Immature emails and fronting concerns prompt licence refusal

Chris Tindall
March 14, 2024

A Coalville operator who complained that the traffic commissioner was wasting her time and “ruining people’s lives” has now had an application refused after failing to demonstrate it would not act as a front for a revoked business.

Sarah Saleem’s “immature” emails to the central licensing team in Leeds followed an initial refusal of her application to operate seven vehicles and seven trailers.

Concerns had been raised that SS Green Transport’s application was an intended front for her father’s business, Global Transport Leics, which had its licence taken away.

As part of her second application process, Saleem corresponded with the licensing team and said that the failure to grant her application was “seriously affecting my life” and that the TC was holding her back from “moving forward with my dreams and life”.

She added that it was unacceptable for the TC to behave this way and she was unhappy that he was wasting her time.

At a Cambridge hearing to discuss her second application, this time for five vehicles and five trailers, Saleem said she had been frustrated by the length of time her application was taking and that she had expressed herself “injudiciously”.

Deputy TC Nicholas Denton said he found her to be an impressive person in many ways, including the fact she had qualified as a transport manager at just 19.

But he also said he still had concerns about the firm’s links to her father Mohammed Saleem: “As with the previous inquiry, it seems possible that the application by SS Green Transport might be intended as insurance against the event that the application of Global Transport Leics, also for five vehicles and five trailers, was refused,” he said.

“I was also concerned about the immature tone and content of Ms Saleem’s emails referred to above.

“While I understand that the application process can be a frustrating one, Ms Saleem seemed to have little understanding of the traffic commissioners’ gatekeeper role and the need to ensure that companies whose licences had been revoked could not simply continue using others as a front.”

However, refusing the application, the DTC said it was Saleem’s “complete absence of any business plan” which scuppered the application and forced him to conclude SS Green would not be a genuinely separate business.

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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