Decision

Decision for Groundform Piling Limited

Published 30 November 2021

1. TRAFFIC COMMISSIONER’S DECISION

1.1 Groundform Piling Limited OK2043070

2. Decision (27 October 2021)

Pursuant to adverse findings under section 26(1)(b), (c)(ii), (c)(iii), (f) and (h) of the 1995 Act, the operator no longer meets the requirements of sections 13B, 13C and 13D of the 1995 Act. Accordingly, Licence OK2043070 Groundform Piling Limited is revoked with immediate effect.

Groundform Piling Limited and sole director Chris George Curran (also known as Christopher), dob November 1962, are disqualified from holding or obtaining an Operator Licence or being engaged in the management, administration or control of any entity that holds or obtains such a Licence in Great Britain with immediate effect for a period of 7 (seven) years, as per section 28 of the 1995 Act.

3. Reasons (confirmed in writing 19 November 2021)

4. Background and approach.

There is clear and consistent case law from the Upper Tribunal that I am entitled to treat the conduct of a Sole Director effectively as the conduct of the Limited Company and repute or fitness is determined accordingly. Such an approach has received approval from the appellate tribunal on a number of occasions, including 2013/008 Vision Travel International Limited and T2013/61 Alan Michael Knight. As well as the operator licensing obligations, a company director must exercise his or her statutory duties of demonstrating independent judgement, skill, care, and diligence, as per sections 173 and 174 Companies Act 2006).

Groundform Piling Limited holds a restricted Licence for one vehicle and one trailer granted on 6 May 2021. The sole Director is Chris George Curran. His date of birth was given on the application form as 01/11/1962. No Chris Curran with that of birth is registered on VOL as holding or being involved in a previous Licence and therefore the application was granted under delegation. It subsequently came to light that the Director had an adverse licence history: -

OK2008062 Christopher George Curran T/A CCC Skips granted on 06 December 2017 authorised for 1 vehicle. Transport Manager Dane Joseph emailed on 25 October 2019 claiming he had not been paid for two months and requested to be removed from the licence records. A loss of Transport Manager letter was sent to the operator on 30 October 2019, no response was received and a revocation letter was sent to the operator on 05 December 2019. A further letter was sent to the operator by my office on 05 December 2019 stating, “The Traffic Commissioner has noted that you are also the Director of CC Skips Ltd and has asked me to remind you that neither you nor the company have authority to operate in scope vehicles”. A check on Companies House confirms CC Skips Ltd was incorporated on 05 October 2018 and Mr Christopher George Curran was the sole director from 17 October 2019. The company was dissolved on 06 April 2021. The company has never held an Operator’s Licence.

OK2032692 CC Construction (London) Ltd application received 01 May 2020 seeking authorisation for 3 vehicles. The applicant failed to respond to requests for further information and the application was refused on 04 January 2021. The Director on the application was Stephen Brown. The operating centre was the same as licence OK2043070 Groundform Piling Ltd. Emails were received in relation to the application by my office from the director Mr Stephen Brown and Mr Chris Curran (who was not a listed director on the licence) chasing the application. Mr Curran forwarded details of the Licensing Caseworker in Leeds to a Met Police officer who in turn emailed licensing on 17 June 2020 with the following query “I have been dealing with Mr Curran who is attempting to retrieve his vehicle. He is unable to obtain insurance as he has no operators licence. Can you advise me if his application is being processed and how long it normally takes ?”

A Police Report was received dated 30 August 2020. The document confirms that vehicle PN08AOW was stopped on 19 May 2020 with no tax, no insurance and it was not listed on any Operator Licence. Christopher Curran joined the Police at roadside and claimed an application had been made OK2032692 C C Construction (London) Ltd and the director Stephen Brown should have arranged insurance. Subsequently the Police pound did not carry out extensive insurance checks and the vehicle was released. The vehicle was stopped again by the Police again on 26 May 2020 for no insurance and operating a heavy goods vehicle without an Operator’s Licence. The director Mr Brown was interviewed on 17 June 2020 and said that he was the Director, but he doesn’t own the company, Mr Curran does and that records on Companies House details are incorrect. Mr Brown claimed that he had not applied for an Operator’s Licence. The Police report includes “Mr Curran has gone behind his back and stitched him up to apply for an operators licence because he was unable to obtain one… Mr Brown has been charged with the offence of permitting no insurance twice and operating a heavy goods vehicle without a licence. The Vehicle was seized and authorised for disposal”.

