The Russian group “Lufthansa” warns others after the Russian era was destroyed – NRK Rogaland

– They have tried to put the blame on us. I don’t understand how it is our fault that your driver crashes, says Philip Reigstad from the Russian group «Lufthansa 2024» in Haugesund.

On 1 April this year, the gang was to open the Russe time with their hired Russe bus.

This was also the first time several of the members of the group were to meet the driver they had hired via Sjåførutleie AS.

The surprise was great when they met the person in question.

They were promised a 40-year-old driver with extensive experience on the road by Sjåførutleie AS.

In addition, they were to receive a secure agreement regarding the tenancy.

The person who showed up was a 23-year-old from Lithuania. In comparison, in Norway you have to be 24 years old to get a driver’s license for a bus.

The person wanted to be paid in cash.

The party ruined

Already at the first meeting, the young driver must have expressed discomfort with driving the bus, according to the members of Lufthansa.

Several of the group members responded that the driver seemed both inexperienced and uncertain in traffic.

And already on the first night of rolling, things went wrong.

To open the Russian season, “Lufthansa” was to participate in a Russian meeting in Haugesund together with several other groups.

With several buses inside a restricted area, space was tight when they had to leave the site.

Due to the lack of space, the driver chose to find an easier way out of the car park, according to the Russian group.

The solution was down a steep detour that led out of the area.

… on the way out there was a bang.

On the first day of rolling, the boom ended up stuck on a slope.

Now the group is without a bus for several weeks…

… and “Lufthansa” has been sent a bill of up to NOK 200,000 for the damage.

Blame the company

NRK has been in contact with the Lithuanian 23-year-old, who confirms the accident.

Above, the driver tells NRK that he was hired in the belief that everything would be insured, and that he would never have taken the job if he had been told otherwise.

The gang of boys from Haugesund, for their part, have been clear that they do not want the driver to pay. They claim the driver has been deceived by the company, in that he has not been informed of the actual conditions.

NRK has read the contract, which is only an agreement between the Russian group and the driver. In this contract, Sjåførutleie AS is only appointed as a broker.

The contract states that legal responsibility is with the driver.

According to the contract, the difference in the issue of liability is whether the driver has acted grossly negligently or not.

Sjåförutleie AS claims that the accident was not to blame gross negligence on the part of the driver, and that he is therefore not responsible for the repair costs.

Following an agreement between the russe group and Sjåførutleie AS, the contract between the parties was terminated.

The boys were also reimbursed the fee they had paid in advance for the driver’s hire of NOK 78,000.

But they had to pay for the repair themselves.

– Driver rental AS initially claimed responsibility, but as the price increased, they backed off. Now we have to pay all the costs to get it back on the road, but we believe that it is not us who are responsible for this in any way, says Reigstad from “Lufthansa”.

– Regrettably

Sjåförutleie AS has submitted the criticism in this article, and gives the following comment.

– The agreement entered into is between the driver and the Russian group. We think it is regrettable that they have had negative experiences, and we will look at our role. We have chosen to accommodate the request from the Russian group to terminate the agreement, and we have therefore also refunded the fee, writes Jo Skaane Dåstøl at Sjåførutleie AS to NRK in an e-mail.

He also refers to his own communication with the driver.

– We register that claims are made in the media about reckless driving and gross negligence on the part of the driver. We have been in contact with the driver, and he does not recognize himself in these claims. Beyond this, we have no comment.

The driver does not wish to comment further on the details.

– More than the driver

Although the driver must be held responsible according to the contract, according to Einar I. Lohne at Langseth Advokatfirma, there is more to the agreement.

– I am of the opinion that this case is about more than gross negligence on the part of the driver, says Lohne.

He describes the contract only as a construction made by Sjåførutleie AS to avoid potential liability.

Nevertheless, he is clear that the brokerage company has the overall responsibility for what has happened.

– My conclusion is that Sjåførutleie AS is responsible for the loss the Russian suffers, because the delivery of the driver was not in accordance with what the Russian had reason to expect, says Lohne.

Senior lawyer Thomas Iversen at the Consumer Council says that according to the contract it is unclear what responsibility the company actually has.

– The agreement is not a service contract where Sjåførutleie AS supplements a driver for the Russian group, but only an intermediary contract. It is therefore very unclear what responsibility the driver brokers have, if the driver does not deliver as agreed.

– If the parties do not agree on who will pay, this is a matter that has to go to the conciliation council to be resolved, says Iversen.

Often ends in conflict

The conflict that has arisen around the Haugesund group is not rare, claims journalist and author Ivar Brandvol.

In his work on the book “Pussy and diesel”, he has uncovered a number of objectionable conditions within the Russian industry.

– It is typical that there will be a number of conflicts in the wake of cooperation between professional and semi-professional companies and individuals against the Russians, says Brandvol.

– The most typical is the dispute about what has been agreed. Students often feel confident that they have signed some kind of contract. Then they carefully read the contract afterwards, and then there is a dispute about what it really means.

However, he believes one thing stands out about this conflict, compared to what he has seen previously.

– This one stands out in that it is a separate company that mediates drivers from abroad. It is a new kind of conflict. Such mediation also raises a number of questions about who pays employer’s contribution, value added tax and tax. It depends on the agreement between the Russian and the brokerage firm, says Brandvol.

Will warn others

For the Haugesund gang, the Russian era has been dealt a serious blow, even before it has really started.

Therefore, they now hope that their experiences can become lessons for others, to prevent more people from ending up in the same situation.

– We hope that Sjåførutleie AS will compensate for this financially, but we are prepared to have to take responsibility for it ourselves. This was a solid lesson for us.

Now they first want a good Russian time before considering any legal steps.

They have already secured a new driver, and hope to get the bus in order quickly to be able to enjoy the rest of the celebrations until May 17.