French pay nine blockade claims
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Sally Nash • The French have agreed to settle four new compensation claims for the 1996 truck blockades since revising the procedures in January, says the Department of Transport, Nine claims have now been settled (five claims had been decided before the changes were introduced) but Lincoln-based Denby Transport, which has won about £1,000 in compensation, warns that settlement still depends on individual prefectures and the quality of supporting documentation.
Denby managing director Peter Denby received a letter from the Gironde prefecture on 2 March, confirming that FFr10,340 would be paid in compensation. That's the whole sum claimed from Gironde, but only about 17% of the company's total claim.
Denby is awaiting decisions on six more claims—one of these, from Caen, has been refused again. "I am staggered that we got this," he says. "We were all set to give up on it." Derby only made the claim after being persuaded to by the Freight Transport Association.
The move follows protracted discussions between the French and UK governments over the French authorities' footdragging approach to the longrunning dispute. The FTA is heralding Denby's award as a "breakthrough": it expects more offers to be made soon.
A DOT spokesman says : "It now appears that claims are being settled in a more streamlined way than before."