“A BAD BARGAIN”

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17235, 15 April 1930, Page 4

“A BAD BARGAIN”

REPAIRS TO USED TRUCK DRIVER’S BANKRUPTCY ! r lhe I’fccjMity Official Assignee, Air. ,T. N. Naldyv, presided yesterday at a meeting of tlie creditors in the estate of •Malcolm Philip McPherson, lorry driver, I who, recently filed a petition in bank- | rn.ptcy. There were represented at the '’meeting Messrs. C. J, Walsh and 0. 0. ! Ancell (Mr. L. T. Burnard), and j Oarduer and Gedye (Mr. N. GedyeJ. The personal statement of the bankrupt was read by the Deputy Official I Assignee, as under : j “Prior to starting on my own account, 1 was employed as a lorry j driver by the firm of Smith and Mej Pherson. In June, 1929, 1 started a j freight service from Gisborne to Kopun, j using a small lorry lent to me. by this firm. In August, 1929. I was doing ' well, and having part of a metal contract, 1 obtained, on hire from Messrs. Bate and Bell, of Napier, a. truck in place of the one which I was using, which was too small for metal. The truck was an old converted car, and with it. I carried on until the end of September, 1929, During this time 1 lan the freight service, and, in conjunction with Mr. Ashworth, a metal contract from Patutahi to Kopua. The truck proved unsatisfactory, in that it was too old and was a constant expense, and was getting me into debt for repairs. As Mr. Ashworth and I understood that our Public Works contract for carrying metal from Patutahi to Kopua. would last for a considerable time, it was necessary for mo to obtain a satisfactory truck to stand up to the work, I having now given up the freight service, concentrating on tho metal contract. -Wo were working long hours, and making three trips from Patutahi to Kopua and back daily. “To stand up to this work, T p chased from Messrs. Bato and Bell, in September, 1929 a truck for .£225. I paid £25 deposit, and the balance at £l4 16s per month. The truck was second-hand, but Messrs. Bate and Bell guaranteed it to be in first-class order, and that it would stand up to tho work for which it was purchased. I was not in a position to buy a new truck. As the contract was paying well, I considered that, two months with the truck would clear the amount I was then owing to sundry creditors, approximately £SO. However, the truck turned out to bo a bad purchase, and was never in first-class order, ns state to me. Within two months I had to put in new gears, at a cost of £25 I2s 2d. at the. Tourist Garage, in addition to other repairs. I also paid the Tourist Garage. £4 18s for repairs a week later, and now owe this garage £2B for more repairs. T also owe Messrs. Gardner and Gedye £3O odd for repairs to the truck.

“The metal contract from Patutahi to Kopua ended in the middle of October, 1929. when we had expected it to tarry on for some months further. T i lion got a sprawl job at Kopua with Air. O’Grady, but owing partly to bad weather, but mainly to breakdowns with the truck, I made very little money. T later came to town and took a contract with Air. AV. F. lies, but the truck broke down altogether, and T lost this contract. The truck was out o r action entirely, and when in this condition was seized by Atessrs. Bate and Bell for default in the monthly payments. I am now forced to file, as my creditors are pressing me. lam now employed as a lorry driver on weekly wages, and having no assets, am unable to make any offer to my creditors. 1 consider that I would not, have been i’ my present position had the truck sold to me by Messrs. Bate and Bell been in good order as stated io me. If it had been in good order I would still have been on contracts, and votild have seen mv way to getting rav debts pc id.” In reply to the assignee, the, debtor stated that he had previously been emnloved by a firm in which his father had been a partner. The truck with which lie started business in June, 1929, had been lent him hv his mother, andhehad paidnorenton it. He had opened no bank account when he started, but ho kept a record of hisi receipts in a hook which lie had at home. He continued his freight service from June till October, hut found it unprofitable. It bad paid at' first, but when the camps began to shift, his business fell off. He had commenced a contract with Air. Ashworth about- July, and finished about, three months later. He had obtained the truck for the purposes of this contract, from Messrs. Bate and Bell, the arrangement being indefinite as to how much he should pay. He had used it for some time without paying anything for the use of it. His arrangement. with Ashworth was that he should be paid at the rate of 81 per mile. He had collected from Ashworth sums ot £47 10s. £53 6s, and £56. He received in connection with bis freight service approximately £6O, while, lie had Imok debts amounting to £2O, or thereabouts. He had subsequently bought from Messrs. Bate and Bell another truck at £225. depositing £25 and paying oil (he balance at £l4 16s a month. He bad paid off all hut, £BS 16s, when Bate and Bell took in the truck in pursuance of the. agreement, for non-payment ot instalments. From ATr.‘ O’Grady,-in connection with the spawling contract, be had received £49. which had been paid into the bank. He subsequently took a contract with Air. W. F. I os on which be received £ls. out, o« which sum he had to pay for benzine. Bankrupt added that he was a married man with two children. He had no assets beyond the hook debts. , , , To Mr. Barnard, tho bankrupt Btat- ; ed that ho had a piano in his house, but it was in his wife’s name and really belonged to Ghrisps, Ltd., his wife having got it some time ago. The price of the piano was £6O or £rt>, ami about £1 or £2 had been paid down, -while not more than id had been paid off. AU. Barnard: Did you think it a good time to a buy a piano when you owed big bills, which you couldn’t pay, for benzine?—Well, I didn’t interfere with the piano. I left that to my wife. Don’t you think you should have interfered?—Well, yes, I should have. Bankrupt denied that he had never paid for petrol during the nine months ho had been running. The first cheque lie had had from Mr. Ashworth he had paid to Mr. C. J. Walsh. He had found the truck bought from Bate and Bell unsatisfactory, but he did not turn it in again because he thought he, could battle through. Mr. Buriiard: 'You have money put hv to buy a. new truck? —No, I have no money. Did you not say so in an hotel bar recently?—No. It must be a mistake, because I have no money at all. You woro negotiating for tho purchase of a new truck after Bate and Bell seized the old one? —No, I wanted to hire, one, but the agents wanted mo to raise £IOO.

