Driving a Commercial Van

Mike87

This is a bit of a long story so I'll just give it to you in cliffs.

My father owns his own small local business.
He has his own business van (volkswagon caddy) which he uses for doing a few weekly deliveries.
The van has the business colours and logos on it and a mascot on it- you really couldnt miss this thing.
The brother is unemployed and reckons if he had his own van/jeep he'd have better chance of getting work. (full clean licence)

The plan is to see about letting the brother drive the van (to save on buying a new one) and then the father can do his deliveries at the weekend.

Could the brother drive the van and if anyone says anything (regarding it being a commercial vehicle and is it been used for a work purpose) he can say hes driving around for advertisement value? And it wouldn't be a complete lie either, since the father said he'd throw him a few euros if he drove it around the town for a few hours at the weekends.

sky is the limit

I dont see what the issue is here? you are not breaking any laws unless your bro isnt insured as long as he is then he is good to go,nothin to worry about.

paddy147

Wouldnt he have to be on the companies insurance policy then and on its employment books too though???

Mr Simpson

sky is the limit wrote: »

I dont see what the issue is here? you are not breaking any laws unless your bro isnt insured as long as he is then he is good to go,nothin to worry about.

In the eyes of the law, if he's not using it for commercial purposes, then it needs to be VRT'd and taxed as a private vehicle.

JBokeh

mmcn90 wrote: »

In the eyes of the law, if he's not using it for commercial purposes, then it needs to be VRT'd and taxed as a private vehicle.

Those eyes are usually blind though. Unless he is drawing lots of attention upon himself.

paddy147

JBokeh wrote: »

Those eyes are usually blind though. Unless he is drawing lots of attention upon himself.

You would be very surprised what the gardai now ask you at checkpoints or if they decide to pull you over.

Mr Simpson

JBokeh wrote: »

Those eyes are usually blind though. Unless he is drawing lots of attention upon himself.

Not so long ago, there was a crackdown, with Guards pulling any van with kids in them on the way to school.

Mike87

JBokeh wrote: »

Those eyes are usually blind though. Unless he is drawing lots of attention upon himself.

Heh, you havent seen this van Its got that many colours/cartoons painted on it that there's no way you could go anywhere without half the street stopping and staring

Do does anyone have any answers for me (or know where I could get answers), can my brother drive it around- and if anyone says anything pass it off as advertisement.

ted1

Why doesn't your brother do the deliveries in return tor use of the van.

How would a branded van help him get work?

Mike87

ted1 wrote: »

Why doesn't your brother do the deliveries in return tor use of the van.

He would if he was asked. But in-between deliveries is the problem, like if hes driving in to FAS or driving onto a site to see is there any work for him.

ted1 wrote: »

How would a branded van help him get work?

Its not because its branded. Its because its a van. He still lives at home out in the absolute backarse of nowhere (with no bus service) so a van would get him out and about. Hes unemployed so he cant afford his own van- the business one is sitting at the house 99% of the time.

And the father said he'd throw him a few yoyos if he did drive it around town for a few hours. (although that wouldnt be "through the books""

antodeco

Just be aware, that if he shows up to FAS or another job in a company van, they may investigate as to why he is working. If he says its for advertisement reasons, your father could be asked to show payment of service. Then, its an 'employee' off the books. I know this is a little far fetched, but just be aware that technically the above could happen.

On a related note, near me, about a year ago, there was a checkpoint with the revenue (i think). They were asking for peoples PPS numbers and where they were off to. This was done early in the morning. I had heard that this was a welfare check to see who is claiming unemployment, but still is working.

ted1

Mike87 wrote: »

He would if he was asked. But in-between deliveries is the problem, like if hes driving in to FAS or driving onto a site to see is there any work for him.




Its not because its branded. Its because its a van. He still lives at home out in the absolute backarse of nowhere (with no bus service) so a van would get him out and about. Hes unemployed so he cant afford his own van- the business one is sitting at the house 99% of the time.

its just you said a jeep or Van would help him find work, when really a small economical car would also do the job, as would a bike..

do people still get work by driving onto sites?

Mike87

ted1 wrote: »

its just you said a jeep or Van would help him find work, when really a small economical car would also do the job, as would a bike..

do people still get work by driving onto sites?

Small economical car- you make it sound like he could buy that with one weeks social welfare.

Im not sure what the exact figure is but hes just turned 21 and because of his age he only gets around 100 or so euros per week on social. Using a van thats already owned and sitting around doing nothing kills two birds with one stone. (i.e. gets him his van, and gets the father his advertisement).


As for driving onto sites... well it hasnt been working so far. But hes not going to get a job sitting at home playing the xbox.

mickdw

I would say check that he is properly insured then drive it. The biggest issue with the commercial tax now is actually qualifying for it with lots of cash inHand trades men having trouble which is no bad thing. You have no issue in this regard being a registered business. I wouldn't however take it out late at night as that is taking the piss.
I think it would be someone with little to do who would question its useage and perhaps the advertising idea would get around that.

galwaydude18

Put up a picture of the van. I'd love to see all the advertising on it! It sounds like a show stopper