Court threat over tyre bill
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• An angry Scots haulier preparing to fight a 11,600 bill mainly for replacing two tyres in France. Jim Macaulay, managing director of Cadzow Haulage says he is ready to face legal action but will not pay the full amount.
The case highlights the wide range in the cost of tyre replacement abroad and in the UK: here it is an accepted practice that a 30-40% discount is taken off the price of tyres.
The Michelin 1200x20 tyres in question cost 1300 each in the UK. The bill also includes replacement of
two tubes (cost £38 each) and two flaps (£14 each). ç. But the rescue organisation at the centre of the row, AA Fleet Services, says the bill in question is so large because on the Continent the full retail price is charged to foreign operators.
The AA believes the bill is "reasonable" and says it cannot influence local garage service and goods charges although all are screened for value for money.
But some influence can be put on local garages, says manufacturer Michelin. "We keep a close eye on foreign garage costs for our own recovery service," it stresses, "but we have no direct control over what prices are charged for our tyres."
Michelin says the introduction of indirect invoicing systems has made it more difficult for foreign suppliers to "milk" UK hauliers' bills — Michelin's own Euro Assist scheme introduced this year pays the haulier's foreign garage bill and invoices its local garage. • Haulage contracts will be up for grabs by the end of the year when British Gypsum begins transporting gypsum from the Drax power station in Selby.
By 1996 a million tonnes a year are expected to be moved: 200,000 tonnes of it by road, to plants in Yorkshire and the Midlands.
BG production director David Pougher hopes to place annually renewable contracts. "We will be allocating work to people who give us an appropriate tender price for the job and have proven ability." A good safety track record will be important, he says, particularly in tipping procedures.
The company has just overturned an annual road haulage limitation of 100,000 tonnes agreed last month by North Yorkshire County Council. In its defence British Gypsum had argued that planning restrictions would hamper the growth of a major new industry and asked for permission to transport 250,000 tonnes a year. Last week the council backed down and raised the limit to 200,000 tonnes.