You kept only a book of your receipts and expenditures?—Yes. You have been getting benzine and groceries, chiefly benzine, from Air. Ancell since November, 1919?—Yes. Why did you not make some attempt at repayment?—! did pay him something out of each cheque I got. You incurred debts to him for £79. and paid only £23?- 1 had the truck in the garage most of the time. Tt. consumed benzine to the extent of £4B so it must have been going some of tho time?—l had to pay for the repairs. You haven't paid for benzine, you owe Mr. Walsh for tyres, and you haven't paid Gardner and Gedye for the repairs ?—I was paying some of m v accounts. I could" not keep the 'truck running and so could not make my pavments. You got your benzine in drums. What has become of those drums?—J have two at home and there are two at Air. Ancell' s yard. Mr. Ancell : Aon got five drums and have not returned any so far as 1 know.—The hoy took two off me at your yard. The bankrupt, slated that his wife had no money of her own. ami apart from the furniture had no assets. He admitted that he had received £287, and had paid £l5B into the hank, lie had paid .Mr. Walsh some money, and had given his wife some money for household expenses and rent. He owed Ball and Grawshaw £lO for rent. He did not represent his bank hook as a full aecoimL of bin receipts, but he had kept out only two or three payments, including £6O from his Kopua freight service When lie incurred debts in January with Air. Ancell. bankrupt stated, lie had expected to pay for it out of his cheques from Air. lies. He had, however, received notice to pay £2O in 14 flays, or give up the truck. He had paid this sum. and shortly afterwards file truck had been seized. He had'not been provided with a copy of the agreement under which the truck was pur-

chased. Hale and Hell had since sued him for £79 for goods which hq, did not know the details ol Under further examination the bank rrpti slated that be bad not spent 'Ac a week. 11 is personal expenses had not exceeded 113 per week. He agreed, however. that as be bad received £2BO and paid il out, and had another £3BO ol debts unpaid, lie had incurred debts amounting to about £ls per week. Mr. Ancell commented that Hate and Hell bad been receiving all the money, while the other creditors had received nothing. He asked the bankrupt whether he had been paying bis wife money to buy a piano. bankrupt stated that money paid for the piano had been saved by ms wile from occasional cheques he had given lie,'. With regard to the condition of the last truck. Mr. N.Gedye stated that lack of attention was primarily the trouble with the truck. No truck would run whlinul "i! or grease, lie added. Mr. DA. lies, who had taken nve, tie examination from Mr. L. T. Hur uard. remarked that it- seemed that there was no likelihood of getting a clear statement of the bankrupt's- financial affairs. He suggested that the bank rtq.it had'not complied with the Act in regard to keeping proper books of accounts. The ltd).A. remarked that there was the book which bankrupt stated he had at home, and which might bo found to comply with the Act’s requirements, lit-suggested that that matter should ho left to him. Examined by his own counsel, Ur. K. A. Woodward, the bankrupt stated that the only amount he could not account for in detail at present was the £6O received for work from June to September, while on the Kopua freight run. He had paid Ball and Grawshaw about £lO a week for benzine at t time, and with rent and household expenses be bad not had much left from the £6O. The hist- truck he bad bad needed new gears two months after bo got it. He owed Gardner and Gedye

about £3l in respect of this truck, and the Tourist Garage £2B. also tor repairs. these sums being apart from the cost o' ti'e new gears-. He Maim'd this truck for bis present position. He had iwed about £59 when ho bought it. and bad Imped to get clear with the proceeds of the metal contract for which hi bought the truck. Had the machine lasted, lie would have got his Mils cleared up. C'n O’Gradv’s job. the truck broke down about every other day. Ho had lost Mr. \Y. E. ilos’ contract be cause the truck had broken down again, and he could not afford to get it ronaired. He considered that the truck did not come up to the guarantee given will) it. Mr. lies slated tint bis client bad no grudge against the bankrupt, and would he satisfied if evidence was produced to show that this was a genuine case o f hardship, or oven morelv the result of foolish t ending. I f t his proof could .he shown, he would be satisfied. The meeting was adjourned* until todnv a* 2.30, for the production of the hook spoken of hv the bankrupt.