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| Couple had no insurance and no licences to run a taxi firm http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16760 |
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| Author: | Brummie Cabbie [ Sat May 14, 2011 7:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | Couple had no insurance and no licences to run a taxi firm |
Couple had no insurance and no licences to run a taxi firm Friday, May 13, 2011, 09:00 A husband and wife who ran an unlicensed taxi service have been disqualified from driving after one of their cars crashed while fleeing from the police. Michael and Elizabeth Cook, of Forrester Road, Portishead, pleaded guilty to a number of insurance and licensing offences at North Somerset Magistrates' Court. The court heard the couple were running an unlicensed business called Cookie's Cabs/Cars. On December 3 last year Mr Cook collected some passengers from an address in Portishead and drove them to Bristol. On the return journey he became nervous he was being followed by a police car and told the passengers in the back seat to get their heads down while he drove along at speed, apparently trying to avoid the police. He continued to drive at what the passengers considered to be excessive speeds until he crashed the car. The court heard that Mr Cook prevented the passengers from calling the emergency services and told them that if anyone came along they were to say that they were friends of his and he was just giving them a lift. North Somerset Council licensing department had been handed a mobile telephone number it was said was being used in the business and an officer called the number and asked the man who answered if he was Cookie. He confirmed he was, and the officer asked if he could take her to Clevedon. The court was told that Mr Cook said he could send someone down in ten minutes, the charge would be £10 and that the car would be silver Ford Escort driven by a woman. He added that it would not have any taxi plates as it was not a proper taxi. Mrs Cook picked two council officers up and drove towards Clevedon and past a parked marked police car. The court heard that when the police car pulled out after them, Mrs Cook said: "Oh no – the cops are behind us", and went on to say that if they were stopped the passengers should pretend to be friends of hers. The police officer carried out a roadside check of the vehicle and confirmed that it was not insured as a taxi. Mrs Cook told the officer that the two passengers in the back were friends of hers and she was just giving them a lift to Clevedon, denying that she was making a charge. She was spoken to by two other licensing officers at the scene who took her details and cautioned her. She eventually admitted working as an unlicensed private-hire driver. Mr Cook was interviewed on tape under caution in January and said that although he was not then a registered driver he had been licensed as a private-hire driver and a hackney-carriage driver some years before, that he was aware of the licensing requirements for running a private hire taxi business and for using a vehicle as a taxi. He denied running Cookie's Cabs from his home address but admitted driving passengers from Portishead to Bristol and back for money. He also admitted asking his wife to do the Clevedon job the following day for £10. North Somerset Council continued to receive complaints about Mr Cook's activities so another operation was carried out on March 4. Two council officers booked Mr Cook to take them from the Working Men's Club in Portishead to Bristol for an agreed fare of £10 when Mr Cook told them he had no proper insurance and was not licensed. Mr Cook, 54, pleaded guilty to 11 offences and Mrs Cook, 66, to two relating to having no insurance and no licences to run taxis or operate as a taxi or private hire firm. Mr Cook was disqualified from driving for 18 months, fined £100 and a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £500 costs. Mrs Cook was disqualified from driving for six months, fined £100 with a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay costs of £200. North Somerset Council's licensing manager Keith Taylor said: "These people did not have insurance so the safety of any passengers they were carrying was definitely put at risk. This case again highlights how seriously North Somerset Council takes the protection of consumers and we will continue to take appropriate action against those who flout the law." Source; http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/courts/C ... ticle.html |
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| Author: | Sussex [ Sat May 14, 2011 7:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Couple had no insurance and no licences to run a taxi fi |
Brummie Cabbie wrote: Mr Cook was disqualified from driving for 18 months, fined £100 and a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £500 costs.
Mrs Cook was disqualified from driving for six months, fined £100 with a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay costs of £200. Evidence that the headline fine isn't the only punishment. |
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| Author: | Brummie Cabbie [ Sat May 14, 2011 8:03 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Couple had no insurance and no licences to run a taxi fi |
Sussex wrote: Brummie Cabbie wrote: Mr Cook was disqualified from driving for 18 months, fined £100 and a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay £500 costs. Mrs Cook was disqualified from driving for six months, fined £100 with a £15 victim surcharge and ordered to pay costs of £200. Evidence that the headline fine isn't the only punishment. IMO, the fines are not increasing and are becoming less of a deterrent. I believe that this huge problem will not begin to be solved until they bring in confiscation of vehicle. |
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| Author: | thelodger [ Sat May 14, 2011 5:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I hope the benefit and revenue departments have been informed. |
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| Author: | wannabeeahack [ Sat May 14, 2011 9:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
thelodger wrote: I hope the benefit and revenue departments have been informed.
do you think they recorded thier trips and takings? |
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| Author: | edders23 [ Sat May 14, 2011 10:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Nice to see in some parts of the country they are doing something about the cowboys |
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| Author: | Geoff Denman [ Thu May 19, 2011 12:01 am ] |
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Too right, They need more schemes like in manchester! |
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