Exposed: dealer who sold dangerous trucks
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CM has uncovered an Essex dealer who sold trucks with cranes in a dangerous condition, covered by worthless certificates, issued by a company that no longer exists Now the hauliers who bought these vehicles say he must be stopped before someone is killed, writes Charles Young
The dealership was run by Brian Dean Palmer and based at two oil-covered yards in the Colchester area of Essex. Palmer frst hit the headlines when he sold trucks salvaged from the Zeebrugge ferry disaster (see panel, page 6).
In 1995 he was convicted of handling stolen goods including skip-loading platforms, and sentenced to 12 months in jail.
Following an extensive investigation, CM can reveal that this business used to dupe Innocent hauliers into buying shoddily assembled vehicles which were often in a dangerous condition. Palmer currently works for Essex Truck Centre, which is owned by his mother.
Victim one
SG Haulage's experience is one of the worst cases. The Lincolnbased firm bought a secondhand MAN rigid fitted with an old Hiab loading crane from Palmer Commercials for £12,000 at the beginning of 1998.
While the crane was being used the next day to deliver a gas tank its leg collapsed, tipping the truck over. A worker standing nearby escaped injury by a matter of feet.
As far as SG Haulage was concerned the crane should have been sound as it came with a certificate supplied by a Colchester firm called Lift 'n' Shift. The company's certificate purported to show that tests had been carried Out in accordance with the Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers and Importers' (ALLMI) Code of Practice.
What SG Haulage didn't know was that: • Lift 'n Shift was dissolved back in 1997; • Lift n Shift was never a member of ALLMI; • Lift 'n' Shift was run by Brian Palmer's father (also called Brian), but the tests themselves were carried out by Brian Palmer junior.
SG Haulage's Steve Gaunt later took the crane and truck to be tested by an independent garage. This inspection found, among other things, that the crane needed a new pump. The old one was leaking so much that it took seven gallons to top up— another buyer reports she also bought a certified crane but had to spend money to cure a leak.
Gaunt could have taken the vehicle and crane back to Palmer as he had offered a fouryear driveline warranty. But his experience of buying the truck in the first place had put him off Palmer altogether. The truck had taken three attempts to pass its annual test and was a week late for collection. This had already cost Gaunt a valuable contract.
Palmer claimed it had passed the test on the second attempt and that the reason for the delay was a bank draft which hadn't cleared. Gaunt, however, had checked with the testing station which confirmed the truck had failed its second test. He also checked the bank draft, and found it had gone through.
When he eventually collected the truck, it was found to have serious faults. At least one of these—bald spots on the front tyres—would have caused it to fail the test. Gaunt suspects fresh tyres might have been put on the truck to get it through the test before being replaced by worn ones.
Gaunt's reluctance to deal with Palmer had grown further due to the abusive nature of Palmer's phone manner.
The garage that inspected the truck for Gaunt, Lincolnbased A&,G Commercials, told CM it couldn't believe the state of the truck. "It was pathetic," says director Adrian Forman. "It looked as if
it had been put together from second-hand bits and wasn't fit to be on the road."
Gaunt himself says Palmer must be stopped. "Somone will end up getting killed because of his negligence...maybe that's what it will take."
Gaunt's finance company has since repossessed the truck and plans to sue Palmer.
Victim two
Yorkshire haulier George Pollard's Leyland Oaf sixwheeler was bought for £17,566 from Palmer Commercials on condition that certain work would be carried out before delivery and that it would be supplied with new annual test and crane certificates.
Once the money was paid, via a Cardiff finance firm, Pollard dispatched a fitter to collect the truck. However, when it arrived, it soon became clear all was not well. "The Daf was leaking oil from all over the place and none of the repairs had been carried out," says Pollard.
There was an annual test certificate but no crane certificate. Despite a series of phone calls, the certificate never arrived.
Pollard called out the local Vehicle Inspectorate examiner, who declared the truck too dangerous to move.
