Haulier holds cargo against cash
Page 6
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• An angry London haulier has impounded cargo belonging to ICI until he is paid for delivery by one of the two freight clearing houses which have collapsed this week.
Eurospeed of Stratford, East London was hired by Bradfordbased BSE Freight International — which called in the receiver last week — to deliver a back load from Switzerland to Mayfield Yarns, a Derbyshire textile firm.
The cargo, beams for textile manufacture, owned by ICI Fibres, were due to be loaded with yarn and returned to a Swiss manufacturer, Meier.
But Eurospeed says it is owed £11,000 by BSE and cannot deliver the cargo to Mayfield until it has paid for its diesel.
Eurospeed boss Robin Brown says he has placed a lien on the load until the cash dispute is settled. Now the five-lorry firm is facing pressure from Swiss freight forwarder BLG, which was in partnership with BSE to deliver the load to England.
Basel-based BLG has demanded that Eurospeed delivers the goods and seeks payment from BSE's receiver, O'Hara & Co of Batley. Otherwise, BLG writes: "The whole production at Meier is running out and this will cost an awful lot of money for which we have to hold you responsible."
BLG adds: "holding the cargo back any longer will just make your problem bigger".
Brown is sceptical about getting full payment alongside other creditors. A creditors' meeting is planned at O'Hara's office on 24 October. "I am now reluctant to work for anybody," says Brown, "even with bank references you can't be sure — but why should the small haulier have to take this tremendous risk?"
Transport lawyer Stephen Kirkbright says hauliers in a similar situation should ask the company for whom the goods are intended if it is prepared to pay for delivery. "A lien — which gives the holder the right to sell the goods — can only be imposed if included in the contract," he says, "that is why it is so important for hauliers to trade under specific terms and conditions."
He warns hauliers against what the law might deem wrongful interference with goods.
The second freight forwarder to collapse this week was M&S Transport of Buxton, Derbyshire. The company's affairs are being investigated by Robert Sutton, director of trade association Transport Users Group. He believes that M&S could be associated with other freight forwarding companies that have recently stopped trading.
TUG is active in recovering money owed to hauliers by Eezee Euro Services, which although still trading, recently closed its clearing house operation. This week Sutton is collecting banker's drafts from Eezee Euro totalling more than £1,000, for money owed to two hauliers, STK Transport and Eagle Trans.
Three Eezee Euro executives have resigned in the past two weeks: director Bernard O'Brien, sales director Brian Sides and transport manager Ray Percival.