The two six-vehicle licences held by Salfords-based Meritrule and Classic Routemasters were revoked by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Sarah Bell after she concluded that their directors had been a “front” for Paul Jones.
The TC disqualified Meritrule and its director Paul Jones’ mother, Jane Jones, from holding or obtaining a PSV O-Licence for 10 years.
She similarly disqualified Classic Routemasters and its director Melanie Zetterlund for three years. She also disqualified the two companies’ former Transport Manager (TM) Mark Warren from acting as such for three years.
In 2015, when revoking the licences held by Black Velvet and Western Greyhound, the TC concluded that Mr Jones had been involved in the two companies, though no longer a director of Black Velvet. He directed that should Mr Jones ever apply to be involved in a PSV O-Licence in any guise, the application should be referred to a TC or DTC [routeone/Court Report/2 December 2015].
Before the TC, Mr Warren said that Mr Jones had approached him in approximately May 2017 to act as TM for a new venture. He agreed upon receipt of verbal assurances that he would have effective control of the transport operations.
He was told that Meritrule had not had a TM for a long time, as it had effectively been dormant. It transpired that there was actually nothing to do because the company did not have any vehicles. Whenever he asked Mr Jones when work was starting, he said that they were still waiting to get everything in line. He met with Mrs Jones briefly on two or three occasions. On the last occasion he was told to have all future dealings with Mr Jones.
In relation to Classic Routemasters, Ms Zetterlund approached him on Mr Jones’ recommendation.
To his knowledge, Classic Routemasters only operated on 8 March 2018. He had taken Ms Zetterlund and Mr Jones at their words that they were not operating. He had no idea where the vehicle discs had been for either company throughout the time he has been involved with them.
It was always his understanding that Hireyourtransport.com was a brokerage. He had seen a coach with Hireyourtransport.com livery. It was an Earlswood Coaches vehicle. He acknowledged that the website and Facebook pages would have put him clearly on notice that Hireyourtransport.com was very much in business and potentially operating vehicles.
After the TC put it to him that it would be unusual for Mr Jones to broker business for the benefit of Earlswood Coaches when his mother had a perfectly good licence, he said that he felt that he had been ‘hung out to dry’ by Mr Jones.
The TC said that there was strong and cogent evidence to infer that Ms Zetterlund and Mrs Jones were fronting for Mr Jones.
Mrs Jones had been ‘fronting’ in a considered way and for a longer period. The ‘fronting’ was not just directly through Meritrule, but also by assisting a purported veil of legitimacy through directorship and shareholdings in linked entities. A deterrence message was clearly required.
Mr Warren had allowed the use of his name to provide a legitimate front to these two companies. He failed to take any meaningful steps to satisfy himself that they were not trading, and he was perhaps too trusting of Mr Jones even knowing his background.
However, a transport manager in name only, which this effectively was, was about as serious as it could be.
