Drawing a line...
Whirly's post illustrates a very interesting point, and that is where to draw the line. From some posts I gather that CPLs do not help their neighbors take out the trash - thus avoiding an issue with the local garbage collector's union...
Seriously, the important point, at least in my mind, and I do beleive that many would agree, is that real jobs with a helicopter should be performed by real pilots carrying the proper paperwork. Likewise, anyone paying to have a service performed by a helicopter should expect all papers to be correct and that real pilots perform the actual job. Absolutely no doubt.
In all areas of society there are gray zones. These areas exist because we are all different and have different interpretations. All clear.
Now, one thing that I have a problem with is statements where some kind of monopoly is assumed and wanted in an area, like for example the hour building thing; the fact that some people have to pay for their hours while others can get it in their uncle's helicopter for free makes neither of them "bad".
Some comments have stated that "flying for reward is a privilege that has to be earned" and that it is the invested money and effort that is the important thing. That may be so, but where do you put the guy born with a silver spoon (like money!), who learned how to fly really well in 7 hours, got his CPL(H) in 4 months and then moved straight to a high paying gig in the North Sea sector - an income he doesn't need. I smell jealousy...
My point is clear. PPL(H) pilots should not accept work for pay. Period. I respect professional pilots - why else would I want to become one at 50? On several occasions I have been asked by people to do things for pay with the helicopters I fly. Yes, I have flown a friend over his house so that he could take some nice photos of it from the air (no pay) - a thing he would otherwise not have been able to do because of the costs involved. And most of my friend and their friend have flown with me on various occasions on a cost share basis or for free.
Don't get caught in the same swamp as the software industry. You can't take the number of illegal copies and translate it into a sum of lost profits. Most people would not buy Photoshop at $900 if they had to pay for it. A few ferries, an aunt's 50th birthday flight, what have you. It's not serious work and it doesn't take your business away nor is it unsafe. Even us PPL(H) guys have to make quite a few autorotations, tail rotor failures etc on our PCs. Besides - any PPL can ask his instructor or PC examiner to please keep the excercise at CPL level, I do every time and it's worth it.
Again, hat off to all professionals, and nail the suckers that actually POSE as CPLs when they are not. They steal work and they break the law (and lie).
I rant... I love flying...