A Public Inquiry can end your operator licence, your livelihood, and your good repute in a single hearing. Preparation is everything — and it's the one area where experience matters more than anything else you could buy.
This isn't an administrative inconvenience. A Public Inquiry is one of the few regulatory processes where the consequences are immediate and permanent.
Most operators only find out how serious this is once they're already in it. By then, the preparation you didn't do is the case against you.
If you've had a prohibition notice or an RFE and want to get ahead of it before it escalates, the DVSA Prohibition Notice Survival Guide and the Operator Licence Undertakings Checklist are practical starting points — straightforward ways to check where you stand and what you need to fix.
A Kent-based haulage contractor came to AJTC after a DVSA Request for Evidence landed, following inspection concerns — exactly the kind of letter that, handled badly, escalates into a Desk-Based Assessment and then a Public Inquiry call-up.
AJTC prepared and submitted a thorough, evidence-led response: maintenance records organised and cross-referenced against the DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness, driver files brought fully up to date, and a written submission addressing every point DVSA had raised.
The matter was resolved at the RFE stage. No escalation to a Desk-Based Assessment. No Public Inquiry. The right response, prepared properly, closed it out first time.
AJTC is run by Andrew Jerome, a CPC-qualified Transport Manager who has personally handled DVSA responses, Traffic Commissioner correspondence, and Public Inquiries. This isn't theoretical. When your case is prepared, it's prepared by someone who knows exactly what a Commissioner is looking for — because he's sat in that room before.
Six stages, each with a clear purpose. Nothing skipped, nothing rushed.
What actually triggered this, and where your real exposure sits. An honest assessment before anything else is done.
Maintenance records, driver files, tachograph data, and policy documents pulled together and referenced against the right Statutory Documents — so the Commissioner sees a coherent, evidenced picture.
A formal, evidence-led submission prepared for the Traffic Commissioner. Written to address what the Commissioner will be looking at, not what feels reassuring to write.
A run-through of what to expect on the day — likely questions, how to answer them, and what the Commissioner's process actually looks like so there are no surprises.
Andrew attends with you. As a transport consultant, speaking directly to the Commissioner on your behalf is arranged in advance as standard — it doesn't hold up preparation.
An action plan regardless of outcome — including undertakings support if conditions are attached, so a difficult day doesn't turn into a second one.
Every case is different — the starting price below covers preparation and attendance. Complex cases are quoted individually after a free initial consultation.
The statutory minimum is 21 days for an existing goods operator's licence, or 28 days if it also concerns a Transport Manager's repute. In practice, call-up letters are usually sent 4–6 weeks before the hearing date. The moment it arrives, get it to whoever's preparing your case — the clock starts immediately, and preparation time is the one thing you can't buy back later.
In most cases, yes. Your licence stays valid and you continue operating as normal right up until the Commissioner reaches a decision. The exception is where the Commissioner sees an immediate road safety risk and takes interim action before the hearing — that's uncommon and reserved for serious cases.
The Commissioner treats a repeat call-up more seriously, particularly where it relates to undertakings you gave and accepted last time. Evidencing genuine, sustained change matters more the second time round than the first — and the preparation needs to reflect that.
Yes — Andrew attends with you. As a transport consultant rather than a solicitor or barrister, speaking directly to the Commissioner on your behalf requires the Commissioner's agreement, which is arranged in advance as a matter of routine. It's standard practice and doesn't hold up preparation.
Outcomes range from a formal warning with no action, through undertakings or curtailment, up to suspension or revocation. Whatever the result, there's an automatic right of appeal to the Upper Tribunal — and AJTC provides a post-hearing action plan regardless of outcome, including support meeting any new undertakings, so a bad day doesn't turn into a second one.
Every day of preparation time matters. Get in touch now.