dole cheat or not would be ignored.

This would create a totally unfair 'two tier' situation which would only benefit the tax collectors and those who remain 'under the radar'

Plenty of people have said "If it's done properly"  Join the real world - that would never happen.

[daz1977]

if they did issue licence, would then limit the no in each area, like they do with black cabs  for instance, could 5 people all working together could apply for a town and have it all sown up,  and no one else would be allow to work there patch

or would it just be a free for all, get ur licence the work where you want

[Sapphire Window Cleaning]

If it was regulated properly then yes.
If they regulate it like other trades at the moment then no

[williamx]

For those that have answered yes, what are you expecting the licence scheme to achive that you can not already do now?

[mci services]

as ronnie says no no no i pay my fee and never get asked for it, customers dont know it exists, the police have never asked me for it

if i drive for twenty minutes in any direction from my house i would need another 5 licences to cover me and at 170 quid just for my area it all adds up and remember if you have an employee they need it as well.

i keep hearing about police operations but the cowboys still turn up after a few weeks

[Window Washers]

For those that have answered yes, what are you expecting the licence scheme to achive that you can not already do now?

I think they would for a start ned to learn from the mistake that are clearly happening in Scotland.
I do think if they did do this for us there would need to be guidelines and them guidelines followed, it would stop the beer brigage window cleaner if they put it on tv and marketed it in the right way. I would not mind paying for a ticket to show I am registered insured etc.
how they would police it is another matter.


When I answered yes I answered because I do think it would be a good idea. but ideas need to be developed 

[williamx]

Hi Ian,

I can not understand, why some want a scheme, that is going to cost a fortune for some to operate.

If you have to be crb checked, it will mean that some cleaners who have been working legally and paying taxes for years will be forced out of the trade because of a mistake in their past.

It will not benefit the the window cleaning industry at all, but it will give your local councils a new source of income which they don't have to work for.

It will not stop the beer brigade/dole cheat, especially with 2 and 1/2 million people on the dole.

[jeff1]

Just look at our Scottish friends, I think their getting a raw deal at the moment, the cost of the license is far to much for a single area, a separate license for each area is pathetic, does the local plumber have to have a license Just to work in an area? I doubt it and then if the windy employ's staff then each member of staff has to have a license for each of those area's also.
 
I know Doug has been working hard with all the authorities and I don't know how far he's gotten with them but I don't see any members shouting they are getting value for money.
 
I'll happily buy a license if its policed properly but somehow I can't see that appointed council official leaving his/her nice warm cozy office and leaving his/her cup of slim fast hot chocolate When its freezing cold or snowing outside, they'll probably think that no one in their right mind would be fool enough to work in such weather?  Well they may be right in thinking that for the beer brigade or dole dodger but for the honest guy How wrong they will be?.
 
As usual they will want everyone else to do their Job for them, you'll have to phone them up on their special window cleaner grass hot line to tell them that Joe Blogs is on the dole because you see him going to the pub every day.... Because any honest hard working guy can't afford to do that. 

Knowing our local council the phone call will be one of those £1.50 a minute phone lines  : with press 1 for this 2 for that with Gary Jules singing  Mad World as the back ground music, you'll eventually get through and they put you on hold for another 30 minutes while he/she sits there seeing how many screwed up papers they can throw through the waste paper hoop attached to their bin and every so often typing in numbers onto their calculator to see how much extra they have Just screwed out of you for that £1.50 a minute phone call. 
 
So until they get it right, I'll stick with the no vote.

[BORBRYCE]

Well what can I say Jeff........ Think you just about got this whole licensing thing sussed out. Lads..... its a no no...... dont go there.