An Enfield-based fruit and vegetable retailer has been banned indefinitely from running heavy goods vehicles due to “overwhelming evidence” that he acted as a front for other operators whose licences had been revoked.
Industry regulator Nick Denton, who is traffic commissioner for London and the south east, ruled that Tacim Subasi was not a fit person to be running HGVs and deserved to be prevented from operating vehicles for his business. Denton added that he could have no confidence in Subasi’s ability to comply in the future.
The order followed a public inquiry in Eastbourne last month, which was the second hearing involving Subasi this year. In February, a deputy traffic commissioner (DTC) suspended Subasi’s operator’s licence due to serious shortcomings, including using a vehicle without an MOT for almost nine months.
Denton noted the DTC had allowed the licence to continue only under certain conditions and said these had subsequently been ignored by Subasi.
After the latest public inquiry, Denton found that Subasi was not the de facto operator of the vehicle; failed to fulfil the undertaking to procure a third party to submit details of tachograph downloading and analysis; lacked financial resources to support the licence; and failed to notify the dates of the suspension following the February hearing, as required by the DTC.
Subasi did not attend the latest hearing before the traffic commissioner.
Denton said: “He had comprehensively failed (despite many reminders) to submit the dates of suspension and to submit details of his new tachograph analysis system. Indeed, there is no evidence that the operator ever served the suspension. There is overwhelming evidence that he acted as a front for continued operations by Canim Fruit and Veg Ltd and Aydin Maraslioglu.
“There is nothing to suggest that I can have any confidence in Mr Subasi’s ability to comply in the future.
“I am clear that , given the history of non compliance and that he has acted as a front to allow continued operations by an operator whose licence I had revoked, Mr Subasi is not a fit person to be operating HGVs and deserves to be put out of that aspect of business.”
