1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190 
Licence application is rejected after firm operates illegally for 10 months
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A company that operated illegally claimed not to know that a change
of status required a new licence. Michael Jewell reports.
FALSIFIED BANK STATEMENTS and persistent illegal operation have led West MidlandTraffic Commissioner David Dixon to reject a licence application from Walsall-based DC Haulage & Storage.
The company had applied for a licence authorising six vehicles and two trailers.
The TC heard that the directors of the firm were Steven Cookson,his mother and his sister. His father, Len, had resigned as a director on 23 December 2006, having moved to Australia in mid-November.
The Cookson family had been in haulage for 30 years, most recently holding a partnership licence as Len Cookson & Son which ended on 31 October 2006.
A company known as DC Haulage was formed in March 2006 but was rejected by Companies House because there was an existing, unrelated company of that name. The new company was promptly re-registered as DC Haulage & Storage and started operating goods vehicles on 6 April 2006.
DC Haulage applied for a licence on 15 May, but that application was withdrawn on 16 August by a letter signed by I .en Cookson on DC Haulage & Storage notepaper. DC Haulage & Storage applied for a licence on 21 August and, like the DC Haulage application, it was signed by Len Cookson.
Steven Cookson said that although he was company secretary, both applications had been left entirely to his father. He was reluctant to secondguess his father, who had run the business for 30 years. He admitted that they had operated illegally without a licence since 6 April 2006.
The change from partnership to company status was seen by the family as a transition period, with no practical change in the haulage operation, and they were amazed by the need for a new licence and concerned to maintain the employment of their drivers. Cookson was unable to explain why some the bank statements submitted in support of th first application appeared to have been altere to show the account holder as "The Partner DC Haulage Ltd".
Holding that the compan did not satisfy the requiremer to be of good repute, th IC said bank statements i relation to the first applicatio had been deliberatel falsified, presumably t seek to persuade him of 134 Haulage's financial standing DC Haulage &Storage ha deliberately and knowing] operated vehicles without valid licence for 10 months, h added. The family had bee in haulage for many year and it was inconceivable du they were ignorant of the law. They knew th partnership licence would no longer be vatic otherwise they would not have applied for new licence for the company.