Hi
BH I have been following this thread with interest
To report or not to report, that is the question, and probably one of the most tricky ones to answer as well!
For many years I was the holder of a 'red card'. That is a an 'Authorisation Card' issued by the CAA to inspect documents, enter aircraft, prevent flight etc for flight safety reasons (not financial). This 'card' expired a couple of years ago and I did not bother to renew it for one simple reason. It was always difficult to decide when to use it and when not to. In the end I never actually used it in anger at all. I much preferred the more gentlemanly alternative of have good natter off the record.
Authorised officers and officials have it easier than yourself in that they have the power to question the alleged offender and gather the facts before deciding a course of action. I normally found that after a damn good 'fact gathering session' I had actually got my point across to the offender and could drop the subject.
A quiet word to the register owner/operator would be my advice. Unfortunately if you get a less than responsive reply you are then left with a decision that has become more difficult. That is to either drop the subject and therefore feel you have failed in your task, or notify the authorities which lets face it, nobody really wants to do.
Good luck with whichever way you go....
SATCO Biggin