DOT in wrangle over registration
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• A Lancashire haulier is threatening to sue the Department of Transport claiming its agencies gave misleading information and caused unnecessary delays to registration of a truck. He says this cost his company £35,000 in lost revenue. Peter Tickle of Chocley-based Camel International Trucking's problems started when he bought an imported 1976 White Road Commander II tractor unit in 1993, for use on a 28-week Austrian haulage contract. The truck had no documentation and took more than six months to re-register when it was found that another tractor was using the same vehicle registration. Tickle's complaint is against the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Vehicle Inspectorate which, he claims, offered conflicting advice about the use of his vehicle. A DVLA official insisted that it would be illegal to operate the vehicle without a registration document, an annual test certificate or tax. But after finally arranging the paperwork Tickle was told by the VI that as the truck was classified as a new import it need not hove been taken off the road.
In seeking compensation Tickle . applied for a ruling by the Parliamentary Commissioner who won him apologies and the promise of tightened future procedures from the chief executives of both the DVLA and VI.
Tickle remains unimpressed: "If I ran an untaxed vehicle, do you think they'd accept an apology?" he asks. Registration took six months.