A West Yorkshire skip hire company lost its licence when
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it appeared at its third public inquiry in under two years—it was said to I have a "shameful and disgrace ful" record of prohibitions, con victions and VED offences.
North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Tom Macartney disqualified Hinchcliffe Bros Skip Hire (1985), trading as Raven Skip Hire, of Dewsbury, from holding an 0-licence. He warned that he plans to disqualify its directors and transport manager from holding licences for two years.
Last July the company's licence for eight vehicles and two trailers was suspended for three weeks by Deputy TC Brian Homer. That decision was upheld by the Transport Tribunal ( G11427 Jan2 Feb).
Vehicle examiner Amir Shari' said he had inspected two vehicles and a trailer in March and found them to be in a satisfac tory condition. But the four-week inspection interval had been exceeded.
Sherif agreed with Paul Carless, for the company, that the last prohibition had been issued in October, giving nine months without a prohibition.
Traffic examiner Stephen Foster said that in Apri11999 one of the company's vehicles was checked and found to be displaying an 0-licence disc belonging to Cohn Rogerson, trading as Rogerson Transport. In February the company was convicted by Dewsbury magistrates of unauthorised use; using an 0licence identity disc with intent to deceive; using a vehicle without an excise licence; and making a false declaration in order to obtain an excise licence. It was ordered to pay £3,510 in fines, costs and back duty.
Director Rey Hinchcliffe said he had borrowed a wagon from Rogerson and put the company's driver on it. The false declaration arose when he signed a form without reading it. He felt there would be no further maintenance problems because of the "new tackle the company had bought as part of a £200,000 fleet replacement programme.
Hinchcliffe added that the licence suspension had nearly destroyed the business. He felt that in the past nine months he had proved that he had got his act together.
Holding that the company no longer met the requirement to be of good repute, the TC said that it was one of the worst cases he had seen.