What’s with the increase of right hand drive units, on Bulgarian plates, running over here lately? A tax dodge similar to registrating units in the Netherlands a decade or so ago?
Old news. It’s been going on for 3-4 years now. And yes, just another dodge like the Benelux dodge of the late 90’s early 00’s
the nodding donkey:
What’s with the increase of right hand drive units, on Bulgarian plates, running over here lately? A tax dodge similar to registrating units in the Netherlands a decade or so ago?
Ask those that know about O-licences, mot tests, ministry supervision in country of origin, tax, c.m.r. insurance, road insurance - - -. And that`s not asking questions about the company those vehicles are registered to, where they registered, and how they are run, etc.
I`m offering no answers.
OVLOV JAY:
Old news. It’s been going on for 3-4 years now. And yes, just another dodge like the Benelux dodge of the late 90’s early 00’s
■■■■, was it really that long ago… 
.
My firm has goods delivered in from belgium, and we’ve had a few BG registered trucks bringing them over, it’s a bit awkward when you try and speak pigeon English to them, and they reply in a full on cockney accent!
One driver was pulled in at customs just before Xmas, he was loaded with 33 pallets of incontinence products, they crawled over the top opening boxes at their discretion, checking contents, (shame they weren’t used products) nothing untoward was found.
Driver said he gets pulled in regularly and inspected.
Rob9b:
My firm has goods delivered in from belgium, and we’ve had a few BG registered trucks bringing them over, it’s a bit awkward when you try and speak pigeon English to them, and they reply in a full on cockney accent!
i have seen these too, Nick Turner ltd, pulling fridge trailers, either double manned or solo driver, seen a young lady driving one, on her own .
Franglais:
the nodding donkey:
What’s with the increase of right hand drive units, on Bulgarian plates, running over here lately? A tax dodge similar to registrating units in the Netherlands a decade or so ago?Ask those that know about O-licences, mot tests, ministry supervision in country of origin, tax, c.m.r. insurance, road insurance - - -. And that`s not asking questions about the company those vehicles are registered to, where they registered, and how they are run, etc.
I`m offering no answers.
A very long complicated paper trail and done by a very competant (re bent) accountancy co knowing every grey area and loop in the law…thats the answer…
AndrewG:
Franglais:
the nodding donkey:
What’s with the increase of right hand drive units, on Bulgarian plates, running over here lately? A tax dodge similar to registrating units in the Netherlands a decade or so ago?Ask those that know about O-licences, mot tests, ministry supervision in country of origin, tax, c.m.r. insurance, road insurance - - -. And that`s not asking questions about the company those vehicles are registered to, where they registered, and how they are run, etc.
I`m offering no answers.
A very long complicated paper trail and done by a very competant (re bent) accountancy co knowing every grey area and loop in the law…thats the answer…
Quite so. Add in the ability of companies to disappear as soon as some serious enquiries are made about them by a competent authority etc etc Dump an old unit and do a runner rather than get caught?
As an aside there has appeared an old RHD tractor unit (F10 or F12 Volvo so gotta be over 20yrs) in Ouistreham. No number plates on it that I noticed. Not in the area usually used by the Douane.
see loads like this pulling old heritage trailers.
also see battered old Royal mail DAF tractors on BG plates pulling boxes, must be a big fiddle somewhere.
Its the using or abusing of the fundamentals freedoms of the EU.
You have to set up a company in Bulgaria, but there are companies that do it for you.
According to the companies that offer this service, there are far lower operating costs, only a need annual safety inspections if the truck is less than 10 years old and as you are operating as a Bulgarian company you can employ Bulgarian drivers and not have to pay them the UK minimum wage.
And if France, The Netherlands and Sweden hadn’t managed to get it stopped a couple of years ago, you’d also been able to do this and not have to worry about Cabotage regulations.
muckles:
Its the using or abusing of the fundamentals freedoms of the EU.
