Industry is plagued by those abusing insolvency laws

2nd September 2010, Page 20

2nd September 2010

Page 20

Page 20, 2nd September 2010 — Industry is plagued by those abusing insolvency laws

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WHAT AN INTERESTING letter from Peter Clarke (CM 19 August). I agree that you should only get one chance for an 0-licence.

This industry is being decimated by people abusing the pre-pack insolvency laws They leave a trail of debt, while often living the high life, only to start again, time after time. These people compete by quoting suicidal rates to customers with no real chance of ever legitimately making a go of their business. Customers are happy to accept discounted prices for haulage services and do not look too closely at the service provider, as the savings that they can gain may be colossal for that short period that the service provider will be in business.

I believe we should overhaul the 0-licence system, making entry into the sector more difficult. The consignor should only be able to ship goods via a company with an 0-licence, not a clearing house or forwarder. Thus if they fail to pay their debts or go into insolvency, they could not get another 0-licence and they would not be able to enter the industry again.

The consignor and consignee should be accountable to regulating bodies such as the police, VOSA and Trading Standards. This would stamp out the cowboys, as the consignee could also be punished if the consignor takes short cuts and they have not done everything necessary to uphold the law.

If these measures were put in place, the industry would be quickly cleaned up and would start to thrive. It would become more professional and legitimate operators would not be driven into the ground.

/tied Thomas Depot manager Switch International