A check on Companies House at the time the Public Inquiry brief was prepared confirmed shortly after the application was refused Mr Christopher George Curran was appointed as Director on 06 January 2021 and Stephen Brown resigned. The above information indicates Mr Curran was a De Facto or shadow director in 2020. The status of the company says “Active - proposal to strike off”, with accounts overdue. Companies House also confirmed Chris George Curran is sole director of Groundform Skips & Grabs Ltd incorporated 12 May 2021 and the company status is “Active”. No Operator Licence is held in this company name and the registered address is the same Groundform Piling Ltd

The initial application for this licence was received on 24 March 2021. It is now known that Mr Curran’s application details were changed from his previous sole trader licence details. His name was previously listed as Christopher George Curran and on this licence is Chris George Curran. The date of birth previously was given as 22 November 1962 but, on this application/licence record it is 01 November 1962. On the application he failed to complete his previous licence history in Section 11. The licence was therefore granted without the usual checks being completed due to the information provided.

An application to increase vehicle authorisation was received by my office 22 days after the grant of the licence. Letters were sent from my office dated 08 June 2021 and 29 July 2021 chasing details of large deposits into the bank account. A document was uploaded onto the records by self service on 05 August 2021 stating “Payments are all from customers and are not loans”. Written permission was subsequently received for consultants Leafe’s Logistics Ltd to act on the Operator’s behalf.”

The Operator requested an increased authorisation from 1 vehicle to 6 vehicles. Due to the size of the increase a pre-arranged DVSA Maintenance Investigation was carried out on 22 July 2021. The following shortcomings were found:-

a. No first use inspection for RF15 EXL

b. No VOR system in place

c. No safety defect & recall system in place

d. No system to monitor walkround checks

e. No maintenance contract in place at time of visit

f. No ad-blue monitoring system

g. No Wheel & Tyre management system

h. No driver training/toolbox talk policy (albeit no drivers currently employed)

i. Vehicle RF15 EXL issued a prohibition at the inspection

The Vehicle Examiner noted “Mr Curran has shown ineffective control, as no systems were in place. But he has taken on the services of Leafes logistics Ltd”. A response and further evidence were subsequently received from the Operator. The Examiner noted a maintenance contract was in place and had been seen, Ad-blu, wheel and tyre systems monitoring systems, load security/toolbox talks were all in place via HS Direct. Mr Curran advised he would attend a New Operator Seminar and the issues around the prohibition had been taken up with the vehicle supplier. Due to consultants Leafes Logistics being on holiday, Mr Curran used the help of another consultant Peter Gibbs from HGV Help who helped compose the reply. The Vehicle Examiner was concerned the Operator would rely heavily on third parties for compliance with the Operator Licence.

Due to the above matters, I decided to call this Operator to Public Inquiry.

5. Hearing

The Public Inquiry was heard on Wednesday 27 October 2021 at 2.30pm. After enquiries with my Clerk I am satisfied that the call in letter and bundle were properly served. Similarly, the further Police Statement dated 23 September 2021 and also the Police Statement dated 5 October 2021. No emails were returned as undeliverable. None of the letters or Public Inquiry bundle were returned by Royal Mail. The statement of PC Hull sent by tracked delivery was signed for on 28 September 2021 by someone with a sense of humour – “A BAILIFF”.

My clerk had also sent a chasing email to the Director on 20 October 2021 pointing out that the finances and compliance documentation were required seven days before the hearing. My clerk also telephoned the number on VOL for the company at 3.30pm on 20 October 2021 chasing the attendance sheet and the requested documentation. Nothing at all was heard from the Operator in relation to these various communications and therefore as everything had been served, I decided to proceed with the hearing in Mr Curran’s absence.

At the conclusion of the hearing, I indicated my decision with reasons to follow as at that point I formed the view that immediate revocation was the only way to protect public safety.

