Liquidation
In a recent case, Kevin Rooney, Traffic Commissioner for the West of England, made the decision to not only revoke the licence of Mulholland International Limited and to find that Wendy Mulholland the licence holder and transport manager has lost her repute, but to also disqualify her immediately and indefinitely from holding a licence or acting as a transport manager within the UK or EU.
Mulholland International Limited was granted a standard international goods vehicle operator’s licence in March 2018 authorising the use of six vehicles and two trailers. It was called to public inquiry in January 2021 where the commissioner curtailed it to 3 vehicles only having accepted an undertaking for a full systems compliance audit to be carried out by 31 May 2021.
Mulholland Tippers Ltd applied for a standard national licence in June 2020 to authorise four vehicles. The application was determined and refused at the same January 2021 public inquiry.
The compliance audit never happened, and the commissioner discovered that the company entered creditors voluntary liquidation in October 2021 and was estimated to owe £254,715 including HMRC VAT of £80,346 HMRC PAYE of £52,958 and a Bounce-back loan of £37,077.
The commissioner said “Wendy Mulholland treats the tax-paying British public with disdain. This is a three-vehicle operation. How it could possibly have generated such a deficit in such a short period of time is beyond me. It is for the liquidators to undertake their statutory duties in that regard. Wendy Mulholland should not be allowed to continue within the haulage industry.”
Further details can be found here.