LA's black mark warning
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• West Midlands Licensing Authority John Mervyn Pugh has warned that paying fines in instalments could be considered as a black mark on an operator's financial standing.
Penalties imposed by courts were not part of the commercial working of a business and could not be treated as hire purchase payments, he said. Pugh was considering the repute of Alan and Leslie Dean, trading as 3MM's Haulage of Malvern, following convictions for using vehicles without an excise or Operator's Licence. He adjourned the hearing pending the payment of fines and back duty.
Alan Dean admitted that fines and back duty had not been paid off, saying that it did not impose a strain on the business if they were paid by instalments. He said they had enough money to pay off the outstanding sum.
Adjourning the proceedings until May; Mervyn Pugh said he wanted receipts showing full payment of the fines and back duty. He also wanted a detailed breakdown of other money owed by the business. After Dean had said that the firm was only operating one vehicle, though licensed for eight, Mervyn Pugh required a written declaration to that effect and warned that if he was not satisfied that the Deans had retained their good repute, he would have no alternative to revoke the licence.