Room for self-help
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Better use of existing legal and commercial "tools" could do more to protect hard-pressed hauliers and removers than recent nostalgic talk about quantity licensing—which in any case would take a long while to introduce. Operators alarmed about unfair and illegal competition should be lobbying authorities and MPs and capitalising on public opinion to press for much stricter enforcement of legislation to squeeze out the corner-cutters, Associations and members keen to dissuade newcomers should be using Applications and Decisions for a really searching investigation of applications; as a mailing list for "discouraging" publicity; and as a source of new business. As and Ds still contain applications for thousands of new vehicles to be licensed every month— yet the RHA, for example, apparently makes no systematic use of this published intelligence or the greater details which are open to view in LAs' offices.
Such scrutiny, and tighter liaison with police and local authorities in opposing applications, would do less to help removers, threatened mainly by light vehicle operators. Here the best remedy is surely to diversify as quickly as possible and be readier to adopt time-saving vehicles and equipment and more aggressive selling methods. For example freight warehousing and distribution is in demand and must surely be more profitable than furniture storage, especially in urban premises.