Help please!
Here’s my question ,I have recently passed the new haulage cpc for national and inter
National haulage ,I want to go out on my own now 
Wise move ?dont know but have to try.have the funds for five trucks but will be starting with one,have operating centre,have promise of work but heard that its not great but hey what is at the minute.
In the process of applying for my operators licence and with the new system I need to have access to a vehicle but because I don’t know if the work I get will be sufficient,was hoping I could apply for the licence and get it to a stage where I can go and look for good work but without the commitment of trucks doing nothing,is this possible or do I have to buy a truck to get my licence and then maybe not get the work I was promised and then left with trucks and no work ,can anyone shed some light on this issue of access to vehicles ,as I’m only starting out want to be sure of work and go looking for work with an o licence in my hand thus showing full compliance ,thanks.
Same circumstances as me, just write them a covering letter saying that you do not intend to commit to buying your first vehicle until and unless an Operator’s Licence is granted, they’re fine with that.
same as Harry said
freind of mine just done same they know your not going to get finance or whatever for a truck
and park it on drive paying £1000 month for upto 6 months waiting on licence
If you speak to them in Leeds they are helpful most of time
gettin-on:
If you speak to them in Leeds they are helpful most of time
Agree with that, after I submitted my application I received a letter from my case worker in Leeds, with his direct phone number and have spoken to him a few times, he’s been very helpful.
It’s also worth registering with the operator self-service facility on VOSA’s website to check the progress of the application online.
Thanks for the replies
It just seems to be a big risk at the minute to have a truck with no work or have work with no truck or licence,was your covering letter actually accepted and did they give you a certain period of time to buy or lease a truck.seems to be a very grey area
Deeireland:
Thanks for the replies
It just seems to be a big risk at the minute to have a truck with no work or have work with no truck or licence,was your covering letter actually accepted and did they give you a certain period of time to buy or lease a truck.seems to be a very grey area
Phone your case worker and explain the situation, they are absolutely fine with it. They don’t expect you to buy a vehicle until you get an O licence.
Here’s the status of my application, I don’t have a vehicle yet but as you can see from the arrow they have accepted the vehicle list (which was basically the covering letter explaining what I said above)
Thanks Harry that makes sence
But did they give you a set period of time in which you HAVE to put trucks on the licence.
Deeireland:
Thanks Harry that makes sence
But did they give you a set period of time in which you HAVE to put trucks on the licence.
No, no set period. I suppose that if I never contacted them and put a vehicle on the licence that eventually they would get in touch and ask why, but they haven’t mentioned any time frame, my guess would be that it would be at least six months before they started making enquiries.
My application is in the final stages now, the only problem I had was that I submitted the financial evidence in the form of personal bank statements, which they rejected as they had to be in the name of my limited company. I’ve done that now and they have returned my Ltd Co statements to me so fingers crossed it should be granted in the next week or two.
Any more questions, just ask.
Thanks makes sence because you can’t operate for hire and reward without an olicence or get leasing agreement without it either ,so there is room for getting myself up and running.i can understand that if you didn’t add a vehicle for say a year they would revoke ,but not before you’ve even started
harry if they havnt already they will prob want you to sign to say licnce granted but a financial condition added as ltd company wouldnt have prevous 3 months bank statements
they normally say
eg granted in may
they want originalk statements for august sept october
normally the last 3 months of the 6 month perios following grant of licence
know someone just flagged out to bulgaria for his own personal reasons
over there you can buy an insurance for a pittance to use as your funds available
he just done it for 5 trucks all on an insurance policy rather than cash in bank overdrafts etc
to the OP, you will not get finance on a truck until the O Licence has been granted, you can apply for finance beforehand, and it may be accepted in principle, but, they will not release the funds until they see the notification in the A&D’s on the VOSA website
shuttlespanker:
to the OP, you will not get finance on a truck until the O Licence has been granted, you can apply for finance beforehand, and it may be accepted in principle, but, they will not release the funds until they see the notification in the A&D’s on the VOSA website
In my experience, from the moment the application appears in A’s and D’s, the spam from finance companies, used-truck-salesmen and transport solicitors automatically pours through the letterbox at such a rate that you have to kick the front door to get it open! 
Thanks shuttlespanker
I’m another step forward ta.
Dee.