Xercon loses its 0-licence
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• Bury-based Xercon Industries has lost its international operator's licence following its conviction for using forged permits.
North Western Licensing Authority Roy Hutchings has also given Vagsped Ltd three months to find a professionally competent manager — to succeed Xercon transport manager Vernon George who was convicted of similar of fences. Xercon held a licence for five vehicles and three trailers and was convicted by Bury magistrates of two offences of using a permit with intent to deceive; nine of permitting drivers' hours offences', and 10 of operating vehicles without excise licences. It was ordered to pay fines, costs and back duty totalling £10,618.30.
George was convicted of one offence of forging a permit and one of exceeding eight hours' driving and was fined £550 with £50 costs.
George said Xercon was a small company importing furniture kits from Italy which has gradually built up its own transport. Vagsped was set up in 1980 to control the transport operation.
Xercon had a small permit allocation which it had tried unsuccessfully to increase. Forged permits had been used on two occasions, but the vehicle concerned was on the Vagsped licence and he could not see why Xercon was prosecuted.
The drivers' hours offences arose after the drivers parked their trailers in secure compounds in Italy and used their tractive units for private purposes without marking the tachograph charts to that effect.
In circumstances where border crossings could take four to six hours and a missed ferry could mean a 12-hour delay, there had to be some flexibility about drivers hours.
Common factor
George told Hutchings that Xercon and Vagsped had different directors. He was the only common factor. The drivers who had committed the hours offences were working for Vagsped and had nothing to do with Xercon.
Hutchings said one of the biggest hinderances to the reform of the permit system had been the fact that operators were running illegally.
George could not be the nominated transport manager of two licences at the same time. By virtue of the conviction George no longer meets the good repute requirement, SO he could no longer be classified as Vagsped's transport manager.