Our attempt to book in four vehicles at the coachworks, who handle general maintenance for the larger end of our fleet, was met with laughter at the other end of the phone today. While it's never been a problem before, it turns out they're jammed to the rafters with tipper trucks, scaffolding lorries and flatbeds having new mudflaps and bumpers fitted. The EU have decreed the old ones to be illegal, so every truck of its type in the country must be adapted by a certain date or be taken off the road.
It's all extra cost to the operators, of course, which they will obviously pass on to their customers. If they be private sector, there'll be increased prices in goods and services, if it be public sector, the cost will be passed to the taxpayer. In both instances, that is us, the public.
In our case, the MOTs and associated works won't be completed in time for us to use our own vehicles, so we'll be adding to our running costs by hiring vehicles at a premium for the interim. The ones in this instance are used on public sector contracts, so guess who's going to be paying for our extra overhead?
Quite a system. We pay the wages of the EU muppets in the first place, and we also pay when they stop making paper clip chains and pick up a pen instead.
Seriously. Can we leave yet?
