Decision

Decision for LPL Transport Ltd (OH2016465)

Published 14 May 2021

0.1 LPL TRANSPORT LTD

0.2 OH2016465

1. PUBLIC INQUIRY IN BRISTOL

1.1 1 MARCH 2021

2. BACKGROUND

LPL Transport Ltd is the holder of a standard national goods vehicle operator’s licence authorising the use of three vehicles and three trailers. The sole director and shareholder is Mr Lukasz Zbigniew Prozny. The licence was applied for in August 2018 and granted that October.

On 3 May 2019, DVSA Traffic Examiner (TE) David Young called and emailed LPL Transport Ltd (OH2016465) to try to arrange a visit. No response was received so TE Young contacted a former transport manager who provided another contact number for the operator. On 10 June 2019, TE Young called the second contact number and a company administrator picked up. TE Young was advised that Lukasz Prozny was unavailable to talk but he would respond via email to arrange a date.

By 10 July 2019, the operator had still not responded to any visit requests. Consequently, TE Young emailed the operator to inform them that he would be conducting his visit the following day. The operator responded stating Mr Prozny was busy and unavailable until 23 July 2019. TE Young then emailed to inform the operator he would be carrying out the visit on 24 July 2019. Shortly before the visit, Mr Prozny emailed to claim he was unavailable for the visit due to a car accident.

A letter was then sent on 13 September 2019, requesting an appointment within 2 weeks. A response was received on 30 September 2019 with a proposed date of 08 October 2019. This date was agreed. On 07 October 2019, an email was received stating that the meeting would have to be cancelled and rearranged.

Due to the operator repeatedly avoiding contact and cancelling appointments, TE Young was unable to carry out his investigation.

Further issues emerged relating to the transport manager as well as links to licences which have been revoked. The operator has not had a nominated transport manager from 20 September 2019 when Ms Elena Damian was removed to 23 September 2020, when Mr Christopher Watkins was nominated. Correspondence received on 19 September 2019 suggested that Elena Damian never actually acted as transport manager for LPL Transport despite being named on the licence between July and September 2019. Ms Damian claims she was added to LPL Transport’s licence and ECLlogistics’ (OK2023677) licence without her consent. She apparently contacted the operator to remove her from the licence.

Ms Damian produced a further statement regarding the matter, dated 17 March 2020, which suggested she had been speaking to someone called ‘Sylwia’ at LPL Transport. I believed it possible that this may be Sylwia Repec, who was previously named on Andy Transport Ltd’s (OH1128691) revoked licence. LPL Transport and Andy Transport share the same addresses on Companies House and vehicle EK63 XTO has been named on both licences in the past.

On 23 September 2020, an application was made to add Chris Watkins to LPL Transport Ltd’s licence. Chris Watkins was unaware of this until he received a notification from the online system. Chris Watkins stated that he had never provided the company with his details. Anthony Peters, a friend of Mr Watkins, confirmed that he had given a lady called Ewelina Mr Watkins’ name and date of birth. After some planned work fell through, Mr Peters went back to Ewelina and stated he would be happy to become transport manager for her company, however he never heard from her again. Full statements were taken from both Mr Watkins and Mr Peters.

On 30 April 2020, vehicle redacted was stopped by police. The vehicle was shown as having no VED and no insurance. The vehicle had also been stopped the day prior for not having insurance. The insurance company were contacted and stated that there was no insurance due to lack of payment late in 2019. The vehicle was seized. No action was taken against the driver as there were no drivers hours offences or any other offences in relation to the driver.

On 04 August 2020, vehicle redacted was again stopped by police. It was being driven by Petrica-Daniel Surghe. The driver stated that he was unable to produce his driver card as it had been stolen and he had reported this to DVLA. He did produce a manual record which showed 6 infringements, 2 of them being serious infringements. redacted

On 26 August 2020, the same officer stopped the same vehicle being driven by the same driver. The driver had replaced his card, however, following analysis of the card, 27 infringements were found. Mr Surghe denied being the driver of the vehicle for this period. The officer contacted LPL Transport who confirmed that Mr Surghe was the driver on those days.

On 29 September 2020, TE Matthew Cahill encountered vehicle redacted at the Chilcomb check site. The driver of the vehicle was Andrzej Pawel Repec and the vehicle was found to be being operated by LPL Transport Ltd. TE Cahill carried out checks and found the licence was suspended. The operator was aware the licence was suspended as the letter informing them of this had been signed for shortly after it was sent. Driver Andrzej Repec was found to have committed a tachograph offence.

These matters were referred to me and I called the operator to public inquiry with Mr Surghe called to a conjoined driver conduct hearing.

3. THE PUBLIC INQUIRY

The operator failed to attend. Mr Petrica-Daniel Surghe attended for the conjoined driver conduct hearing. He could not assist on the operator’s whereabouts.

Traffic Examiner David Young attended via video link. He adopted his statements that are at pages 38 and 40 of my bundle and produce statements from Antony John Peters, Chris James Watkins and Elena Damian. The interviews had been carried out via Microsoft Teams with TE Young sharing his screen so that the witnesses could see exactly what he was recording. They were separately sent to be signed, or printed off by the witness, signed, scanned and returned to the Examiner. In the difficult circumstances of a severe lock-down situation, I would regard this as best practice and I commend the examiner for the thoroughness and care taken which allow me to attach much weight to the written evidence.

4. SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE

From her statement, Ms Damian met Lukasz Prozny at a DVSA new operator seminar in February. She was then contacted by a lady called Sylwia and they arranged to meet at 751a Portswood Road, Southampton to discuss transport management arrangements for LPL Transport Ltd. She thought Lukasz might be Sylwia’s partner and her surname was Repec. She had never provided her signature but had provided copies of qualifications. She then found that she was nominated as transport manager for LPL and for ECLlogistics.

