Decision

Decision for Next Phase Group Limited (OK2062007) and N Next Stage Limited (OK2075102)

Published 2 December 2024

0.1 In London and South Eastern Traffic Area

1. Written Decision of the Deputy Traffic Commissioner

2. Public Inquiry held on 11 November 2024 at Eastbourne

2.1 Operator: Next Phase Group Limited (OK2062007) and N Next Stage Limited (OK2075102)

3. Background

The operator Next Phase Group Limited is the holder of a standard national licence granted  on the 21 February 2023 authorising one vehicle and one trailer. The sole director of the company is Aydan Ahmed Zekrie and at the time of the public inquiry there was no designated transport manager.

When the licence was granted the transport manager was Daniel Finch and he was removed from the licence on the 30 November 2023. Pradeep Sandhu was designated between the 5 January 2024 and 3 May 2024. Following Mr Sandhu’s removal from the licence a “loss of transport manager” letter was sent to the operator and this resulted in the nomination of Eugen Georgescu but this nomination was withdrawn on the 24 May 2024. On the 15 June 2024 an application was made nominating Jacob Smith but on the 16 July the Traffic Commissioner refused that application and suspended the licence pending the nomination of an alternative transport manager or a determination in relation to Mr Smith at a public inquiry. As no alternative nomination was made the licence remained suspended until the date of the public inquiry.

On the 21 February 2024 vehicle YJ65 UHR was stopped when being driven by Mr Zekrie. A download of the vehicle unit found the vehicle had been driven for the previous 28 days without a driver card inserted. Mr Zekrie said he had lost his card the week before and had reported it to the DVLA. He said he believed he could drive for 15 days whilst waiting for a replacement.  A check on the driving licence showed that Mr Zekrie had been disqualified from driving for 3 months until 26 February 2024. It was shown therefore that he was driving whilst disqualified, without insurance and the police were called to deal with those issues. In addition there were several driver’s hours infringements identified including insufficient weekly and daily rest and exceeding 4.5. hours driving with the required break. Analysis of the data downloaded from the vehicle unit at the roadside found that the vehicle had not been downloaded for 384 days and numerous other breaches of the regulations had taken place.

After two unsuccessful attempts to arrange a follow up meeting Mr Zekrie met with the Traffic Examiner Mepsted on the 5 June 2024 to enable an investigation to be conducted in relation to driver related compliance issues.

The investigation revealed an absence of required systems and no downloading of driver cards or vehicle unit had taken place until February 2024. The authorised vehicle had been driven between 30 November 2023 and 20 February 2024 but no driver card had been used during that period. Mr Zekrie who had been disqualified from the 26 November 2023 until the 26 February 2024 said that he had been abroad during that time and had returned to the UK on the 16/17 February 2024. The vehicle had been driven by his brother in law Reyhan Ahmed who had since returned to Bulgaria.

On the 25 June 2024 an application for a standard international licence authorising five vehicles and five trailers was made by N Next Stage Limited. The sole director of the company is Nezhla Zekrie, the operating centre and correspondence address are the same as that authorised for Next Phase Group Limited and the proposed transport is Jacob Smith who was also nominated for that operator.

In light of the regulatory issues in respect of the existing licence and the apparent links between the two companies both cases were called to a conjoined public inquiry.

4. The Public Inquiry

Ayden Zekrie attended the inquiry on behalf of Next Phase Group Limited and was unrepresented. Nezhla Zekrie attended on behalf of N. Next Stage Limited and was also unrepresented. Jacob Smith attended as the proposed transport manager on the existing licence and application. Traffic Examiner Mepsted attended via Microsoft Teams.

5. Evidence

Mr Zekrie told me that he had dismissed the previous transport managers Finch and Sandhu because they were not fulfilling the duties expected of them. He said that Mr Finch did not visit the operating centre enough and was not knowledgeable, Mr Sandhu was supposed to oversee compliance whilst Mr Zekrie was in Bulgaria but did not do so. He had nominated Mr Georgescu and had not known that his qualification was invalid based on his residence when it was obtained.

