R.H.E. an " Aunt Sally" 011ARGES against the Road Haulage
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Executive and counter-charges were exchanged before the Northern -Licensing Authority when Crook and Willington Carriers, Ltd., Bishop Auckland, applied for a licence to operate a low-loading trailer in piece of a vehicle of 2 tons 11 cwt., and to add one vehicle of 4 tons, The application was granted.
Mr. S. C. Cook, of S. C. Cook, Ltd., a Consett haulier, supported the application and said that the R.H.E., which objected, was holding the -country to ransom. He alleged that when his company was fully employed and he tried to hire vehicles from Pick fords, he was told that this was impossible.' When he offered work to . the Executive, an excessively high price was ked.
Mr. Cook said that 10s. per mile was a fair rate, but the R.H.E. refused to .wOrk at .this charge. He hadoffered a job to the R.H.E. at £55 for a distance of less than 100 miles, but the Executive wanted £100. R.H.E. with rate-cutting. Mr. Cook At the same time he charged the had obtained a job from the War Office at £110, but the Executive had quoted £80. This rate was uneconomic, said Mr. Cook, who added that the R.H.E. had extracted business from him on two occasions by quoting allegedly uneconomic rates.'
Refuting Mr. Cook's statements, which he described as baseless, Mr. W. Partington, RILE, area manager, said that the Executive became an Aunt Sally whenever someone lost business to a competitor. The R.H.E. had carried a 26-ton bulldozer from Catteriek to Handforth for £110. S. C. Cook, Ltd., had asked the Executive to carry another bulldozer the same distance for £55. The R.H.E. price was a proper one, said Mr. Partington, As far as holding the country to ransom was concerned, he stated that the Executive recently lost about £8,000 of work -for the Royal Army Service Corps because its rates were too high.