TCs quest ion
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
finances of hauliers who factor debts
• by Mike Jewell Traffic Commissioners want to tighten the reins on hauliers who use third parties to control key sections of their businesses.
In particular North Eastern TC Tom Macartney has revealed that TCs are worried that hauliers who use factoring companies might not be considered to be of good financial standing.
And two weeks ago North Western IC Beverley Bell announced she wants to tackle the issue of companies using "professional" transport managers who appear on several licences.
Macartney made his comments at a Durham public inquiry after hearing evidence in private relating to Ian and Lisa James, trading as IAJ Car Transport.
Roger Hird, appearing for the partners, said that concern had been expressed over the fact that the Tyne & Wear-based business was being financed by a factoring arrangement.
There was a time when that was seen as a reasonable way of f nancing a haulage business. But the TO noted that if anything went wrong with a factoring arrangement, "the operator concerned could very quickly become bankrupt".
Macartney said that he was not going to find against IAJ's financial standing because an application had been granted in July on the basis of the factoring agreement, but he warned that he would be seeking the assistance of a financial assessor to give him an overall view of such arrangements.
Beverley Bell says the issue of contracted transport managers who are not directly involved in the day-today running of the business is an area she intends to keep under review over the coming year. You have to ask if they are able to keep an eye on whether the business is running legally," she says.