Haulage firm director disqualified indefinitely for gross and repeated fraud08 November 2013

The former director of Sheerness-based haulier LVH Services has been disqualified indefinitely after it was ruled he had behaved in a "shameful manner" and had run a fraudulent and incompetent vehicle operation.

Stephen Pennington sidestepped his responsibilities to keep vehicles safe and ensure drivers were working legally, an industry regulator concluded.

During a hearing in Eastbourne, Nicholas Denton (pictured), traffic commissioner for London and the South East, was told of a catalogue of failings, including: missing tachograph records; vehicles operating without valid tax discs; and missing routine safety inspection records.

In addition, cheques to the value of £8,000 for 16 tax discs were not honoured by LVH. The company had previously been prosecuted and fined for failing to pay for vehicle excise duty on seven occasions, with more prosecutions pending. Between September 2011 and March 2013, 19 vehicles had been prohibited due to defects, including one for a missing brake drum.

The matters came to light following investigations by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). In March, examiners visited the company's operating base in Sheerness and found issues with vehicle maintenance procedures and driver record keeping.

The firm's transport manager Vivienne Swann could only produce a few tachograph charts – as a result, more than 13,000km of mileage was unaccounted for. Other aspects of her role were not performed correctly and the commissioner ruled she should be disqualified.

With regard to Pennington, the commissioner added: "By presiding over a fraudulent and incompetent operation, he has shown that he is unfit to be the director of a transport operator company. He has refused to explain or defend his actions. Indefinite disqualification is therefore entirely proportionate."

The firm's licence to run 25 vehicles and 25 trailers was revoked with immediate effect.

Author
Laura Cork

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