Haulage firm given four-year road ban

A couple who ran a haulage company which used more lorries than permitted and misled authorities about the number they owned, were given a four year ban from the industry.

Kiranjit Kaur and Sukphal Singh, who ran Wednesbury-based Deep Transport Ltd and Smethwick-based Midland Transport Ltd, have been banned from running commercial vehicles for the four year period by industry regulator The Traffic Commissioner, Nick Jones. He uncovered deceit at the company during an inquiry in July.

The decision, which has just been published, puts eight jobs at risk, and bosses are appealing against it.

The licences will be revoked on October 1, unless an appeal tribunal decides to stall the ban between now and then.

Problems were uncovered at the business when the two directors appealed a decision to revoke one of their two licences last year.

That was due to HGVs not being in a serviceable condition and breaches of rules on drivers' hours or tachograph offences.

Kaur and Singh held separate licences – one for Deep Transport Limited on Leabrook Road, Wednesbury, and the other for Midland Transport Limited, West Park Road, Smethwick. The depot is in Wednesbury, while West Park Road is the couple's home address.

During follow-up inquiries the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency found evidence showing both companies had been running more vehicles than allowed.

In his judgement, Mr Jones said he could not ignore issues with the business's intergrity. He said: "Both directors will say what suits their purpose at the time. They can not be relied upon to tell the truth."

Mr Singh, who has seven HGVs and employs eight people, said: "We are reviewing our paperwork and hope to win the appeal."