You have to set up a company in Bulgaria, but there are companies that do it for you.According to the companies that offer this service, there are far lower operating costs, only a need annual safety inspections if the truck is less than 10 years old and as you are operating as a Bulgarian company you can employ Bulgarian drivers and not have to pay them the UK minimum wage.
And if France, The Netherlands and Sweden hadn’t managed to get it stopped a couple of years ago, you’d also been able to do this and not have to worry about Cabotage regulations.
" Its the using or abusing of the fundamentals freedoms of the EU. " Totally agree.
“According to the companies that offer this service, there are far lower operating costs, only a need annual safety inspections if the truck is less than 10 years old and as you are operating as a Bulgarian company you can employ Bulgarian drivers and not have to pay them the UK minimum wage.” Dunno but could a Bg company could also employ a UK driver in the UK on BG wages? With Bg insurance etc they`d be some drivers who are un-insurable here who may go for that? Again I dunno but seems possible?
“And if France, The Netherlands and Sweden hadn’t managed to get it stopped a couple of years ago, you’d also been able to do this and not have to worry about Cabotage regulations.” Im not sure what youre saying here. If these countries have tried stopping operators running badly maintained trucks, and underpaid drivers that must be good? We don`t want to be free to enter the race to the bottom do we? Surely stop that race now.
I was told by a UK driver of a flagged out truck (only a quick conversation) that CMR insurance is under £100 per year! IF thats so they cant be planning on too many payouts.
£100 pa CMR is about right,there are ways and means to get it on paper in multiples for even less (and no im not going to say how) and re maintenance many run bent service/repair logs only doing the bare minmum to keep them on the road. We pull old VanHool Hungarian tilts and the state of these has to be seen to be believed (had a great one only earlier this week 
). Im not saying all BG/HU/LT/PL are at it, far from the case, theres many reputable hauliers out there but still plenty of unscrupulous ones to contend with…
Franglais:
“According to the companies that offer this service, there are far lower operating costs, only a need annual safety inspections if the truck is less than 10 years old and as you are operating as a Bulgarian company you can employ Bulgarian drivers and not have to pay them the UK minimum wage.”Dunno but could a Bg company could also employ a UK driver in the UK on BG wages? With Bg insurance etc they`d be some drivers who are un-insurable here who may go for that? Again I dunno but seems possible?
Yes I suppose it might be possible, but I was only going on what these companies that offer a flagging out service were putting on their websites.
“And if France, The Netherlands and Sweden hadn’t managed to get it stopped a couple of years ago, you’d also been able to do this and not have to worry about Cabotage regulations.” I
m not sure what youre saying here. If these countries have tried stopping operators running badly maintained trucks, and underpaid drivers that must be good? We don`t want to be free to enter the race to the bottom do we? Surely stop that race now.
The Cabotage restrictions were supposed to have been completely removed a couple of years ago, in the name of free movement of goods and services. This would have allowed foreign haulage operations full and free access to other EU countries domestic haulage markets.
It was stopped the Countries I mentioned after much lobbying from their national haulage bodies and transport unions, there is no record of the UK backing them or even of lobbying from the FTA and RHA. The UK Government seems complicit in much of the legislation from the EU that has been detrimental to it’s own working class, doesn’t bode well for any trade deals done outside the EU.
However I don’t believe lifting of cabotage is off the agenda, it’s still a fundamental part of EU ideology of free movement of goods and services. And no doubt there is still lobbying from those it would benefit, not just East European companies, but West European companies who have moved large parts of their operations to Eastern Europe to take advantage of the lower wages.
Muckles- Thanks for that reply.
The principles of free trade only work if equal opportunity is coupled with equal responsibility. (Sounds like a SuperHero script). Free to earn more by trading with a richer country, but with the responsibility to follow the standards of that country (re wages, conditions, safety,). Multi nationals are quick to employ directly, or through sub-contractors the cheapest hauliers out there. Their corporate speak will be of “green credentials” while subbies of subbies run old tractors and trailers with suspect safety standards and they turn a blind eye to it. As you say the sort of trade deals we can look forward to from the present Gov. are frankly frightening. Seems many of them are pleased we will be free from even the most basic standards. Freed from Eu legislation were free to sink even lower! “Oh, Brave New World!”
maga:
see loads like this pulling old heritage trailers.also see battered old Royal mail DAF tractors on BG plates pulling boxes, must be a big fiddle somewhere.
