99% reduction in clandestine entrant fine for international haulier

24 November 2025

Our Dispute Resolution team continues to secure outstanding reductions in fines for international haulers, recently achieving a 98.96% reduction in a penalty issued by Border Force following the discovery of 13 clandestine entrants.

An international haulage company was found to have 13 clandestine entrants concealed within its vehicle. Border Force subsequently imposed a fine of £78,000 on the driver and £39,000 on the company – an overall fine of £117,000 for which the company was jointly liable to pay.

We represented the company and the driver, challenging the fines on the basis that the company had fully complied with all the relevant regulations, and submitted financial means representation highlighting the significant impact the fines would have.

Border Force accepted our representations and reduced the driver’s fine to £96 per clandestine entrant and completely extinguished the company’s fine to £0. The overall fine was reduced from £117,000 to £1,222 representing nearly a 99% reduction in the overall fine.

This result is just one of the many successful outcomes our Dispute Resolution team has achieved for international hauliers.  If you find yourself in a similar situation and would like our help, please contact our Commercial Litigation department.