Upper Tribunal finds TC was right to revoke Euro Skips’ O-licence

The Upper Tribunal has found that traffic commissioner (TC) Nick Denton was right to take a skip firm’s O-licence away last year after it was discovered fronting for a revoked operator. 

At a public inquiry (PI) in October, Greenford, west London-based Euro Skips was found to have been used as a vehicle to allow Liam Moloney Plant Hire to continue operating after the loss of its O-licence a few months previously. 

Euro Skips director Thomas Ryan was disqualified for two years. Liam Moloney was disqualified for three years, backdated to 13 September 2015.

The PI was told that vehicles, drivers and administrative staff were transferred to Euro Skips, which operated out of the same site as Liam Moloney Plant Hire, shortly before the plant hire firm was called to a hearing in August. No payment was made for the vehicles and the insurance and registered keeper details remained with Liam Moloney Plant Hire.

The TC determined that the vehicles were transferred to Euro Skips to hide that Liam Moloney Plant Hire was operating more vehicles than its O-licence allowed. The PI was also told that:

• Euro Skips did not have the required finance for its O-licence, with no bank account until September last year, no funds in its account for most of that month and no overdraft facility;
• Prohibitions had been issued for insecure tailgate fittings, both stop lamps inoperative, and a tachograph not properly sealed;
• A fixed penalty was issued to a driver who did not have his Driver CPC.

The offences came to light when Euro Skips applied to increase its fleet authorisation to 20 vehicles over two O-licences.

During the appeal hearing, Euro Skips’ lawyer argued that the TC did not apply the legal test of who the operator was when he came to the decision that Euro Skips was not running the vehicles specified on its O-licence. The

Upper Tribunal found, however, that the TC made it clear what he meant by the word “front”. 

It noted that as early as May 2015, Liam Moloney Plant Hire’s in-house maintenance provider was completing PMI sheets for its vehicles in Euro Skips’ name.

“It is implicit in the TC’s analysis of the evidence… that Euro Skips was not the operator of the vehicles but rather that [Liam Moloney] Plant Hire was and that accordingly, it was Plant Hire and Mr Moloney who were controlling the drivers, whether by himself or through his staff,” said judge Jacqueline Beech in her decision last month.

She added that the Upper Tribunal struggled to find any positive feature that the TC could have taken into account when weighing up what decision to make.

The appellant also presented a case that Ryan was not given fair and reasonable notice that the TC would be considering the fronting suggestion at the PI, which was also disproved by the Upper Tribunal.

The Upper Tribunal found that two years was a suitable length of disqualification for Ryan, but reduced Moloney’s disqualification period to two years and 10 months.