Traffic Examiner Mepsted confirmed the content of her report and read the summary and conclusion. She said that she had requested data for two vehicles but had only received partial data for one vehicle AW19 KWH from the 15 May 2024. There was nothing to suggest downloading of data had happened before then. She had received data in response to the direction in the call-up letter which would be satisfactory provided the vehicle in question had not been double manned when the records were kept. Mr Zekrie explained that the records related to him and another driver Mr Mustafa who had taken over driving from him and a “swop” of drivers had taken place at a convenient location. Maintenance related records had been directed but I did not analyse these fully in the absence of a DVSA vehicle examiner, taking into account that the main focus of the case was in relation to drivers’ hours compliance.

Mr Zekrie confirmed that he had been disqualified for three months for a careless driving offence and said that he had been mistaken about the date when the disqualification ended. This offence had been considered as a driver conduct issue and a warning issued. He denied saying to the officer who stopped him on the 21 February that “he had lost his driver card last week and had rung the DVLA to report this and requested another card”.

I outlined the chronology of the case and asked Mr Zekrie what had happened to the authorised vehicle AW19KWH since the suspension of licence on the 16 July 2024. He said that the vehicle had been parked up and not used apart from dates when it had been taken for preventative maintenance inspections. He said this would be confirmed if ANPR checks were made.

He said that during the period of his disqualification he had been in Bulgaria with his daughter from his first marriage who had medical problems. He had left the business in the hands of his ex wife and his brother-in-law. I pointed out that in interview he had referred to this person as a “first cousin of his current wife” and he said that he thought this meant Mr Ahmed was his brother in law. I also asked whether it was his current wife or his previous wife who was left in charge and he said it was his ex wife.

Jacob Smith gave details of his background and his qualification as a transport manager. He said that he wanted to gain experience and was working with an external transport manager in another company to aid this process. He worked as a driver Monday to Thursday and would be able to manage his weekly rest and working time directive compliance if he was appointed on the existing licence and new application.

I asked Mr Zekrie to outline the consequences for him of revocation of the licence and possible disqualification and he said the situation would be very bad for him and his family. He had another business linked to property and construction but that was not doing vey well.

Nezhla Zekrie confirmed that she was  married to Ayden Zekrie and that she was the sole director of the applicant company N Next Stage Limited. The company had been established on the 21 May 2020 and was a cleaning company. She worked for the company and had two other employees, although she was the main person working. The business was not doing so well and she decided that she wanted to start a transport business. She had no experience of transport but had completed some research when she made the application. She would undertake further training if the licence application was granted. She had not assisted Mr Zekrie when he travelled to Bulgaria when disqualified because she did not want to get involved in his business. She was adamant her husband would have no part to play in her business and she would agree to an undertaking to that effect. She was hoping to obtain work from Amazon and would employ drivers from an agency. She would start with fewer vehicles than the five applied for and work up from there.

Having concluded the evidence I directed that Mr Zekrie should supply proof of his flights to and from Bulgaria during the time that he was disqualified, copies of credit statements to demonstrate financial standing and that the public inquiry clerk should obtain ANPR evidence to verify whether vehicle AW19KWH had been picked up by any cameras following the suspension of licence on the 16 July 2024.

Copies of airline boarding passes showing a flight from Luton to Sofia on the 3 December 2023 and return on the 18 February 2024 were produced together with a copy of a credit card statement showing £21,500 available.

The ANPR checks showed that vehicle AW19KWH was flagged on a total of 2237 occasions between the 18 July and 9 November 2024. A copy of this evidence was sent to Mr Zekrie on the 12 November with a deadline of seven days to respond. No response was received.

6. Findings and Decision – Next Phase Group Limited

This is a bad case in that the  breaches of Sections 26 (1) (c) (iii) and (f) of the Goods Vehicles Act, 1995 are serious breaches.. The licence was granted in February 2023 and yet no downloading of records took place until May 2024. No driver’s card was inserted in the tachograph unit during the period analysed by Traffic Examiner Mepsted and I find that it was more likely than not that none were used until May 2024. This occurred despite the designation of transport managers on the licence and the fact that Mr Zekrie was the main driver of the authorised vehicle. As a professional driver he should have fully aware of this most basic requirement. Analysis of the data that was provided showed serious breaches of drivers’ hours rules. When he went to Bulgaria there is no evidence to show that he made proper provision for compliance in his absence.

