The recovation comes after the TC was misled about the involvement of Thomas Withers
Glasgow-based VIP Touring and its Directors William Boale and Gavin McInally were disqualified from holding or obtaining a PSV O-Licence for six months after the company’s two-vehicle national licence was revoked by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Joan Aitken.
The Company had been called before the TC at an Edinburgh Public Inquiry. The TC said at a preliminary hearing in November 2016, that there was a connection to Thomas Withers, who had been Director, TM and sole shareholder of Ayrways Coach Travel, with the company and Mr Withers being disqualified for 18 months from holding a licence. Mr Withers’ licence was revoked in December 2012.
Mr Withers was also disqualified from acting as a TM. She was assured by the company that there was no connection to Mr Withers other than as a landlord and doing vehicle maintenance. Robert Dey was accepted as TM.
Mr Dey emailed her office on 20 December 2016 to say that with immediate effect he withdrew his application to be added as TM. He had been led to believe that Mr Withers had no association with the company.
Police Constable Alan Cook reported that in November 2016 he called at the industrial estate at McCalls Avenue. He observed five coaches, two of which were registered in the name of Prestwick Executive, one in the name of William Boale, one in the name of Highland Council, and one in the name of United Coaches, Coatbridge.
He learned that Thomas Withers had a new company, Prestwick Executive, and it was believed to be operating coaches nationally and locally. Insurance checks on the five coaches showed the insured as VIP Touring of McCalls Avenue, Ayr, with ERS Insurance from October 2016.
ERS advised that Mr Withers arranged the insurance stating he had purchased VIP from October 2016. Payment for the insurance was by direct debit signed by Mr Boale. Haydock Finance had finance agreements on two of the coaches in name of Prestwick Executive. From police records he established that three of the coaches had been in use on motorways on various dates and times.
He and a colleague stopped a Volvo double-decker on the A79 at Prestwick. The vehicle was registered to Thomas Withers trading as Prestwick Executive, and insured to VIP Touring. It was displaying VIP’s licence disc. The legal lettering was VIP Touring. He seized the disc, and the driver said that he worked for Thomas Withers and was paid by VIP.
In her decision, the TC said that the Directors had no professional expertise or background in PSV operating and had other full time occupations. She considered that Mr Withers was in course of using the VIP licence for his own purposes, and that he could readily exploit the naivety and inexperience of the directors.
The insurers withdrew having found that they had been given wrong or inadequate information. The TM resigned when the police investigation developed. One director had resigned and the remaining two directors had struggled and failed to retain control. The licence was without a TM from December 2015-August 2016 without the grant of a period of grace, and had been without a TM from December 2016 to date. Mr Boale misled her at the preliminary hearing as to the extent of the involvement of Mr Withers with this licence.
