Street mechanic. Right or wrong?

Well, it’s the black market, isn’t it? Presumably everyone pays cash and is happy about that because he’s cheaper than a garage. No business rates to pay, no tax, so he ought to be cheaper. He’s doing wrong, so is everyone who uses his service.

Here’s an answer from the police:

www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q621.htm

Legal if doing someone a favour but illegal if:

- it is during the course of a business, or
- it is for gain or reward, or
- it causes annoyance to people in the vicinity.

It’s perfectly legal to run businesses online from home eg using one room as an office. The real issues are if you employ someone at your property or have separate living/ business premises eg a flat above the shop. In this case he is impacting his neighbours and there are health and safety issues not to mention insurance

Well of course he’s taking the proverbial. He is monopolising the parking opportunities in the road for his own benefit and blow anyone else! As others have said, he should 1. Ask his ‘clients’ to come when he is free, or 2. Go mobile and visit them. I speak as someone who lived next door to a young lad who worked on the side cleaning cars. He left his cold water hose running literally all day pouring water down the drain. He chose not to have a water meter of course.

It sounds like he should consider going mobile - I am guessing no one would bat an eyelid if he went and repaired those cars outside their owners' houses.

Whether or not he is paying tax on his earnings is another matter, but I hate the automatic assumption some make that anyone being paid in cash must be on the fiddle!

There can be double standards re work in his own drive, when so many people nowadays run businesses online from home without always registering for business rate council tax.

jenni123

“It was OK for him to do work when he was doing it for you but now he is working for more people it is not OK. Sounds a bit selfish to me.”

Who is being selfish? I was concerned for him. I think you were a bit quick there jenni123. ?

You say neighbours have grumbled, which is a tad better that being really exasperated with him .
Sounds like they will eventually complain, so you don’t need to.

A victim of his own success it seems. I agree with others about running a business from home and there are H & S implications.. It does seem a shame if he is a hard working chap but he needs to be made aware of the possible problems arising from this.

Jeez. Report him. Have him lynched. Then pay top garage prices. Please don't moan when your bill tops a thousand. You said he is a lovely neighbour. Qualified and cheap. Of course he will be popular. Have 'a word' or worse at your peril.

I hope he/she pays tax on money earned,no doubt it could be cash in hand which really annoys. E

You ask ‘right or wrong?’

Wrong.
In my opinion.

Only yesterday I received an email from police as I'm neighbourhood watch coordinator. Apparently someone in our town has been prosecuted for exactly that - mending cars on a public road. It seems he had been warned and still continued. He also threatened the neighbourhood team members who approached him. 'He was fined £450 and ordered to pay costs of £1980.50 and a victim surcharge of £30.'

It was OK for him to do work when he was doing it for you but now he is working for more people it is not OK. Sounds a bit selfish to me.

We had a neighbour once who started repairing motorbikes in his cellar. We had to say something when the petrol fumes started seeping out into our house via the airing cupboard! Fortunately we were on good terms with next door and he found somewhere else to work.

He is carrying out a car repair business and it will be illegal. Same as someone lining up cars they want to sell. Whilst being helpful to some he is running the risk of being reported by someone.

We have a neighbour who set up a car valeting business. He even went as far as having his garden paved over. The noise from his power washer was going all day. Well someone must have complained because he has stopped doing it. It's a shame to see the garden has gone.

cossybabe I know of some-one who was stopped from doing work on his own driveway/in his own private garage, most of them were family cars not customers cars. He was also reported to HMRC, malicious neighbour as it didn't interfere with any-one else. He mechanic worked for a garage doing repairs & MOTs.

I agree with Bradford a quiet word is in order otherwise I'm sure some-one will start complaining as happened to our friend/neighbour.

Presumably he is moonlighting. I find it difficult to believe he is paying tax on the work he is doing at home.

Drop a word in his ear that people are talking and that he could land in trouble with the local council as he could be seen to be running a business in a residential area, and the Income tax inspector might just start asking questions.

We have a car mechanic who has serviced our cars over the years. He picks our car up and takes it back to his garage, then returns it and drives back in his car. Very handy.

I think he may get into trouble if he hasn’t registered his business, which is clearly growing.

Oil spills and other types of environmental damage are best prevented in a fully equipped garage.

What he is doing is illegal. The pubic highway is not a workshop and he could be reported and taken to court.

I know someone who was stopped by the council for fixing a few cars on his drive - they classed it as a business

I think you can’t have your cake and eat it- if he is repairing your car as a favour you can’t expect him not to do the same for others. Also, you can’t be sure all the cars parked there are waiting for him. They could belong to visitors to neighbours.