At a public inquiry on 19 October, West Midlands traffic commissioner Nick Denton heard the firm’s vehicles were caught operating without a licence on three separate occasions this year – one of which was just a few weeks before the inquiry.
Sleeptherapy’s named director Sajad Hussain said he had not been aware of any of the vehicle encounters at the time they had occurred. He had subsequently given drivers warnings but was unable to explain why he had not taken more effective measures to prevent illegal use.
Sajad Hussain accepted that he had not been exercising sufficient control of the company and confirmed that he was not present at an interview with a DVSA examiner. The person who attended the interview had given his name as Sajad Hussain, but the examiner was suspicious about the individual’s true identity.
Hussain told the traffic commissioner the individual who attended the interview must have been Sharez Hussain and that things were happening at the company which he did not know about.
Sharez Hussain was a director of Health Therapy, which had its licence application refused in December 2016 and entered liquidation in April 2017. Two vehicles operated by Health Therapy had been impounded for illegal operation in 2015.
Companies House records revealed the correspondence address for Sharez Hussain as 21 Albion Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham – the same as the registered address for Sleeptherapy Beds.
In his decision, the regulator concluded that Sharez Hussain was “the controlling mind” of Sleeptherapy Beds and had a “disgraceful record”.
“Sleeptherapy Beds has no regard for the law and I therefore cannot trust it to comply in the future,” Denton added.
The regulator asked the DVSA and police to impound the company’s vehicles.
And Sleeptherapy Beds' application for a restricted goods vehicles operator’s licence was refused.
UPDATED 3 November at 10:25 to include the licence refusal.