Chris Watkins states that he received an email “out of the blue” from the operator licensing online system on 23 September 2020. It said LPL Transport had nominated him as transport manager. He had never heard of LPL. Mr Watkins had heard of LCL Logistics through a friend, Tony Peters. Mr Peters had given Mr Watkins as a contact to ECL a year or so earlier.

Anthony John (Tony) Peters has known Chris Watkins for many years. He had been asked by a lady called Ewelina about becoming transport manager for ECLlogistics Ltd. He was too busy at that time but connected Ewelina with Chris. Mr Peters’ other work dropped away and he completed a paper TM1 and sent it to Ewelina. He thought Andy was “her other half”. Communication was by phone and email but the display name on emails was “AndyR”. He had not been able to arrange a date for a meeting.

Traffic Examiner Young provides the following summary of Companies House and VOL information:

• LPL Transport Ltd shares the same registered address as Andy Transport; the address being: 751a Portswood Road, Southampton, SO17 3SU.

• Andy Transport held licence OH1128691 until revoked in May 2018.

• LPL Transport Ltd also share the same registered address as CLS Logistics Ltd; the address being: 751a Portswood Road, Southampton.

• CLS Logistics Ltd changed its name in March 2019 from Alpha1 Logistic Ltd.

• Alpha1 Logistic Ltd applied for licence OH2012514 but was refused on 18 August 2018

• Alpha1 Logistic Ltd used a different address on their operating licence application, this being 122 Colby Street, Southampton SO16 9RU.

• ECLlogistics Ltd has its registered address at 122 Colby Street, Southampton.

• ECLlogistics Ltd applied for licence OK2023677 but was refused in July 2019

• Andy Transport’s director was Andrzej Repec until October 2013 when he was replaced by Sylwia Repec.

• Andrzej Repec is shown as a previous Director of ECLlogistics Ltd, he was replaced by Ewelina Adamska

• Andrzej Repec is shown as a previous Director of CLS Logistics Ltd, he was replaced by Sylvia Gawrysiak

• Sylvia Repec and Sylwia Gawrysiak share the same birth month, being December 1983.

TE Young goes on to identify the following further links:

• LPL Transport stated their operating centre was Unit 4F, Central Crescent, Marchwood

** Unit 4F, Central Crescent is owned and operated by SJG Haulage Ltd and is on the Marchwood Industrial Estate.

• Alpha1 Logistic Ltd stated their maintenance provider was SJG Haulage Ltd.

• Andy Transport stated their operating centre was c/o SG Movement Ltd on the Marchwood Industrial Estate.

• TE Young could find no record of a company called SG Movement Ltd on the Marchwood Industrial Estate.

• LPL Transport state that their maintenance provider is Davies and Son, Andover, SP10 3LF.

• ECLlogistics stated their maintenance provider would be Davies and Son, Andover, SP10 3LF.

TE Young goes on to identify further links through vehicles and to establish that stated maintenance providers had never seen the vehicles.

CONSIDERATION AND FINDINGS OF FACT

Absent any rebuttal and having satisfied myself as to the rigour adopted by the Examiner, I accept his evidence in full. I make the following findings of fact to the civil standard of proof and in full acknowledgement that, the more serious the finding, the more cogent must the evidence be to support it:

i. LPL Transport Ltd has been a front for the continued operation of one or more of Andy Transport Ltd, Alpha1 Logistic Ltd/CLS Logistics Ltd, Sylwia Repec aka Sylwia Gawrysiak and Andrzej Repec.

ii. Sylwia Repec, aka Sylwia Gawrysiak and/or Andrez Repec are the de facto directors of LPL Transport Ltd.

iii. The operator has fraudulently used the identity of potential transport managers to suggest professional competence when it does not exist;

iv. The operator has operated vehicles following suspension of the licence;

v. Drivers of the operator have been pressurised in to breaching drivers hours rules (evidence from the conjoined driver conduct hearing and, absent rebuttal, accepted by me);

vi. Even while operating under suspension, drivers hours offences have been committed;

vii. Vehicles have been operated without insurance

viii. Financial standing is not satisfied;

ix. There is no transport manager so the company is absent professional competence;

x. The operating centre has not been used and it is not known from where vehicles operate.

5. DECISION

Adverse findings are made in respect of financial standing, professional competence and stable establishment, given the inability of DVSA to track down the operator. I further find that there is no evidence whatsoever that this operator has anything approaching good repute. All the matters under Section 27 of the Act are made out and revocation is mandatory and immediate.

Sylwia Repec, aka Sylwia Gawrysiak, Andrzej Repec, and Lukasz Prozny are disqualified from applying for or holding an operator’s licence in any part of the United Kingdom for an indefinite period not less than 10 years.

In light of the drivers hours offences committed and the position as a controlling mind of the business driving a vehicle when the operator’s licence is suspended, Andrzej Repec is called to a driver conduct hearing.

6. NOT PART OF THE DECISION

The transport managers here have been innocent but naïve. The transport manager Certificate of Professional Competence is a valuable qualification and enables the operation of heavy vehicles which, by their very nature, can be deadly if not properly controlled. All transport managers, especially external transport managers, must take great care over the arrangements they embark upon. They must also hold secure their key details such as copies of their qualifications and their dates of birth. To do otherwise puts that hard-earned qualification, and their livelihood, in severe jeopardy. More importantly, it allows dangerous operators to operate under the cloak of legality.

Kevin Rooney

Traffic Commissioner

16 April 2021