Evidence

The evidence is set out in the Public Inquiry bundle and the additional Police Statements referred to above. In the absence of anything from Mr Curran they remain un-challenged and I accept that evidence.

In terms of the additional Police Witness Statements these can be summarised as follows:-

• Statement 23 September 2021 – sets out the previous encounter history of vehicles operated by Mr Stephen Brown and Mr Chris Curran with no valid insurance Mr Stephen Brown pleaded guilty on 19 November 2020 to the following offences:-

i. 19/05/20 – permitting vehicle PN08OAW to be driven with no insurance of Operator Licence;

ii. 26/05/20 – permitting use of vehicle PN08OAW with no insurance

• Stop on 4 March 2020 of vehicle KX08ZTC with no insurance, test certificate, notified as off road and not specified on a valid Operators Licence. The driver advised he was employed by Chris Curran, C C Construction. Mr Curran claimed he was in the process of applying for a Licence, a search showed a revoked Licence OK2008062. Mr Curran also claimed he had insurance in placed but the policy commenced on 29/01/20 and was cancelled on 28/02/20. Mr Curran was subsequently found on 9 March 2020 to be driving a Ford Transit FN68ZMZ whilst disqualified. The vehicle also had no insurance. Mr Curran subsequently attended court and pleaded guilty. He was further disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 34 months, a community order and collection order was also made.

• Statement 5 October 2021 – vehicle RF15EXL was stopped on 4 October 2021 showing licence disc OK2043070 Groundform Piling Ltd. Analysis of tachograph data identified several infringements. The vehicle was using red diesel. Further checks by DVSA Vehicle Examiner identified the vehicle was not the same colour as registered, the vehicle was not displaying the correct registration plates. The plate associated with the chassis number was EU14PXJ, also registered to Groundform Piling Ltd. EU14PXJ was notified as off road, untaxed with an insurance policy for O’Grady Plant & Haulage Ltd. The driver advised he was working for Essex Services at Baldwins Farm, checks show Licence OF2028895 Essex Services Ltd was revoked.

In answer to my questions at the hearing Vehicle Examiner Abbott confirmed that the vehicle he inspected was a red DAF and therefore the registration plates had been swapped subsequently.

6. Conclusions

Without any alternative explanation from Mr Curran, I find that he deliberately shortened his name and changed the day of his birth to obtain a Licence. This was no mere typographical error bearing in mind he failed to disclose his history with the revoked Licence and refused application. Further Mr Curran obtained this Licence with no intention of improving his attitude to compliance and road safety. His recent conviction for driving whilst disqualified demonstrates his contempt for the law extends beyond operator licensing. It is individuals like Mr Curran that undermine the purpose of Operator Licensing, importantly road safety but equally significant fair competition – a level playing field for the benefit of all Operators. This was set out by the then Transport Tribunal as long ago as 2006 in 2006/277 Fenlon: “It has been said on many occasions that trust is one of the foundation stones of operator licensing. Traffic Commissioners must be able to trust operators to comply with all the relevant laws, rules and regulations because it would be a physical and financial impossibility to police every aspect of the licensing system all day and every day. In addition operators must be able to trust other operators to observe the relevant laws, rules and regulations. If trust between operators breaks down and some operators believe that others are obtaining an unfair commercial advantage by ignoring laws, rules or regulations then standards will inevitably slip and the public will suffer.”

The Upper Tribunal helpfully restated the relevant legal principles relating to the purposes of the licensing regime in NT/2013/082 Arnold Transport and Sons Limited. I remind myself that the grant of an Operator’s Licence does not mean that an Operator can then proceed on the basis that the requirements to obtain a Licence can be disregarded upon grant. The Upper Tribunal are clear in terms of the 1995 Act and linked Regulations that these are continuing obligations, which an Operator is required to meet throughout the life of the Licence. It is implicit in the powers given to Traffic Commissioners that intervention can take place at any time and for any reasonable cause. In its decision, the Upper Tribunal explicitly underlines “if at any time”. The Upper Tribunal goes on to repeat the well-established principle that Operator Licensing is based on trust and Traffic Commissioners must feel able to trust operators to comply with all relevant parts of the Operator Licensing regime. In addition, other operators must be able to trust their competitors to comply with the requirements, otherwise they will no longer compete on a level playing field. In the view of the Upper Tribunal this reflects the general public interest in ensuring that Heavy Goods Vehicles are properly maintained, are safely driven and used for lawful purposes.