In addition Mr Zekrie drove whilst disqualified in February 2024 and was subsequently prosecuted for those offences. I do not believe that he was muddled over the date when the disqualification ended. I also find that he attempted to explain the absence of a driver card when stopped by saying that his had been lost when he knew this to be false. This untruthfulness is highly relevant when answering the question whether he can be trusted if the licence is allowed to continue. In similar vein Mr Zekrie gave an unequivocal assurance at the public inquiry that the authorised vehicle had been parked up since the order of suspension was made. The ANPR checks showed that in fact the vehicle had been used on all bar two days since the suspension was ordered and it follows that Mr Zakrie lied when giving evidence at the inquiry. I have considered positive aspects such as  evidence of daily walk round checks now taking place and the recent data provided to Traffic Examiner Mepsted but these are heavily outweighed by the negative features of the case.

As a result of these breaches and my findings detailed above I have to ask myself the question set out in the case of Priority Freight Limited & Paul Williams i.e. how likely is it that this operator will operate in compliance with the operator’s licensing regime? In other words, can the operator be trusted going forward? For the reasons set out above I have no hesitation in finding that this is not the case and that this operator deserves to be put out of business. I therefore order revocation of the licence under Section 27 of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 on the ground that the operator is no longer able to satisfy the requirement for good repute. As the licence should have remained suspended as previously order by the Traffic Commissioner I see no reason to defer the implementation of the order beyond the time it takes for the decision to be processed and sent. Therefore revocation will take effect from the 2 December 2024.

In addition I order a period of disqualification in relation the operator Next Phase Group Limited and the director of that company Aydan Ahmed Zekrie. Mr Zekrie has shown blatant disregard for the regulatory regime and has shown he is untrustworthy to such an extent that I find he needs to be kept away from operator licensing for a significant period. I therefore order a period of disqualification for three years in relation to the company and Ayden Ahmed Zekrie. This order will prevent Mr Zekrie holding an operator’s licence as an individual, partner or director of a company that holds a licence. This order will also take effect from the 2 December 2024

7. Findings and Decision – N Next Stage Limited

I remain suspicious as regards the motivation for Mrs Zekrie to apply for an operator’s licence in June 2024 in the name of her company whose main business is domestic cleaning. I believe it is more likely than not the potential loss of the licence held by Mr Zekrie’s company and the impact this would have on family finances was the key factor in making the application. However, I also remind myself that to refuse the application I need to be satisfied that the applicant has not demonstrated the criteria of good repute, financial standing or having an individual designated who is professionally competent.

The key question is whether Mrs Zekrie has satisfied me that she will manage a transport business independently of her husband and prevent him from taking part in the business and thereby impacting on the standard of compliance required. Having met Mrs Zekrie and considered her evidence I am prepared to give her a chance and grant a licence but subject to certain restrictions and conditions. Firstly, I limit the authorisation to one vehicle and one trailer. Her very limited experience and the background of the case overall make a grant for five vehicle inappropriate. Secondly, I seek an undertaking that she will attend an Operator Licensing Awareness Course within two months of the grant of the licence. Thirdly an undertaking to be agreed that  Ayden Ahmed Zekrie will play no part in the business in any capacity including as a driver. I make this condition bearing in mind how Mr Zekrie behaved both as an operator and a professional driver. Fourthly I direct that a DVSA investigation is carried out in six months to check on compliance levels and whether the undertaking in relation to Mr Zekrie is being complied with.

Jacon Smith was rejected as a proposed transport manager on the existing licence taking into account his limited experience and the issues with that operator. Having met him I am prepared to give him the chance to develop his experience as a transport manager and appoint him to the licence for N Next Phase Limited but unusually I also seek an undertaking from him. That undertaking is “if Jacob Smith discovers that Ayden Ahmed Zekrie is playing a part in the business, including as a driver, Mr Smith will resign his position and inform the Traffic Commissioner of his resignation and the reason for it”

If the undertakings are accepted the licence for one vehicle and one trailer will be granted with immediate effect.

John Baker
Deputy Traffic Commissioner                            

20 November 2024