Tribunal dismisses two appeals
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THE APPEAL by C. Cooper Transport, against the decision of the North Western Traffic Area Licensing Authority to refuse them a standard operator's licence, has been dismissed by the Transport Tribunal.
The DLA had not been satisfied that the company was financially sound. The Tribunal agreed.
At the original hearing the Road Haulage Association submitted evidence in support of its objection. It was stated that when Mr Cooper had traded as Appleseed Ltd he had amassed debts of £109,000. At the time of the original hearing Mr Cooper owed Barclays Bank £13,000 under personal guarantee. It was secured by a second mortgage on his home.
Immediately prior to a public inquiry Mr Cooper had a joint account with his wife, in credit to £700. This was boosted by £16,063 before the hearing took place.
In answer to the DLA Mr Cooper had said that the money was a personal loan from his family to help him obtain the licence. He assured the court that the family had no claim on the cash and he was not required to pay interest.
According to Mr Cooper there was no stipulation on when the money had to be repaid.
The DLA said he was not satisfied that the £16,063 was a personal gift with no conditions attached. The Tribunal agreed with this viewpoint.
In its decision the Tribunal says that it is unclear whether the £16,063 was a gift or a loan. This would be of critical importance if the company got into cash flow problems according to the Tribunal's written judgement.