There are no meaningful positives. This case falls into the SEVERE category as provided for in Annex 4 of the Senior Traffic Commissioner in his Guidance Document No.10: The Principles of Decision Making and the Concept of Proportionality: Deliberate or reckless act(s) that compromised road safety and/or gave the operator a clear commercial advantage and/or operator caused or permitted driver offending and/or any attempt by the operator to conceal offences or failings. Mr Curran lied to get a Licence and then proceeded to operate unsafely at will. He has not co-operate with this Inquiry. This is on the back of a previous adverse Licence and courts history.

I have reminded myself that deterrence is relevant to TC decision making. In 2007/459 KDL European Ltd the Transport Tribunal said: “We are satisfied of the need “to make an example of the operator so as to send a warning to the industry as a whole”. This is consistent with the approach by the five-judge Court of Session in the Thomas Muir case (see paragraph 2(xiii) above) where deterrence is expressly mentioned (“in particular for the purpose of deterring the operator or other persons from failing to carry out their responsibilities under the legislation”). This is not by way of punishment per se but, as Lord Cullen said, is “in order to assist in the achievement of the purpose of the legislation”. We answer the question posed in 2002/17 Bryan Haulage (No.2) “is the conduct such that the operator ought to be put out of business” in the affirmative. And we judge this at the date not only of the public inquiry but also of the appeal. This is a bad case and we hope that the message sent out will be clear to all.” In 2019/025 John Stuart Strachan t/a Strachan Haulage the Upper Tribunal confirmed the relevance of deterrent action: “one of the aims of the regime is deterrence, both for the appellant and for operators as a whole, who might be tempted to flout the system”.

Mr Curran has shown a reckless disregard for anything other than his own personal and commercial needs over recent years and it must be stopped. Mr Curran clearly cannot be trusted to be truthful or operate compliantly and I have no hesitation in finding that the Operator is no longer fit to hold a Licence. I have no evidence that there are now satisfactory systems to meet the Licence conditions and undertakings and no financial documentation was lodged to demonstrate financial resources. In my judgement it is entirely appropriate and proportionate to put Groundform Piling Limited out of business if that is the ultimate outcome of this decision.

7. Disqualification:

I refer to 2010/29 David Finch Haulage: “The principles that derive from these and other cases on the point can be simply stated. The imposition of a period of disqualification following revocation is not a step to be taken routinely, but nor is it a step to be shirked if the circumstances render disqualification necessary in pursuit of the objectives of the operator licensing system. Although no additional feature is required over and above the grounds leading up to revocation, an operator is entitled to know why the circumstances of the case are such as to make a period of disqualification necessary. Additionally, periods of disqualification can range from comparatively short periods to an indefinite period, and can be confined to one traffic area or be extended to more than one.” Mr Curran’s history shows that he is mendacious and manipulative to a point where disqualification is appropriate and necessary. It is in the public interest for Mr Curran to be prevented from legitimately entering into commercial vehicle operations. He has demonstrated an absence of respect for the police, DVSA, Traffic Commissioners and the courts. Mr Curran and those like him undermine the professional, hardworking legitimate operators that make up the majority.

The Senior Traffic Commissioner in his Guidance Document No.10: The Principles of Decision Making and the Concept of Proportionality at paragraph 103 suggests that the starting point for disqualification following a first public inquiry is one to three years. I have taken a higher starting point with the bracket of five to ten years in the circumstances of this case. In my judgement a disqualification of 7 years properly reflects my concerns.

7.1 Addendum

After Mr Curran was notified of my decision set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, he wrote to my office as follows (demonstrating he was fully aware of the hearing): We were never going to get a fair hearing so what was the point of wasteing money for lawyers etc yous sort of people take great delight in putting little small companies down and Mr Richard Hull was determined to put us out of business. I was never going to get a fair hearing it’s that simple Chris Curran

Sarah Bell

Traffic commissioner for London & South East.