1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152 
IC 'exceptionally' returns • impounded truck to owner
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Finance, hire and leasing companies who have had vehicles more than once due to a failure to check a cent's Operator's Licence should expect to see their vehicles scrapped or sold at auction.
This warning was sounded by North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Tom Macartney when he decided "exceptionally' to return a vehicle and trailer to Close Asset Finance of Derby.
The vehicle and trailer had been impounded while being operated by PM& Swindells & Co, of Darlington (CM6-12 June).
Macartney said the impounding of the vehicle and trailer had been valid. Close Asset Finance was the owner and had already had a vehicle impounded on 10 March.
Little, if any, remedial action had been taken to ensure that leases issued prior to January were to operators showing evidence of holding valid 0-licences. Ensuring that old leases were only granted to owners of 0licences would be an administrative chore, but it would not too expensive or time-consuming, the IC added.
In February South Eastern & Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner Christopher Heaps invited finance, hire and leasing companies to take "reasonable steps" within a six-month period to satisfy themselves that clients held valid 0-licences. But if a firm had a truck impounded and failed to put its house in order it could expect any vehicles subsequently seized to be scrapped or sold, despite the six-month period of grace.
Restoring the vehicle and trailer, Macartney said that this was the first case in which a leasing company had had a vehicle impounded on two separate occasions without taking reasonable steps to confirm that an 0-licence existed.
He concluded, exceptionally, that although the impounding had been valid the owner did not know the vehicle and trailer were being used unlawfully.
But he warned that he did not anticipate treating a lease company so lightly in the future.