Disqualification as directors put cash above compliance

Chris Tindall
June 13, 2023

A skip haulage business in Stratford-Upon-Avon has had its licence revoked and its directors disqualified after it prioritised making money over running lorries legally. EP Skips was told it was not fit to hold an O-licence after a public inquiry (PI) was held in Birmingham in the directors’ absence.

Deputy traffic commissioner (TC) Nick Denton called the company, which held a licence authorising three trucks, to the PI after the DVSA submitted a report revealing how the operator was not carrying out preventative maintenance inspections at the promised eight-week intervals. In addition, EP Skips had an ineffective driver defect reporting system.

The DVSA report was prompted by a roadside inspection on one of the company’s vehicles, which found that its MoT had expired. The lorry was also given an S-marked prohibition for an ABS warning light indicating a fault, an inoperative indicator, an illegible registration plate, a worn tyre and an emissions light indicating a malfunction. None of these defects had been recorded.

Neither of the two directors, Edgar and Edward Proctor, attended the inquiry and so the deputy TC said he had proceeded on the basis of the evidence put before him.

In his written decision, Denton said: “Edgar Proctor’s response to DVSA accepted that ‘I have not managed the operation as I should have as my focus has been on getting the vehicles earning money.”

“It is not acceptable for an operator to ignore its undertakings and commitments regarding compliance and legal operation in order to prioritise making money.

“As well as posing a threat to road safety, such an approach constitutes unfair competition against those businesses that comply with the law.

“Because of the conscious decision to prioritise commercial concerns ahead of legality, I find that EP Skips is not a fit company to hold an O-licence.”

Denton added that the company deserved to be put out of business and so he revoked the licence.

Disqualifying the two directors for two years, he concluded: “If they ever wish to re-enter the industry, Edgar and Edward Proctor should use this period to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and will to operate a compliant operation in the future.”

About the Author

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Chris Tindall

Chris Tindall started writing for the haulage and logistics industry in 2002 and has covered a broad range of significant issues, including GPS jamming by criminals, platooning and Brexit.

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