Pallet pirate threats
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by Jane Sayer • Private investigator Mike Medden is continuing his campaign against so-called pallet pirates despite receiving threatening phone calls after revealing in Commercial Motor that he spies on drivers who illegally sell pallets (CM 19-25 June).
"I've been threatened with an iron bar before," says Medden "and my lad was chased by a maniac in a fork-lift truck, so bad phone calls I can deal with.
"Of the 70 or so companies we've spoken to about the pallet pirates, all bar three have paid up for the information and only three have said they are not interested," he adds.
Granada's commercial manager, Steve Marshall, has now agreed to meet Madden to discuss the problem of pallet pirates. "If Medden can prove that a pallet dealer on one of our sites has broken his agreement with our managing agent then he will be removed from the site," says Marshall.
One of the operators who contacted Medden has been campaigning to get the pallet dealers removed from Granada's Blythe service area for more than two years. He says his company spends £75,000 a year on pallets and only gets about 10% back.
The haulier, who wants to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, claims he can prove that pallets are being sold illegally at Blythe. On 4 February this year one of his drivers sold 10 pallets for £15, and on 28 May another 20 pallets went for £20. No paperwork was offered and no questions were asked on either occasion. "I still have the £35 in my desk," he says.
L Granada's Steve Marshall is awaiting proof of these transactions before taking any action. Brian Kennedy, owner of Manchester-based Kennedy Turf, solved his pallet problems by scrapping their use.
His company has saved £16,000 a year since moving to a palletless system. "We used to go to sites, leave pallets and when we returned they were being sold off," says Kennedy. "This was costing us a small fortune."