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the olive press - October 04 - 17, 2012
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CRIME NEWS
www.theolivepress.es
The Olive Press - Number One for crime Expats slam owner of van hire company after being forced to pay €1,500 on repairs on a vehicle described as a ‘death trap’
‘Lucky to be alive’ AN expat couple are to sue the owner of a van hire company after a vehicle they used was described as a ‘death trap’ by mechanics. David Steel, 60, slammed the owner of the company, who also runs a controversial pet transport company, exposed in the Olive Press in August. He and his wife Ann, 58, had rented the van from One Way Van Hire, based in Torre del Mar, to move their belongings from Scotland to Spain. But the pair, who live in Pu-
EXCLUSIVE by James Bryce
ente don Manuel, in the Axarquia, were forced to stop in Portsmouth for emergency repairs after the brakes failed. “The mechanics said they didn’t know how we’d got that far alive,” revealed the retired prison service worker. “They described the van as a death trap and refused to release the vehicle until all the repairs had been done. It was a nightmare, we could have been killed.”
OWNER: Griffiths The van needed new brake disks, two new tyres and an ABS cylinder, despite company boss Jeremy Griffiths claiming an MOT had been carried out in June. “I told Griffiths I wanted a full refund but he told me that he doesn’t rent out vans for nothing,” added Steel, from Edinburgh. “He told us it was one of the best vans he had, but if that is the case then God help anyone who has to drive the bad ones.”
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EXCLUS IVE by Mas on Jon es
LUCKY ESCAPE: David and Ann and our front page story on Pet Taxi
A litany of complaints Turn to
Page 4
SINCE the Olive Press exposed the wrongdoings of boss Jeremy Griffiths in August, we have had over a dozen similar complaints about his companies One Way Van Hire and Pet Taxi. These include Brian Lenihan, who claims Pet Taxi lost his cat near Valencia after hiring the firm to transport his pet back to the UK. ‘He never accepts responsibility for his actions and I never got my cat back,” he told the Olive Press. Rita Karkaletsou also condemned Griffiths for his ‘excuses and abuse on the phone’ . “He is a horrible person and I am shocked he is still doing this for a living.” Even his former employee Stephanie Bond, who left the company in January, condemned the ‘unprofessional’ way the operation was run and claimed he still owed her €1,000. “The animals are transported in appalling conditions and there are many incidents which Jeremy has had to cover up,” Bond claimed. “So many people have been hurt by his disregard for other people, their pets and their belongings and unfortunately I experienced this first hand.”
“It is not just animals whose lives he is putting at risk,” Steel added of Griffiths, who also runs disgraced courier firm Pet Taxi. Steel has now reported Griffiths to the DVLA and trading standards. Griffiths claims however, all his vehicles are fully licenced and that he is registered with Defra. He also says Steel wore out the brakes by overloading the van. This is disputed by the manager of the garage in Portsmouth which carried out the repairs. He also confirmed that the damage was caused by poor maintenance. Steel’s situation is just one of a string of complaints against Griffiths companies (see panel left). Another van hire customer Francisco Fernandez, denounced Griffiths after experiencing ‘abysmal service’. “The van I got was in a disgraceful condition,” he said. “I had no insurance papers and the spare tyre had a three inch gash in the side. “The front passenger door and side door were both padlocked, making it impossible to use them in an emergency, it was extremely dangerous.”