THIS EMAIL HAS BEEN PASSED AROUND THE LIMO BOYS
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This is NOT SPAM. This is a communication from one Limousine Operator to another. Please read as it is very important.
Dear Colleague,
My name is Tanya Rosemeyer and my husband Dan and I run The Full Stretch Limousine Company in West Wales. Some of you may know us. In the last 18 months we have endured 3 court appearances with prosecutions from VOSA and paid out no less than £10,000 in fines including solicitor and barrister fees. This is the tip of a very large iceberg. They are using us an example to the rest of you, and have been heard to say so. Please do not think that I am writing to you today to bitch about our prosecutions. The reason I am writing to you today is to encourage you to take action and join in the campaign to bring reform and fairness to our business before the big-wigs do it for us and bring a multi-million pound industry to its knees. Do not be afraid to stand up and be counted, you are not alone, please come forward to help your self for the future.
Please do not be so arrogant as to assume this email doesn’t apply to you. If you own and operate a limousine in the UK this most certainly does apply to you.
Did you know if your vehicle is impounded now on a GV9 you CANNOT get it back and road worthy? You will not be able to MOT it and carry on. That car will be lost forever. Can you afford to have ONE or ALL of your cars off the road indefinitely?
Dan was told that in court by the Traffic Commissioner, Nick Jones.
The point has been reached in the Limo industry where we ALL need to band together as brothers in arms and take a stand against the school yard bullies that are trying to take our livelihood away. NOW is the time to forget about individual bickering and personal vendettas for the purposes of working together to achieve a common goal. Everybody has been so busy arguing about who is going out the cheapest, who has 16 seaters, who thinks they’re ‘the big I am’ that we have lost sight of the bigger picture. Furthermore, while we all have been at loggerheads the agencies such as VOSA, the Police and Parliament have been pulling the rug out from under us and have brought in new agendas that we weren’t even aware of. We need to put our differences aside for this and come together to stand up to these agencies and show a united front - before it is too late.
Dan has had a meeting with Angela Burns, the Conservative representative for our area in the Welsh Assembly and he has an appointment with Nick Ainger MP the Labour representative for our county to appeal to them to assist us with change and REASONABLE legislation. Legislation is coming whether we like it or not, at least we should be consulted about how those dossiers should be written. After all, we do live in a democracy, and unless you are prepared to stand and be counted and make all those votes count, you needn’t have ever bothered voting. We vote for members to represent us in Parliament, where our laws and legislation are created on OUR behalf. They work for US.
The way we have been treated in the last 18 months is diabolical. The judge told Dan in one case (in which he was innocent) that he should have lied under oath and said he was guilty in order to halve his fine! Surely everybody can see that this now means you are no longer innocent till proven guilty but guilty whether you are innocent or not. If a VOSA official says its so, then it must be. Dan was pulled on a wet, dark night and the excursion was inspected. The VOSA agent deemed the tyre illegal and GV9’d the car. This was at a services 60 miles from base. He said to Dan that if he lived closer he would have allowed him to travel home to change it but it was too far. Dan suggested if he came up with a closer alternative could he go and get it changed. The VOSA agent said that would make sense. Dan rang a colleague who’s unit was 15 miles away and rang the VOSA agent on the way to tell him what he was doing and could he meet him after to have the GV9 lifted. The VOSA operative said to Dan, ‘now we have a problem, because you have broken the law and driven a car with a GV9.’
To which Dan said ‘you told me I could if I came up with a solution’. He replied ‘I tell you where and when you go, you don’t decide for yourself’. He did meet Dan and lifted the GV9 and then within a few months we had a notice for prosecution for driving the vehicle on the highway and for the tyre being illegal. Dan went to court and took the very same tyre into court with him. We also had an independent tyre specialist look at it and said it would need changing within the next 1000 miles but it was fit for purpose at that time. The VOSA agent said, UNDER OATH, that it was not the same tyre and it was not illegal and he would have passed it. There is a unique serial number on each tyre that they have to write down. He did not write it down, telling the judge it was too dark to read. So, I hear you ask, how did he know the tyre was illegal if it was too dark? Our point exactly. Dan was fined for driving under a mechanical prohibition for which there was a £750 fine imposed with an additional £965.85 costs AND three penalty points on the licence AND he has now lost his PSV driving licence. We are sick of being screwed over by these so called ‘intelligance officers’ (which in itself is a contradiction in terms) and we are sure we are not the only ones. There must be more of this that goes on around the country and they get away with it. They are behaving like vigilante's and it must end. They cannot go around making up laws as they go along. We live in a democracy and it's hight time we realised that!
