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Page 151
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N a few days' time a good many people all over the country will begin to tackle a problem likely to require a4most as much perseverance and hick as the corntion of a winning line in the pools. The man who is the market for a transport unit may have to overcome rards of which he is at present scarcely aware, and he 11 feel at times very much like the week-end novices io fix their fancy with a pin.
Within a period of a month or two he has to complete ieries of operations rather on the lines of a treasure nt. Advertisements in the Press will instruct him tere to obtain the first list of units. His choice among reral hundred of them will to a large extent be settled size and by geography. If, for example, he wants platform vehicles and a garage in a certain town, he or find no more than perhaps Ahree units answering this. description.
It is now plain that he would be unwise to tender for three in order to increase his chances of getting just e. Permutations of this sort are discouraged by the editions of sale attached to each tender form. The iderer binds himself to pay a 15 per cent. deposit thin 10 days of the date of the notice of acceptance, d the balance at a later date. Should he default, the ■ mmission will be entitled to resell the property and ;over the loss from him. If all his tenders for three its are accepted, he may become liable for heavy yments in respect of the two units for which he refuses complete the procedure.
Application for a tender form will bring him one of e varieties according to. whether the unit is in England d Wales or Scotland, whether it includes premises, and tether in such a case he wants delivery expedited. By rangement with the district manager, he will have a ance of inspecting the unit. Another of the somewhat im conditions warns him that he had better take that ance, as the Commission will wash their hands of the siness. They may hand over to him a vehicle "which in' a condition in which it may not lawfully be used a road in Great Britain," and it will be up to him to it it right.
• Found to be Heavier There may be a hint in this that the buyer should have e vehicle weighed. As this is not likely to be feasible tore he submits a tender—although he may have some nited opportunity to test such things as brakes—he will .ve to leave the weighing until after he has taken livery. It may be important to know the exact weight, r the holder of a special A licence will find himself in fficulty if, some long time after it is granted, one of s vehicles is checked and found to be heavier than the eight specified; or if he wishes to substitute another hide, which must be of the same or less unladen eight.
After inspecting the unit, the prospective tenderer ust at last make up his mind how much to Offer. Should ; require to borrow money, perhaps from a finance Impany, he may have had_a representative with him tring the inspection. The same company may at times tve more than one client interested in the same unit; Gilbertian situation when it is remembered that, rough an oversight in the drafting of the Act, the lance companyand not the operator will have to apply, for the licence, although presumably. it will be possible to arrange for its iremediate transfer.
In the same way, the finance company—unless it nominates the operator as its agent—will complete and submit the tender form. Before doing so it is likely to ask him for at least the deposit of 15 per cent, of the purchase price that will be demanded by the Commission within 10 days of acceptance. As most of the first units will be small and many of the prospective buyers will have limited means, a finance company may often be holding several deposits in respect of the same property.
The period between the date of the advertisement and the deadline for tenders should not be much longer than a month, and the would-be operator will have to work quickly to get his tender through in time. There is a suggestion that the first list is composed largely of vehicles that British Road Services have in any case no great wish to keep. He will therefore be waiting with some interest for the next list, as there may be something in it more to his liking. Here comes the really delicate problem. He will barely have time in which to decide whether to withdraw his first tender and submit another for the second unit.
Fate of His Tender If he lets his first tender stand, he must sacrifice the chance of another at that stage. It is just possible that he will be able to qualify as a tenderer for a unit in the third list. This will be advertised in January, so that the date fixed for the 'return of tender forms may come after the date when the tenders from the first list have been accepted. It is understood that he will be advised of the fate of his tender, whether it has been successful or not, and in the latter event he will at once be free to look for another unit.
He will scarcely wonder that, after the closing date for tenders, the Commission and the Disposal Board will require something like six weeks to decide what to accept. The fornas are not unreasonably complicated, but there will be hundreds, perhaps thousands, submitted in respect of each list. The Commission and the Board will not always feel justified in accepting the highest tender, a procedure which would simplify their task. They must keep in mind the various injunctions, in the Act, particularly the need to avoid any step which may lead towards the setting up of a monopoly.
Both bodies seem eager to act as quickly as possible. In fact, where premises are included in a transport unit, special arrangements have been made to expedite delivery. The bold cutting of red tape to overcome what might have been the cause of considerable delay is' all the more commendable when one estimates the massive legal weight on the Commission and the Board, and remembers how often in other fields legal weight brings down the balance in favour of caution and even procrastination.
The purchase of a transport unit is not a simple operation, but the man who is keen to buy will not be put off by the complications. He should watch for the Pre 95 announcements, and apply without delay for each list of units. In the chain of events that follows, he will find a good deal of expert advice and assistance avail-able, and would be wise to make use edit.