A subsequent inspection carried out by independent engineers H Rook of Leeds uncovered a catalogue of faults; they included dangerous brakes, an unroadworthy tyre and an insecure chassis crossmember. Worst of all, the wheel had been welded to the axle.
The crane's hydraulic fluid reservoir was found to be damaged and arm pivot pin securing bolts were of the wrong type or missing. The report concludes that the vehicle had been "cosmetically prepared for sale to give a false impression of its actual condition".
Shocked at the state of the truck, Pollard's fitter, David Lane, wrote to the Chelmsford testing station asking them to explain how it had been issued with an annual test certificate just hours before it was picked up with dangerous brakes.
After a delay, regional manager Frank Ashurst wrote back with some surprising results. He said there was no evidence that most of the faults were present at the tests—although he did admit that a mistake had been made with the braking test results, which should have resulted in a fail. The tester involved was later disciplined.
Ashurst later told CM "As a result of this incident we have applied more rigorous standards of control to vehicles from the same source."
Since buying the vehicle Pollard has spent £1,200 replacing the welded axle, and £3,600 making the crane safe. "This episode has been a nightmare and has cost us a fortune in replacement parts, time and solicitor's fees," says Pollard.
"Palmer describes the vehicles as in excellent condition," he adds. it's just not the case, and he has got to be stopped."
All attempts by Pollard and his solicitor to return the truck and get his money back have met with no response.
Background
Palmer has run truck businesses under various names dating back more than a decade.
John Boyce of Liverpoolbased Tilleys bought 30 skips from Palmer in the late '80s at a cost of .25,000. He believes the firm was called Pal Truck at the time. When the bank draft for the sale had cleared, Boyce sent down a couple of his employees to pick up the skips. One of them called from the yard and voiced concerns about the appearance of a couple of the skips but Boyce went ahead anyway.
Judging from other Palmer customers we have spoken to, he didn't have much choice once the draft had cleared.
When they arrived in Liverpool he discovered that only the top and bottom skips in the piles had bottoms—the rest had completely corroded. Boyce's attempts to get his money back proved fruitless. "I put it down to being a mug in the end," he says. "By that time he had changed the firm's name to Essex Commercials. There are plenty of rogues and thieves around, and this bloke is hiding behind the Company's Act."
Palmer's last venture, and the one that Gaunt and Pollard dealt with, was called Palmer Commercials. It was run as a non-limited company: Palmer says he is currently bankrupt.
He adds that he is now working as a delivery driver for his mother, who is the director of Essex Truck Centre. But whenever CM has rung up or visited the firm, it is Palmer who deals with the enquiry.
The yard
When CM visited Essex Truck Centre's yard in Hythe Quay, Colchester (there is another yard in Weeley, Clacton-on-Sea) it was exactly as it had been described to us.
Posing as potential buyers, we found the yard soaked in diesel— the fumes were overpowering. There were engines lying around and the only activity seemed to be spray painting.
One of the sprayers commented to us: "I only do a couple of days a week. Most sprayers would take one look at this place and run a mile."
Palmer later told CM that this yard had been shut down months ago. When we told him we had been there he retracted this claim and said it had probably been used as "a meeting place".
An ex-vehicle examiner who accompanied us said he definitely wouldn't buy the truck we went to look at. Although the vehicle was covered by a fourmonth-old annual test certificate the engine was leaking diesel ("it must have a pipe loose," said Palmer) and the brake warning light came on during a brief drive. The vehicle examiner's opinion was that the brake system was leaking.
He pointed out that this wouldn't have made it fail the test—as long as it had been topped up just beforehand.
Adverts
CM Truckmart has been trying to avoid taking ads from anyone who has anything to do with Brian Palmer. Ironically, this has nothing to do with any allegations as to the quality of the trucks but is because Palmer has not paid his bill.
During this investigation, however, CM has discovered that Palmer got round this by paying another person to place the ads. There are no names in the advert. Palmer claims he is now paying off his debt to CM