An appeal against a decision by the North West traffic commissioner (TC) to refuse an application by an agricultural haulier after it failed to provide the correct financial information has been dismissed.
However, a tribunal said the TC could have been “more understanding” of the circumstances surrounding Gwendoline and David Greenwood’s application.
The mother and son partnership applied for a licence to transport animals to auctions and better grazing land following the death of Gwendoline’s husband Colin.
The Office of the TC (OTC) contacted the partnership pointing out that the submitted bank statements were unacceptable because they included Colin’s name and it required proof of a change of name, as well as evidence it had ready access to funds to cover one HGV. The deadline for the documents passed and David later wrote to the OTC blaming his bank for the delay and also a postal strike.
The application was refused and so David appealed the decision, pointing out that he lived on a farm without internet banking and was the primary carer for his elderly mother.
But the appeal tribunal said the TC’s decision was not an unreasonable one. “This is an unfortunate case involving not-so-young individuals living deep in a rural part of the country, and who had fairly recently suffered a bereavement,” it explained.
“The TC could have been more understanding of their circumstances. Fundamentally, however, the appellant failed to provide information required for its application within the ample time given by the TC to provide it.”
