CPC holder had lost repute
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al North Western
Traffic Comm issioner Beverley Bell was told that a Turkish-owned company paid a man who had lost his good repute 12,000 to be its CPC holder in order to obtain an 0-licence.
When Manchester-based Madrive appeared at a Leeds disciplinary inquiry, Bell adjourned the hearing so the company can produce financial evidence. It holds an international licence for 10 vehicles and 10 trailers.
Vehicle examiner James Fawcett told the hearing that the authorised operating centre was not being used and the people there had never heard of Madrive. When he finally contacted the company he was told that the vehicles spent most of the time working in Turkey and Madrive was moving to Cambridge.
A number of appointments made to inspect vehicles were not kept. One vehicle produced by the maintenance contractor had a number of serious defects, some of which would have been obvious at a company inspection six days before. The vehicle was issued with an immediate prohibition showing a significant maintenance failure. When Fawcett was eventually told that the vehicles were available for inspection he had not examined them as the case had by then been referred to the Licensing Review Board.
The TO said the Vehicle Inspectorate had a duty to ensure that vehicles were roadworthy, and she saw no reason why Madrive's vehicles should not have been inspected.
Director Gokhan Ozvaciksoz said the company had been set up in August 1998 to carry textiles and car parts. Some of the work was lost due to the strength of the pound and he moved to London in November 1999. The operating centre had rarely been used because the vehicles were either in Turkey or in the London area, where they were kept at the Rainham premises of Anatolia Shipping &Transport.
Dzvaciksoz added that it had been hard to find the company's current transport manager, Michael Turta. He had been unaware until recently that Turta had lost his good repute when his licence was revoked in December. He had paid Turta £2,000 to be the CPC holder so the company could get a licence.
Adjourning the hearing until Late June, the IC said she was not satisfied about Madrive's finances. The draft accounts and bank statements produced were incomplete. The company needed working capital of £20,500. An Anatolia Shipping guarantee fori40,000 was not acceptable as it was not the company's own money.
There was also the question of the company's repute. Bell was concerned that the vehicles were not properly maintained, that the transport manager had not fulfilled his obligations, that the company had paid £2,000 to obtain a licence and that the vehicles had been removed to London.