T1R trouble ove
Page 6
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Community permits
• A row has broken out between hauliers and the International Road Freight Office over its decision to withdraw up to 500 annual EC permits and replace them with monthly ones.
Ken Beavis of Grimsbybased Bondalpha Haulage says the IRFO has written asking him to return his EC book, which entitled him to make an unlimited number of trips between Community countries for a year.
Instead he, and the other hauliers affected, will have to apply every month for a new book, at the same time as they return their used permits.
The IRFO says it has had to review its allocation system for EC permits because a number of annual permits were not being used sufficiently, leaving operators with international work unable to get the necessary permits.
But reefer specialist Beavis fears that in the busy run-up to Christmas his trucks could be left stranded because his new monthly permits have not arrived.
"It means the onus is back on the haulier," he says, "as if we didn't have enough work on our plates as it is. Now we're going to have to worry each month about getting an application in and it arriving in time." Beavis sends a truck to most countries in Western Europe using his EC permits.
"What happens if the truck is out of the country for two weeks and we can't get the driver's permit to him — or if you have a truck with 215,000 worth of load loaded up in your yard and no permit?" he asks. "Commercially the whole system is a shambles."
Beavis says he has been selected at random by the IRFO.
He points out that he made 42 EC journeys between January and October, and he has sent back his used permits promptly each time.
"If my situation is not reviewed, I'm going to make a big case of it," warns Beavis, who has one other truck going to France regularly using a yearly bilateral permit. He also uses owner-drivers as subcontractors, and says their annual permits have not been recalled.
David Jefferson, manager of the IRFO in Newcastle, refuses to discuss individual cases. He says the recalls affect 20% of the 2,480 EC permits granted by the Commission for 1990 and 1991, adding that this is the first time the IRFO has made such a move. He adds: "We are trying to make use of the EC permits so the best users benefit. We haven't actually withdrawn any permits."
Many EC permits are not being used, says Jefferson.
This way, if the permits are used well, people can actually end up with more."