News

A Traffic Commissioner has revoked a haulage company's licence and disqualified the managing director after a VOSA investigation uncovered large-scale fraudulent use of tachograph charts.

South-Eastern and Metropolitan TC Philip Brown also revoked 11 drivers' licences after they demonstrated "collective memory loss" regarding their reasons for the fraud at Al-Le Logistics.

VOSA swooped on the company, which has a licence for 20 vehicles and  20 trailers, following a fatal road accident in June 2005 that led to the death of one of the company's drivers.

Officers seized 1,500 charts and documents which revealed numerous falsification offences. CCTV evidence indicated there was fraudulent use of the recording equipment, which involved the majority of the operator's drivers. Dates were altered and tachos had been disabled. Thirteen drivers were interviewed and 12 were eventually prosecuted.

MD Alan Bennett insisted he was unaware of the drivers' fraud, concluding: "I can hold my hand on my heart and say I did not knowingly know what was going on."

However, the TC said the weight of evidence against Bennett was so great that it "stretches credibility to an extent that I am able to give very little weight to his testimony" and found that the company deserved to be put out of business. He also found that transport manager Michael Godden had lost his repute.

A total of 110 convictions were recorded against  12 drivers and fines and costs totalling £17,000 were imposed against them. The TC concluded that their inability to provide a satisfactory explanation for the offences meant 11 weren't fit to hold a licence.