The director of a Mold haulage firm has been disqualified for 12 months after the Traffic Commissioner for Wales found she had manipulated the system to allow her business to continue without adhering to licence undertakings.
Abbeylands Transport Ltd also had its licence revoked from 01 April, following the failure of director Vanessa Rogers to attend a public inquiry in Welshpool on 23 March 2017.
Miss Rogers had written to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner (OTC) prior to the hearing to say the business would cease trading on 31 March.
At the inquiry, Nick Jones noted the company had given an undertaking when its licence was granted to have regular audits conducted and forwarded to the OTC. The company failed to submit audit reports on a number of occasions.
Mr Jones found that audits produced by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) had all resulted in a number of recommendations and that far too often the same recommendations were made in successive audits. He said this suggested the recommendations had not been acted upon by the operator.
The Traffic Commissioner also noted the issue of prohibitions against the company’s licence, including an S marked notice after two wheels became detached from a vehicle.
Mr Jones concluded that the company no longer satisfied the mandatory requirements of financial standing and good repute.
