Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Two builders merchants in the West Midlands have had their HGV licences revoked by the Traffic Commissioner following regulatory action against them.
M K Builders Merchants, which held a restricted operator’s licence, was found to have a very poor maintenance record and almost no understanding of the rules. The company had given assurances that it would improve compliance after a DVSA investigation had reported problems in 2019. However, no effective action was taken and Nick Denton, the Traffic Commissioner, revoked the company’s licence, and disqualified the company and its director from holding a licence for 12 months.
HRA Builders Merchant, had already started to operate goods vehicles before its application for a standard national licence had been granted in September 2021, failed to respond to requests for an explanation and failed to appear at the public inquiry. The company’s licence was therefore revoked and the directors and the company were disqualified indefinitely from holding such a licence in the future.
Denton said that M K Builders Merchant might be able to survive using third party haulage or smaller vehicles. “But if it cannot, then this will be a merited outcome for non-compliance on this scale and over such a period of time.” Of HRA Builders Merchants, he said: “The operator is not of good repute. It has operated vehicles without authority to do so. Its failure to respond to a request for simple tachograph information and to appear at inquiry show that it is not interested in engaging with the regulatory process.”
