A Coventry businessman could go to jail for at least six weeks for breaching Injunctions handed down in the County Court not to use equipment belonging to Bakers Basco or its shareholders without their permission.
In the County Court at Walsall on July 10th 2017, the defendant, Mr Akhlaque Ahmed, trading as Windmill Bakery, admitted three allegations of unlawfully being in the possession and use of equipment belonging to the Claimant or its shareholders.
His Honour Judge Gregory handed down a custodial sentence of six weeks imprisonment, for three breaches of the existing injunctions. The custodial sentence was suspended for an indefinite term.
Consequently, should Mr Ahmed breach the injunction again, it was indicated that a minimum term of six weeks imprisonment would be served, together with a further period of confinement in respect of that fresh breach.
The judge also fined him £3,000 to be paid to the Crown and ordered him to pay £5,664.50 in damages and costs to Bakers Basco, all within 21 days.
The Judge pointed out to Mr. Ahmed that if both parties to the court action were taxi drivers, he would not dream of taking Basco’s taxi to make a living.
Windmill Bakery describes itself as a “family company” which prides itself in “maintaining traditional values” with “a reputation that’s second to none”. However, Mr Akhlaque admitted that he had again broken the terms of an earlier injunction, originally imposed in February 2013 and amended in July 2015, preventing him from using bakery baskets and dollies belonging to Bakers Basco and its membership without written permission.
Following those court appearances, he had then appeared in the County Court at Coventry on August 22nd 2016, where the same judge, HHJ Gregory, had warned him of the real possibility of being sent to jail if he breached the Court’s Order any more times. On that occasion, HHJ Gregory also fined him £2,000 to the Crown for breaching the order and ruled that another £3,330 in damages and costs had to be paid to Bakers Basco.
Steve Millward, General Manager, Bakers Basco, said: “I do hope that Mr Akhlaque has finally got the message that you can’t keep taking other people’s equipment without their consent. It’s been a costly lesson, though – he’s had to pay nearly £14,000 in fines, damages and costs in the last year alone, and he’s been given a suspended jail sentence. It would have been a lot cheaper for him if he had just bought his own baskets – and he wouldn’t be facing the possibility of spending weeks in jail.”
Millward added: “If people use our equipment without permission, that’s little better than theft, in our eyes. And anyone who says it’s a ‘victimless crime’ couldn’t be more wrong – the bakeries that pay to license our equipment, the retailers that sell their products and the shoppers who rely on them for their daily bread all end up paying extra for the actions of a small number of thoughtless, selfish, greedy people. The judge was absolutely right; you wouldn’t get away with using someone else’s taxi without permission because it’s how they earn their livelihood. The same thing applies to our baskets. It’s that simple.”
Bakers Basco was set up to manage and license a pool of bread baskets and dollies for the use of bakers. This allows for sharing of costs, a common design which optimises space in delivery vehicles (hence reducing the environmental impact of truck and van journeys) and a reduction in waste from disposable packaging ending up in landfill. Currently, around 25 bakeries, ranging from small to very large, are licensed to use the equipment.
Bakers Basco bread baskets and dollies are clearly marked as the company’s property. However, every year, several million pounds’ worth of its equipment, meant purely for the safe transport of bakery products, is misappropriated by third parties who have no contractual relationship with the bread manufacturers. Often, equipment is converted for other purposes, which damages it or makes it unusable for safely transporting bread. As a result, bakers, shops and consumers all end up paying more than they need to.
Steve Millward said: “We will take legal action stopping people from using and abusing our baskets and other items when we have to. In this case, the judge not only fined the defendant for breaching the earlier injunction again but handed him a suspended jail sentence. You can’t make a promise in court and then break it.”
Originally posted British Baker 25 July 2017
See also..
Halal chicken factory fined after using baking equipment for poultry transport