Hi guys I dont really post much but I do view a lot of the threads and try to learn as much as possible as there are obviously some very knowledgable people on here.
The main purpose of this post is to ask for some information. I've managed to save up some money as ever since I left school (im 25 now) i've always wanted to have my own business. I know some people who have their own business and am under no illusions as to the amount of work and effort that has to be put into it, especially to get it up and running and established.
I'll be honest and say that i've never had my own business as such as up until recently i've already had a steady job so always felt it was a bit of a risk to leave that to start up a business with no practical experience of running a proper business. However I was recently paid off and thought about starting up, however the current economic climate has definetly put me of off starting up (for now) but I have also noted the poor interest on saving's accounts (i've used up my ISA allowance and dont fancy the stock market at the moment).
So I was thinking what the best thing to do with my money until I come up with a solid business idea and "go for it" would be basically keep it safe and try and "earn" as much from it as possible. I know someone who has some taxi's on the road and he rents them out for a certain sum every week. However if there are repairs etc he has to pay for these. His drivers only pay for the hire of the "package" that is the car, plate, radios and of course they have to pay for their own fuel.
To get to the point (sorry for waffling) i've been offered another job and i think im going to take it so I wont really have the time to deal with getting repairs done, arranging for MOT's, new tyres and break pads to be fitted etc. Also I dont really have the proper connections that would allow me to get a taxi on the ramp in a garage ASAP after any fault occurred which could mean it could be off the road for days so it would not be making any money on those days.
I was thinking about instead of getting a taxi on the road buying a taxi plate. The problem is it seems to be a bit of a "shady world". By that I mean absolutely no disrespect to drivers or owner/operators etc. Its just that from what i've found out, these plates, technically, should have no monetry value. Again this is just what i've found out and might very well be wrong, but apparantly "in the beginning" a council will look at how many taxi's are required on the roads and issue a certain amount of plates. People then apply for these plates and although i say no monetry value they may have to pay a small fee at first for council admin fees or whatever, but apparantly this is just a few hundred pounds if that. They then have a plate and thats fine. However once all the plates are issued then if someone wants one from a person who has been issued one then really they have to pay for it. Its not just a few hundred pounds either some of them are changing hands for around the 20 grand mark. If you cant afford to buy the plate from someone then you can rent it for around 100 pounds per week. Now I was looking at this and started to think thats 5 grand per year, which equates to 25% interest? That cant be bad where do I sign up to buy a plate from someone?
The problem I have is that the whole thing seems a little "corrupt" as I've heard that council officials made sure that people they knew got some of the plates (not all of them of course) so thats basically someone has paid a couple of hundred pounds and then they either sell it for 20 grand or rent it out for 100 pounds per week. Again I didnt have too much of a problem with that as sometimes it does really pay to be in something from the ground floor so good on the people who foresaw the business opportunity and got the plates early. I also heard that a lot of taxi company's are actually "owned" by gangster etc, although their name may not be above the door, they are behind it and because it is a cash buiness can use it for money laundering etc.
Now as I say I was thinking about buying a plate and renting it out to someone who wants to be their own boss and have a taxi on the road but maybe cant afford or has no desire to buy a plate. This apprealed to me as there are no maintenance fees etc and much less hassle than having an actual taxi on the road. The main thing that has put me off is that i've heard although you have paid 20 grand for the plate, technically you dont actually own it, you have been "issued" it from the council and it can be taken off you at anytime for whatever reason. i.e. say you were involved in a road traffic accident and done for dangerous driving, this would be you now with a criminal record and as such could be deemed not to be a "fit and proper person". As a result your plate which you have paid 20 grand for can be taken off you. As i said they are not supposed to have any monetry value but to get one you had to hand over the cash.
Sorry for making this so long but I was just wondering if anyone can inform me if i am wrong about any of these things or possibly all of them just so that I could make an informed decision about this. I am also trying to bear in mind that it is unlikely I would have the plate taken off me and even if I did, as long as I got 4 or 5 years out of it then it wouldnt actually cost me anything. I was also thinking about putting it in my mothers name but then an accident and resultant charges/convictions can happen to anyone. Any advice on any of these things would be much appreciated, and again sorry if i've bored you all