What I am appealing for today is support from each of you that care about our industry. It doesn’t matter if you only sell limos, or parts for limos, this all affects you. If there are no cars available to repair, you lose out. If legislation dictates 6 week checks your business will benefit from additional repairs. Limo sales go up, insurance companies get more customers (or at least don’t lose any), magazines enjoy the patronage of their chauffeurs and we can all work and earn a living.
As in the case of many of you, we run under self-drive hire. We all thought that was the way forward. That was how we could continue until appropriate laws were put into action. However, Dan has just had his PSV licence revoked by the Traffic Commissioner because he doesn’t recognise Self-drive as anything but a ‘paper exercise’. He claims that Dan is recklessly breaking the law in the pursuit of hire and reward. Dan will never be able to drive with a PSV licence again. This is a ban for life. Why? Due to the lies peddled in court from a VOSA agent. And yet they can get away with it because they wear aluminous jackets and carry a clip board. They are officials. We are the mere peasants of the limousine industry. The scum of the earth, in their mind. The commissioner openly said to Dan in court that the majority of limousine operations are to launder money and cover up crimes such as drugs. This may be a small minority, but is certainly not the majority. If someone reading this does fall into that category then beware, you too will lose out if you don’t join in and help! A shocking fact is that one of Dan’s fines is significantly higher than that of a so called ‘hoody hooligan’ if he had clobbered an old lady and pinched her pension. This is the how serious the court is viewing limousines.
For those of you not ‘up’ on how the law works, it’s like this. There are two ways a law becomes passed. It is either bandied around the House of Lords and Parliament until it comes out a shadow of its former self, OR a judge can make a ruling in court based on the evidence before him and it then becomes a precedent. Once a precedent is made then all similar cases can be tried on the ruling of the previous case. For example, if I were to be caught speeding and I said in court it was because I was late for my dentist appointment and the judge thought that was a reasonable explanation and I got away with it then the next time someone else was late to the dentist they could get away with it too. Likewise this is how they make prosecutions. If we were prosecuted for have 16 passengers, having a tyre that was deemed by ‘an official’ to be unsafe or any other reason then you can be too.
For those of you on self-drive this is a snippet of the decision reached by the traffic commissioner: ‘Daniel Rosemeyer Claimed that his stretch limousine hire business was not an illegal one as he was not operating the vehicles himself and utilised a system whereby paperwork was signed suggesting that the hirer was operating the vehicle using drivers who had licences to drive. It is evident to me that this is an artificial device. I do not accept that it is one that will stand up to scrutiny. It is clear that if the police or VOSA stopped the drivers they would confirm that Daniel Rosemeyer employed them; alternatively it would be clear to VOSA and or the police that this was the case. The artificial device put forward by Daniel Rosemeyer is one that is used by some other unlicensed operators, however it does not accord with the reality of the position, namely that it is Daniel Rosemeyer who is operating the stretch limousine business and is merely using an artificial paperwork exercise to divert responsibility. Even if the device was accepted (and I do not accept it for a moment) the hirers would most likely be committing an offence themselves as they would be unable to comply with the PSV licensing regime………….for the avoidance of doubt I find as a fact that [he] is conducting an illegal business and his explanations relating to self drive hire are to be disregarded’.
This now means that every other limousine operator could ALSO lose their PSV licence.
What we ask is that every person in the industry makes an appointment to see their MP and to help us canvass for change and fairness. All you have to do is go to
www.TheyWorkForYou.com and enter your postcode into the box and select your MP. Select ‘Write to Them’ and ask for an appointment. They will ring you with details of your nearest surgery and the date and time and go along and help us help you. One man cannot change the world, but many people can be loud and heard as one voice. The Traffic Commissioner claims that 10 years ago there were 4 limos in England and Wales and today there are 40,000. He describes this as a ‘growing problem’ where we see it as a thriving industry. (Do you know that if everyone with a limo company put £5 for every limo they own into a pot we could have enough to employ a barrister to fight for laws on our behalf?)
