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Hay's Wharf firm tells saga of maintenance misfortunes

7th April 1967, Page 43
7th April 1967
Page 43
Page 43, 7th April 1967 — Hay's Wharf firm tells saga of maintenance misfortunes
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THE story of a company which began to make a loss from the time it was taken over and ran up an expenditure of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year on tyres and maintenance was told to the Western Licensing Authority at Bristol on Friday.

Hay's Wharf Haulage (S.W.) Ltd., of Chudleigh, Devon, was appearing at a Section 178 inquiry.

Mr. A. W. Balne, for the company, said the "large number" of delayed and immediate prohibition notices served as the result of a fleet inspection were not contested. He added that prior to the issue of one prohibition order the company had pleaded guilty to a police charge regarding an offence in December last year and had been fined £25 at Barnstaple.

The story of misfortunes began, he said, when the business of R. A. Gibbs, of Chudleigh, was acquired by Hay's Wharf in 1962. Mr. Gibbs was retained as a director and continued to run the company, which was thought to be a very successful one.

"Shortly after the acquisition it became obvious that it was not a profitable business," said Mr. Balne. "In fact, it made a loss For each of the four years up to the present time."

Although it had not been possible to discover the amounts spent on maintenance for the earlier years, Hay's Wharf own experience of maintenance in each of the years 1962-66 ranged around £8,000 to £10,000 a year.

Mr. Balne said that during the whole of that time Mr. Gibbs had made only one application for a new vehicle. That was in 1965 and the request was granted immediately. "Hints were dropped that Mr. Gibbs' service agreement would not be continued after its expiry in March, 1967," said Mr. Balne, "and he was asked to prepare a report for a vehicle replacement programme. He left the company and went to South Africa in October, 1966, without having submitted such a report."

It was not until Mr. Gibbs had left that Hay's Wharf became aware of the condition of the company vehicles and the existence of prohibition orders. The business was re-styled Hay's Wharf (S.W.) Ltd. and, to get it on a proper basis, Mr. Thomas Darby, the group's manager at the St. Austell branch, was made general manager and director.

In addition, ARC Transport Ltd., of Exeter, was takers over and a director, Mr. Ivor George Anthony, was appointed manager at Chudleigh. Mr. D. A. Smith, of Hay's Wharf London office, said that Mr. Darby was appointed to manage the company in October, 1966, and by December had applied for three new vehicles, which were supplied at a cost of around £14,000. In January he asked for more new vehicles. Orders had been placed for three at a cost of £14,500, and delivery was awaited.

Mr. Thomas Darby said that when he found out the condition of the vehicles he immediately took five of them off the road and three were scrapped.

The one new vehicle requested by Mr. Gibbs and supplied was off the road for a major overhaul.

Mr. Ivor George Anthony said: "When I joined the company on November 1 1966, there was one fitter and a driver /mechanic and I now have two fitters, a learner and a driver /mechanic". He had drawn up a maintenance schedule whereby each vehicle would be serviced weekly and thoroughly examined once a month, with provision for any complaints of defects to be reported and dealt with immediately.

Mt. Balne submitted applications for variations of licence conditions "because the temporary substitutions we have all expire today". He said that as far as the Gibbs vehicles were concerned there was an application to take off four vehicles and put on three articulated vehicles in lieu. A second application was to increase the unladen weight of a tipper on B licence which had been fitted with an additional axle. Other applications resulted from the acquisition of ARC Transport, whose four vehicles on A licence and one on B licence were being operated from Chudleigh under the ARC licence.

After a retirement to "consider this jigsaw puzzle", the LA, Mr. J. R. Samuel-Gibbon, suspended the licence of one van for six weeks and the licence of a tipper and a second van for three weeks, all with effect from April 3.

He also granted the applications for the replacement of four vehicles by three new ones and the ARC acquisitions on A licence, but adjourned the application in respect of the B licence.

"I am quite certain that the proprietors of Hay's Wharf in all their glory up in London and Mr. Darby and Mr. Anthony down here will realize that this sort of thing must never happen again," said Mr. Samuel-Gibbon.


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