Haulier goes for broke
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• A haulier who tried to force a non-paying freight forwarder into bankruptcy so he would get the money he was owed, is advising others in his position to use the same tactic.
Rob Littleton of Unicorn Logistics has finally been paid £4,500 due to him by Federation Freight for international haulage work he completed last year.
He initiated bankruptcy proceedings after Federation Freight refused to pay him, claiming he had not sent the original CMRs and that the load was damaged. Other hauliers have claimed they have not been paid despite sending the original CMRs.
Federation Freight is the forwarder exposed by CM at the end of last year as being the fifth such company run by Jeff Lewis in as many years (CM1925 Nov 1998). Lewis and his son
Michael have had at least 20 County Court Judgments awarded against them.
Lewis has also been disqualified from being a company director until 2006; he is running Federation Freight as a non-limited company.
"The only way to get your money is to threaten him with bankruptcy," says Littleton. "People should be wary when dealing with Jeff Lewis. Make sure the person you are dealing with is really who he says he is. When I first spoke to him he said he was a new company and hadn't been in the forwarding business long."
Lewis claims the original reason for non-payment was due to the load being damaged. He adds that he paid the amount he had originally offered. Lewis also says he is happy to talk to hauliers about his background in the industry.