Licencing

[rcproperty]

I don't think a licence should go as far as a police check. After all I'd say about 9 out of 10 ex-cons end up self employed and end up being really good at it as they find they have no other way of making a living. I think that to gain a licence all they should do is make sure you are registered as self employed and are fully insured and have passed a course for proficiency. I.e. this is the safe way to use a ladder.

true, or have the option there to have it or not so there could be 2 classes of licence,

 

[Colley614]

All I know is that since I left the Army I have had 2 main jobs, a window cleaner and a drainage engineer. Whilst working as a Drainage engineer I noticed how bad life is for the average window cleaner. If you are a self employed drainage engineer you get a call out (most are registered with insurance companies so the work comes in from them.) They turn up after the call out charge has been agreed, spend an hour or so faffing about guessing where your drains run and then spend an hour unblocking it and charge about £50 an hour plus vat for the honour and sometimes an extra £60 for being called out (like they had something better to do?) So they get about £180 to turn up, examine your drains, put a jetting head down and turning on a jetter which is basically a pressure washer. Job done, if however the blockage doesn't go it's camera survey time and if a camera goes down a drain (which the company I worked for charged a couple of hundred quid for) I garauntee it's dig down time which will cost at least £500.

The point I'm trying to make is you have to be no more qualified to be a drainage engineer as you do a window cleaner but because of all the dole claiming, tax dodgers in my area the price people epxect to pay for window cleaning is a pitance in my area, thats why I spend about an hour a day driving out of my area to my customers. Imagine charging someone £60 to go and give them a quote and then charging £60 an hour to stand there with your co work and discuss what type of windows you thought they had. Then getting your water fed pole gear out and spending an hour cleaning windows and driving off with a check for £180. I'm not saying this is how it should be but what I am saying is we all invest in kit that costs us money so we should be entitled to earn a decent return on our investment without these people charging daft prices that are below minimum wage.

 

[GMcleaning]

I don't think a licence should go as far as a police check. After all I'd say about 9 out of 10 ex-cons end up self employed and end up being really good at it as they find they have no other way of making a living. I think that to gain a licence all they should do is make sure you are registered as self employed and are fully insured and have passed a course for proficiency. I.e. this is the safe way to use a ladder.

this is exactly what im saying, a license, i wouldnt mind paying for if i had to, (not that i think it would help get rid of the dole dossers or the cowboys), but crb check is completely unnessasary as a requirement to be a window cleaner! insurance, yes, registered self employed, yes, crb, no

 

[rcproperty]

this is exactly what im saying, a license, i wouldnt mind paying for if i had to, (not that i think it would help get rid of the dole dossers or the cowboys), but crb check is completely unnessasary as a requirement to be a window cleaner! insurance, yes, registered self employed, yes, crb, no

with the coucil contract i went for you have to be crb checked,

 

[Dodger]

it all depends on the jobs you do, i have a crb check and that allows me access to elderly warden contorolled houses and flats, plus other things like nusery's lower schools etc.

no not everyone wants one, but yet its another peice of mind and selling point that you have been police check and cleared.

I do a few warden controlled and did a kids residential home last week, not one has asked for CRB. I have just been done by social services and they ain't said I didn't pass it so must have I got an appointment with social worker next week so still going ahead lol.
There are cowboys in every trade, has no'one seen rogue traders. A lot of those guys leave people in dangerous situations so let's see those guys sorted first and I don't think a window cleaner needs a licence at all, public liability compulsary yes and if they bring in a license I'd comply but asking for it I don't think so.

 

[Posh]

1 licence like paul said. You can only get one if you are self employed. That means the dole & benefit people could not get one so out they go but bring in a law that the customer has to ask for your card before you quote. Could be the same one for all jobs (car cleaning gardener etc). Your benefit people would not apply as it would come up on the computer that they are claiming. Mind you bet someone would be able to copy them lol.

Or make it law the custie has to ask for your ins card.

 

[Posh]

Other trades just dont have people that do there job for beer money, or on the dole and do there i dont know, plumbing on the side do they, but people do in the window cleaning trade.

i wouldnt mind paying £150 every two years and have my name on the councle website, to verify I am actually window cleaning rather then on the dole and doing it to get extra cash for a bit of beer money..

There are people doing lots of trades for beer money. I know a car valeter a gardener a painter. It's not just us. If they by law had to show a licence they couldn't do it coz they wouldn't have one.

 

[Dodger]

1: But bring in a law that the customer has to ask for your card before you quote.

2: Or make it law the custie has to ask for your ins card.

1: Absolutey un-policable

2: Again un-policable but I do agree with that in theory.

 

[harunh]

Hnmm lots of opinions

 

[Posh]

But it may cut out 50./'. It would be a start. I know you couldn't police it but it could work a bit. It would make people think?

 

[Dodger]

But it may cut out 50./'. It would be a start. I know you couldn't police it but it could work a bit. It would make people think?

Yeah I suppose ya right there posh it might.

 

[Posh]

Be worth a try