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Licence halved and cut

23rd February 1995
Page 20
Page 20, 23rd February 1995 — Licence halved and cut
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Keywords : Tire, Business / Finance

• Maintenance problems have led to the authorisation on the licence held by Halesowen-based Round Oak Motor Services being cut from 31 trucks and 43 trailers to 16 vehicles and 24 trailers. West Midland LA John Mervyn Pugh has cut the duration of the licence to expire at the end of 1996.

Mervyn Pugh said that a large number of prohibitions had been issued, three of which indicated a significant maintenance failure. An investigation had followed deteriorating annual test results.

Director Stuart McAvoy said that he and the other new directors had taken over the company in April, only 14 weeks before the maintenance investigation, and he felt the vehicle examiner was biased against the new owners.

Vehicle examiner Richard Dickson said that Round Oak had previously had a good record. Since the takeover no satisfactory maintenance records were available and the driver defect reporting system was not working properly. A lot of prohibitions and defect notices had been issued for tyre defects which the drivers were not picking up.

McAvoy said that Round Oak was run down before it was taken over and he did not accept that the new owners were at fault. The previous owners had lost over £200,000 in three years and had been trying to sell the company for two years. They had not bought any new vehicles since 1990; before that they had bought nine Renaults which were not suited to the type of work undertaken. The company had temporarily reduced the fleet to 14 trucks and 24 trailers.

McAvoy undertook to introduce the maintenance system recommended in the West Midland traffic area and promised that the vehicles would be inspected every 21 days.

If the company had to put the entire fleet through a further annual test in a short period it would be an expensive job. Mervyn Pugh said that his duty was to the public; not the commercial interests of the company If McAvoy was saying the company could not afford to put 15 trucks through the annual test it put the company's finances in doubt.

McAvoy said that he and his co-directors owned three garages and were financially sound.


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