Hauliers pushing forward
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• Freight forwarders are to be urged to clean up their image.
Owner-drivers' cooperative Unit 91 will meet with the British International Freight Association on Saturday (18 January) to press for joint action to protect hauliers from forwarders who collapse owing money.
Unit 91 wants BIFA's support in its campaign to bring forwarders up to the same standard as hauliers with a licensing system; proof of financial standing; membership of a trade association and an entry examination equivalent to the Certificate of Professional Competence.
"At the moment there is nothing to stop anybody with a few contacts and two phones working from home as a freight forwarder," says Unit '91 founder Mike Pickering. He believes that the smaller forwarders cause most of the problems.
This year BIFA plans to introduce a bond to safeguard hauliers who work for its 860
members (CM 5-11 Dec) but Pickering is concerned about the 1,500 agents who are not BIFA members. He wants the Government to step in and force forwarders to join BIFA, which has a code of conduct and ensures its members have liability insurance to cover their trading levels.
Bob Sutton, a director of the Transport Users Group, agrees: "Membership of BIFA should be like ABTA is to travel agents where there is some kind of safeguard to the user if something goes wrong, and agents know if they are not a member, nine times out of 10 they well lose business."
BIFA's plans for its members in the road transport sector is believed to involve a scheme where hauliers owed money by BIFA firms which go bust would be compensated from a central fund.