Scotland's Traffic Commissioner has refused to grant a Stirling company permission to run HGVs because of the owner's previous history.
Joan Aitken also said she thought director William Nimmo was not straightforward or truthful with her during a public inquiry.
RLH (Scotland) Ltd, which planned to operate vehicles from Springkerse Industrial Estate, was called before the regulator due to the financial and operating history of companies involving Nimmo.
In a written decision issued after the hearing, Aitken said traffic commissioners were gatekeepers to the industry and that Mr Nimmo had been "at the gate many times before and to whom chances have been given".
Nimmo was involved with liquidated companies, with non payment of tax and other creditors, including most recently his son's firm Ochilmount Transport (Scot) Ltd. William Nimmo had also been called to public inquiry before with other businesses.
After hearing from Nimmo during the inquiry and taking further evidence on financial standing, the Traffic Commissioner found that the application made by RLH (Scotland) had all the hallmarks of a "family phoenix".
"I am in no doubt that this application was made given the precariousness of Ochilmount Transport (Scot) Ltd and that it was unlikely to survive financially given that HMRC had already had to petition for its liquidation for unpaid tax and indeed within 6 months thereafter came the further petition and Ochilmount Transport (Scot) is no more."
The Traffic Commissioner added: "Hauliers who pay their bills and who trade compliantly become very vexed when others go down and then re-emerge without having to satisfy creditors."
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