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Firm threatens to quit Spain over rip-off cops
Page 10
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Spanish police made a British operator pay €9,000 in cash for a technical tachograph offence. David Harris reports.
THE MANAGERS AT a Gloucester haulage firm are so angry about the way Spanish police treated one of its drivers that they are considering stopping all services to the country.
Nigel Powell Transport ran into trouble earlier this month when one of its trucks was stopped and the driver was fined €9,000 (16,200) for a tacho offence.
What upset the firm was not just the size of the fine but the fact that the Spanish police demanded cash and stopped the truck from moving from Villa Real until they got it.
Transport manager Steve Jones says: "We tried to get the address of somewhere we could pay the money to centrally but they refused to give it to us. In the end the boss, Nigel Powell, flew out to Spain to pay the fine because of course the drivers don't carry that sort of cash." Jones says transferring the money to a Spanish bank was difficult -Powell had hoped to secure a 25% reduction in the fine by paying quickly.
Jones adds: "It all seemed a bit ridiculous, particularly because the truck was double-manned, they still had eight hours' driving permitted and all they had done was forget to switch the charts. The truck was stuck in Spain for a week before Powell got there and paid the fine. Now he is planning another trip to Spain to try to secure his 25% discount.
Jones adds that the Spanish police have been nitpicking over the smallest regulations recently. -They have even been fining people €600 for not having dust caps," he says.