Spanish sunk Selway
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'M International haulier Paul Selway is blaming the crash of a Spanish firm which owes him £51,000 for the collapse of his Taunton-based business.
Selway's firm, Paul Selway International Transport, ceased trading owing thousands of pounds to subcontractors (CM 7-13 May). It specialised in Spain and Eastern Europe.
But Selway has launched another company, Auto-European, and is advertising this week for owner-drivers to pull trailers to
Spain and Italy. The company is not running its own tractive units and does not have an 0licence.
"We've taken over the lease on some of the trailers. It's a genuine offer of work," he insists. I've been in business since 1979 and I'm not just going to sit down and die."
The move has been condemned by some of the hauliers who are likely to be paid only a fraction of the money they are owed by his former company. "The problem is that he is not breaking any law by doing this," says Cheltenham-based Don White, who runs three trucks and says he is due £3,000. "I've lost £20,000 in the past two years through companies going down on me like this."
Paul Selway International Transport had an 0-licence for 20 vehicles, but was running only three when it went into liquidation.
A creditors' meeting is due to take place at the Bath premises of liquidator Robson Taylor on 27 May.
El A year ago one of Selway's drivers was attacked and his truck vandalised after Selway spoke out to CM about the way some owner-drivers were cutting rates to Spain by running illegally on red diesel.