Transportation lawyer and clandestine entrants fine? In cases where a court hearing is necessary, we can prepare your case and go to court to fight for the return of your vehicle. Legal representation is strongly advised as, if unsuccessful, you may be liable for substantial costs. Reclaiming Seized Loads: Quite often, owners of cargos carried will have had no involvement in the transport arrangements; these details are often handled by a freight forwarder or haulier. If the vehicle carrying the load is seized, it is often possible for our team to quickly arrange the release, collection and onward delivery of the load. Once a vehicle is seized, we must act quickly: there are strictly enforced time limits which, if missed, can result in the permanent loss of the vehicle.
If you cannot show that you have an effective system in place and that it was being properly operated on the day, as the haulier you can ultimately be liable to pay up to £4,000 per migrant. If you fail to pay your penalty you can expect your vehicle to be seized and sold or even destroyed by the UK Border Force. You have the right to appeal against both the imposition of your Civil Penalty, and its amount. The appeal process consists of two routes: A Notice of Objection to the Border Force. This entails the submission of written representations and supporting evidence to the Border Force. Using this route, our transport lawyers have a high success rate in dramatically reducing the amount of penalty payable, without the need to go to court. This is often the most cost-effective route.
Welcome to Smith Bowyer Clarke. We provide, simple, straightforward, and practical legal solutions to all your transport problems. In the eyes of the law, the company is using the vehicle when being driven by an employee. The company can also be deemed to have permitted offences to occur by requesting an employee to use a vehicle which has a defect. The consequences could be the driver attaining penalty points and potentially losing their licence. This may in turn impact your business. For a sole trader, they themselves may end up with penalty points on their licence. For a limited company, there would still be costly fines. If the company also holds an Operator’s Licence, such convictions would need to be reported to the Traffic Commissioner and could then impact on the Repute of the Operator. Find even more details at dvsa investigations.
The reality is that nobody’s business is perfectly compliant but some are better than others. In your heart you will know where on the scale your business lies. The worse it is the more that you need to do. Before the visit check that you have your paperwork in the right places and ensure that it is up to date. If you know that compliance has slipped badly then be proactive. Start to take steps to fix it. If necessary engage a competent Transport Consultant to overhaul your systems and ensure that you are using the right paperwork. And don’t hide it from the DVSA! If you have an unsatisfactory visit from the DVSA then this is your wake-up call. Act on their recommendations. You will have a far better time in front of the Traffic Commissioner if you treat this as your wake-up call rather than the call-in letter 28 days before the Public Inquiry. Yes, it may be expensive but it might save your business.
Using a Driver’s card belonging to another: By driving using another person’s tachograph card, a driver is creating a false record. The DVSA / VOSA will want to investigate why the other card was used, and how it was obtained. This offence can carry up to two years in prison. The authorities will want to know whether the Operator was aware that a driver was using another’s card. Operators who fail to notice this happening, or are complicit in it, can expect to be either prosecuted or called to Public Inquiry by the Traffic Commissioner. Read even more info at Road Haulage Solicitors.