Karl Anglem says he has 'not been taking money from anyone'.

Timaru Taxis says it has a "pretty good idea" a man it complained to police about was charging for taxi rides.

Karl Anglem has been served with a warning from police after a complaint was laid by the taxi company.

Officially, the warning forbids Anglem from operating an unlicensed transport service.

Anglem said he just wanted to pick his mates up from the pub, but has been barred from doing so. He said his passengers had offered him money, but he never accepted any form of payment because "I'm not that sort of guy".

"I have not been taking money from anyone. I take my family home and they think I'm running a taxi service. I said to the cops that I don't take any money off anyone. No-one is going to stop me from taking people home."

Timaru Taxis chairman of directors Brian Christian said his company was not buying Anglem's explanation.

The company had been monitoring him for roughly three to four months, watching him park up outside establishments like the now-closed Bar1 and, more recently, the Richard Pearse Tavern.

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Anglem would park up outside Timaru nightclubs and bars, drive off and turn back up again 30 minutes later, Christian said.

"We considered what he was doing illegal. He said he's not charging - we have a pretty good idea that he is.

"We've been watching this fellow for some time. I complained because it can take business off us. All we ask for is a level playing field.

"We sit around the nightclubs too, and that's when we first started noticing him. That was quite a while ago, it'd probably be three to four months," Christian said.

But Anglem's boss, Geoff Andrews, came to his employee's defence.

Anglem volunteered for more than just picking up his friends and family from the pub.

"He volunteers at the race track at Levels, flag marshalling," Andrews said.

Anglem drove around in a Ford Falcon and was being sighted every Thursday and Friday, Christian said.

Asked how frequently he was parking outside bars, Anglem said "they are my friends, if they want a ride home I'll do it".

The taxi company may have been losing money, but he was not making any.

"There's no law that says I'm not allowed to drive around. It's (the warning) taken me by surprise.

"If I pick people up again, they'll take my car and fine me," Anglem said.

Christian does not know for sure whether Anglem was charging people. But he said that was not his responsibility.

Timaru Taxis would not hold back from pulling up others they suspected were acting illegally.

"I suspected someone else of doing it. The police have been keeping an eye on him as well," Christian said.

Timaru police sergeant Grant Lord said there had always been services, apart from taxis, which took people to and from establishments.

"There have always been people taking home patrons, the obvious one is Students Against Drunk Driving. There's alway been people taking patrons home, the question is whether they were doing it for a reward," Lord said.

In Timaru there were numerous ways, apart from taxis, for people to get home, including courtesy coaches.

By early July the smartphone application Uber had attracted more than 1300 driver applications in Christchurch.

The app connects people who need a ride with a driver. Everyday people can make money by driving others around in their own cars.

In January it was reported that, following complaints from taxi firms, police had begun fining Uber drivers whose lower fares were hurting the big cab companies.