The fiddle works by using the VIN number from a scrapped or cloned lhd equivelent model to get a rhd truck registered on BG plates…
Franglais:
Muckles- Thanks for that reply.
The principles of free trade only work if equal opportunity is coupled with equal responsibility. (Sounds like a SuperHero script). Free to earn more by trading with a richer country, but with the responsibility to follow the standards of that country (re wages, conditions, safety,). Multi nationals are quick to employ directly, or through sub-contractors the cheapest hauliers out there. Their corporate speak will be of “green credentials” while subbiesof subbies run old tractors and trailers with suspect safety standards and they turn a blind eye to it. As you say the sort of trade deals we can look forward to from the present Gov. are frankly frightening. Seems many of them are pleased we will be free from even the most basic standards. Freed from Eu legislation were free to sink even lower! “Oh, Brave New World!”
I don’t think Brexit will be the great utopia many think, I actually think it will be rough at times, but without Brexit and the rise in other populists movements across Europe, for the European and UK Establishments it would be business as usual, including TTIP, further integration etc.
But as we’ve seen in recent years people at the top of the institutions that make up our present society, from Banking, Politics, Business Media and Sport seem to think they can do what they want regardless of the effect it had on the normal person and of course they’re fighting hard to stop the people derailing their gravy train, but with elections in other EU countries this year hopefully the pressure will remain on them.
muckles:
Franglais:
Muckles- Thanks for that reply.
The principles of free trade only work if equal opportunity is coupled with equal responsibility. (Sounds like a SuperHero script). Free to earn more by trading with a richer country, but with the responsibility to follow the standards of that country (re wages, conditions, safety,). Multi nationals are quick to employ directly, or through sub-contractors the cheapest hauliers out there. Their corporate speak will be of “green credentials” while subbiesof subbies run old tractors and trailers with suspect safety standards and they turn a blind eye to it. As you say the sort of trade deals we can look forward to from the present Gov. are frankly frightening. Seems many of them are pleased we will be free from even the most basic standards. Freed from Eu legislation were free to sink even lower! “Oh, Brave New World!”I don’t think Brexit will be the great utopia many think, I actually think it will be rough at times, but without Brexit and the rise in other populists movements across Europe, for the European and UK Establishments it would be business as usual, including TTIP, further integration etc.
But as we’ve seen in recent years people at the top of the institutions that make up our present society, from Banking, Politics, Business Media and Sport seem to think they can do what they want regardless of the effect it had on the normal person and of course they’re fighting hard to stop the people derailing their gravy train, but with elections in other EU countries this year hopefully the pressure will remain on them.
Isn`t it strange that we seem to see the same problems, but seem to favour different solutions ? I favoured staying in Europe and fighting to alter it for the better. Such is life, and such is the knowledge any of us have of the future.
AndrewG:
maga:
see loads like this pulling old heritage trailers.also see battered old Royal mail DAF tractors on BG plates pulling boxes, must be a big fiddle somewhere.
The fiddle works by using the VIN number from a scrapped or cloned lhd equivelent model to get a rhd truck registered on BG plates…
Ive been told, dunno whether youd know about this, that an annual test can be done without the vehicle even being there?
Franglais:
Isn`t it strange that we seem to see the same problems, but seem to favour different solutions ? I favoured staying in Europe and fighting to alter it for the better. Such is life, and such is the knowledge any of us have of the future.
The argument is simply that between protectionism v race to the bottom free markets.Unfortunately the EU is more about the latter than the former.While it’s obviously easier and more effective to sort that issue out locally and autonomously within our own borders.Which was ‘rightly’ the position of the Labour Party until it lost the plot in that regard. 