Decision

Decision for RSH Logistics Ltd (application OF2050890)

Published 9 February 2023

0.1 In the Eastern Traffic Area

1. Written Decision of the Deputy Traffic Commissioner

1.1 RSH Logistics Ltd (OF2050890)

2. Background

On 18 November 2021 RSH Logistics Ltd applied for a standard national goods vehicles operator licence for three vehicles and three trailers. The sole director of the company was Carly Ann Badland and the nominated transport manager was Geoffrey Harknett. A limited interim licence for a maximum of six months was granted on 15 March 2022.

On 22 March 2022 one of the company’s vehicles, DX18 HAD, was stopped at the roadside by DVSA. Its driver, Christopher Bachadour, was found to have driven on numerous occasions without a tachograph, thereby making false records.

Owing to the fact that the company appeared not to be capable of ensuring compliance with drivers’ hours rules, and because it had failed to submit satisfactory evidence of financial standing by the due date of 14 July 2022, the senior traffic commissioner proposed – by letter of 26 July 2022 – to refuse the application, with the offer of a public inquiry. The company duly requested a public inquiry, which was arranged for 11 November 2022 in Cambridge. The nominated transport manager on the licence (until the time-limited licence expired), Geoffrey Harknett, was also called.

3. Public inquiry

On 3 November 2022 my clerk received a letter from company director Carly Badland in which she explained that the company was not operating vehicles and did not currently wish to do so. She would therefore not be attending the inquiry.

At around the same time my clerk received a communication from the nominated transport manager Geoffrey Harknett: Mr Harknett explained that the company had never informed him that the interim licence had been granted and that he had therefore never exercised any duties as a transport manager. Ms Badland accepted in her letter that there had been a breakdown in communication between company and transport manager and that she should have informed Mr Harknett in March 2022 that the interim licence had been granted.

Mr Harknett did attend the inquiry. He explained to me that he had checked in December 2021 or January 2022 on the status of the application and seen that it was still under consideration. He accepted that he should have continued to check on the progress of the application was, rather than just rely on the company to inform him. He would not make that mistake again.

4. Conclusions

The company, upon being granted an interim operator licence on 15 March 2022, failed to inform their nominated transport manager of this fact and therefore deliberately and knowingly operated without his professional knowledge and services over the four or so months in which the interim licence had effect. This is not the act of a company of good repute (Section 13A(2)(b) of the 1995 Act refers). The company has consequently lacked a professionally competent transport manager able to exercise continuous and effective management (Section 13A(3) of the 1995 Act refers).

The company has not been able, at any stage of the application process, to satisfy the requirements of financial standing (Section 13A(2)(c) refers).

The fact that driver Bachadour was making so many false tachograph entries without the company’s knowledge also points to a failure to have in place the necessary systems to ensure the observance of rules relating to drivers’ hours and tachographs. I was not therefore satisfied that the criteria in Section 13C(2) had been met.

5. Decision

In the light of the above conclusions, and on the grounds set out therein, I am refusing the application.

Nominated transport manager Geoffrey Harknett is warned that he must in future check carefully progress on any applications with which he is associated and not simply assume that, because he has not been contacted by the prospective operator, the application has failed.

6. Future consideration

Any future application involving RSH Logistics Ltd, Carly Badland or Andrew Badland (there was some suspicion that he may be a shadow director, although the applicant’s failure to attend the inquiry prevented this suspicion from being tested) will need to be referred to a traffic commissioner and considered at a public inquiry. In view of the company’s record of knowingly operating without a transport manager and failing to manage drivers’ hours compliance I would expect it to have considerable difficulty in demonstrating that it has the necessary good repute.

Nicholas Denton

Deputy Traffic Commissioner

11 November 2022