You need to go to see your MP and if you live in Scotland or Wales your other official representative and explain to them the challenges we face every day. Explain to them that your vehicle(s) is roadworthy and safe but if you charge £1 they are suddenly death-traps. They were deemed as roadworthy when they entered the country and passed their MOT but all of a sudden we are endangering the public. The nonsensical ethos of the entire view of limos needs to be turned around as a matter of urgency!
A couple of years ago there was an interview on the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine show and he clearly hated limos. He had a guest on the show who said on the radio that he would rather cut out his own liver with a jagged instrument than ride in a limousine. This is the image we have to fight to get our industry recognised as a legitimate operation with values and morals. Taxi drivers refer to them as ‘Lady of the Night Wagons’. We have spent a considerable amount of money ensuring we have the best available and we are faced with prejudice such as this! I am sure there are many of you out there that feel the same frustration as us. Stand shoulder to shoulder with us today and let’s crack it together.
We are also looking for people to come with us on a (legal) protest in London this year. I will write to the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police and make the arrangement to ensure that it is entirely legal - to the letter. All we ask is that you send what limos you can spare on a protest drive through London. Possibly other cities too. We hope to raise press awareness at how crazy the law is and campaign for workable and reasonable laws to be made that we can adhere to and work with.
Dan’s point is that when cars were first invented there was no highway code, no tax, no licenses, no insurance, and basically no rules or laws. As they became more popular soon everyone had them they had to start putting laws into place that were fair and workable. That’s all we want. Laws are coming, the only difference this will make is if the laws they pass are FOR us or AGAINST us. There is a very big distinction. If they are for us then it will mean we are all safe and running in the best interests of health and safety but if they are against us it will mean we are all out of business and have hundreds of thousands of pounds sitting on our yards doing nothing. We will all lose our homes; everything we have worked for in the last decade and in some cases conditions may become so unbearable we may lose our spouses and families.
The NLA or whatever it calls itself these days doesn’t seem to be doing anything proactive. We need to get off our arses and tackle this problem head on. I have never cowed down to bullies in my life and I am not about to start now. This will separate the men from the boys. Those who are willing to get out there and be counted as serious operators and players and those who just want to fade into the dark, losing their homes and livelihoods while they are at it! Millions of men died in during the wars so we could vote today. Use your democratic right to show strength and use your vote to your advantage.
Please pass this email to any other limousine industry related people you know as I will have missed a lot of people out. It is the benefit of EVERYONE to get involved in this. If you are in the 8 seat market and think this doesn’t affect you, think again. When they have finished with the big boys, they will be coming after you. You can take my word for it. The authorities hate limousines and have been heard by many people to say so. They want them ALL off the road. 8’s 10’s and 16’s. EVERYTHING. Let’s put differences aside and pull together as an industry. As one voice we could be a formidable force. The age old adage that ‘together we stand, divided we fall’ has never rang more true. We have tried to argue amongst ourselves and talk to our so called Limousine Associations and it has gotten us nowhere, lets try standing shoulder to shoulder and kick some VOSA ass.
Our website is
www.fullstretchlimos.com Please email myself and Dan on
Thefullstretch@aol.com or speak to Dan directly on 07977224986. Send us your thoughts on this. If you have any ideas then feel free to forward them. This appeal applies to each and every person in contact with the limousine business. This is the ONLY way forward. By helping us now you can save your own business for the future. There seems little point in having a conference as all that seems to be achieved is arguments and bickering. We need to be proactive and get to the heart of where all the real decisions are made – London and Parliament. Start like we have, with your MP.
Please email us on
Thefullstretch@aol.com if you think you will be able to support us by visiting your local MP, or by any other means. We want to know how many of our colleagues are behind us and who are the serious players in this.
Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom, I know it was a long one but when there is so much at stake, its important to get the point across.
Kindest Regards
Tanya and Dan Rosemeyer
The Full Stretch
Carmarthenshire
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