A South Wales operator has had its licence revoked after repeatedly failing to comply with undertakings issued to it following a public inquiry (PI).
Traffic commissioner (TC) Victoria Davies said the persistent failure by Lee Thomas, trading as L Thomas Transport, even after a warning and two appearances before her at hearings, meant that the operator was not of the required level of fitness to hold a licence.
The Maesteg haulier originally appeared at a PI in 2021, where it was issued with a formal warning following serious failings in its systems for maintaining compliance.
Undertakings, which included attending an O-licence training course and arranging for an audit to be carried out on the business, were attached to the licence and Thomas “fully accepted” these instructions, according to the TC. However, the operator was called back to a PI after failing to comply with the undertakings.
The operator attended the hearing and he told TC Davies the failures were due to illness and also because he had been unable to find a course.
He added that he was also confused about what he was meant to do about arranging the audit.
The TC then gave the operator another 14 days to provide sufficient financial standing documentation and book onto a training course.
But when he failed to comply once again, the TC revoked the licence. “Despite being given another chance, Mr Thomas has, yet again, breached the trust placed in him as an operator,” she concluded.
Year: 2019 | Body Type: Panel van | Cab Type: Single Cab | Mileage: 83,743 km | Power: 1,968 bhp | Category: Vans
Year: 2021 | Body Type: Tractor unit | Cab Type: GX | Mileage: 393,402 km | Power: 375 bhp | Category: Tractor units
Year: 2021 | Body Type: Tractor unit | Cab Type: GX | Mileage: 346,915 km | Power: 375 bhp | Category: Tractor units
