Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver demands police action over fare-dodgers who run off without paying

A taxi driver praised for his honesty in returning cash left in his car by a customer is calling for action against fare-dodgers who run off without paying. Muhammad Naeem, who has been assaulted and racially abused in the course of his work, said taxi drivers got no help from the police when passengers made off.

He spoke out after a teenage girl he collected from Huddersfield town centre racked up a £25 fare during a 90-minute taxi ride – only to say she’d lost her debit card and could not pay. Despite taking his mobile phone number and promising to send him the money the following day – even texting to say she would pay £30 – the girl never called him and his text messages to her have gone unanswered.

Mr Naeem, a private hire taxi driver, said he reported the incident to police while the girl was with him. When they contacted him an hour later it was only to ask if he had dropped the girl off safely. He offered to give officers video and audio of his conversation with the girl as well as her name and phone number, but was told the police could not help him get his money as it was a civil matter.

Mr Naeem, 50, of Bradley, said he collected the teenager at about 2.30am outside Revolution in Cross Church Street, when she said she wanted to go to Newsome, where her boyfriend would be waiting for her at Stile Common Road.

But he said she spent over half an hour getting Mr Naeem to drive around the streets looking for an address – racking up £14.20 on the meter – before telling him to take her to Storthes Hall student village instead. When they arrived, the fare was £25 but the girl said she had lost her debit card and promised to pay the following day. Mr Naeem said the girl sounded upset when he picked her up, but was cheerful when he dropped her off.

He said he would never have left her alone on the streets, but added: “A colleague said he had made three trips to Storthes Hall in the time it took me to take her there. Taxis were very busy that night and I lost out on money I could have been earning for my family and to pay my bills.”

On another occasion, a couple he collected outside McDonald’s asked to go to Lindley. The man claimed he had left his bank card in his car parked at the Black Bull pub. He said he would follow the taxi in his car to the cashpoint at the filling station on Halifax Road, Birchencliffe, to draw out some money – but when he pulled out of the car park, his female companion jumped in and they drove off.

Mr Naeem said: “I couldn’t follow them because I think the man was drink driving. If he had seen me following him and sped off, crashed and killed himself I would be blamed.” Mr Naeem, who has also had his car kicked and damaged by a man who refused to pay his fare and was assaulted and racially abused in another incident, said these were not isolated cases and that other cabbies had similar examples.

The father of-four, who was praised for his honesty in returning £1,000 accidentally left in his cab by a passenger in 2011, said: “We are not a charity. I was in the right, but still I got no help.”

West Yorkshire Police was asked for a comment.

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IDFIMH

Fares must be pretty light if she was in the car for 90 mins from 2.30 in the morning and much of the time spent driving around

FFS that old statement

Why don't they just say they cant be bothered

many police forces now won't bother if the amount "stolen" is under £200 many retailers are complaining about a surge in shoplifting

whats needed is some sort of minor criminal system in which individuals can take perpetrators of "minor" offences to court without police involvement but without having to incur the costs of a private prosecution

Obviously there would need to be some sort of system that enables members of the public to investigate criminal offences in a similar way to the police but without powers of arrest and some sort of one stop court system that would enable a single magistrate to hear cases on a timed basis perhaps with a maximum allotted time per case and a basic set of rules for evidence which would need to be complied with

Obviously such courts would not be able to hand out jail sentences it would have to be on a fines basis but once convicted that conviction should go on the criminal record

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Taxi driving is a profession that is based solely on trust. A customer trusts a driver to take them safely from A to B, and the driver trusts that the customer will pay at the end of the journey. Both party's are at the mercy of each other, but what happens when that trust breaks down?

The industry is acutely aware of its responsibilities towards the customer, but what can a driver do when a customer breaches that trust bestowed upon them and refuses to pay or bilks the driver.

The taxi industry has seen and heard of instances where, when the police have been in attendance, they have failed in their duty in upholding the law in relation to the offence of bilking.

The industry must cut the police some slack here as not every officer would necessarily know the finer points of the law pertaining to bilking a cabbie, there have been many occasions where a police officer has wrongly informed the taxi driver that bilking is a civil matter. However, when corrected by a cabby, the police officer should seek clarification if they are unsure of the law or have been challenged on their interpretation of the law. It takes nothing more than the officer in question simply radioing in or even doing a simple Google search.

The law itself is quite straightforward, if a passenger refuses to pay the fare or runs off without paying, this is considered to be a criminal offence.

If a passenger makes off without paying then this is considered an act of theft under Section 3 of the Theft Act 1978 – Making off without payment.

If a passenger knowingly takes a journey in a taxi without having the money to pay and does not inform the driver of this until the final destination is reached then this is an offense under Section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006 – Obtaining services dishonestly.

Finally if the passenger refuses to pay at the final destination, this would also considered an offense under Section 11 of the Fraud Act.

There is absolutely no ambiguity in the two pieces of legislation stated above. The offenses are a police matter and not a civil matter.

Now comes the difficult part, how do you deal with the offense?

As tempting as it seems, NEVER hold the perpetrator by locking them inside the vehicle, you run the very real risk of being charged with false imprisonment as well as an action under civil law.

It needs to be stressed that no offence has taken place until the passenger has left the vehicle.

The moment the passenger has left the vehicle you can make a citizens arrest, which requires you to inform the passenger that you are making a citizens arrest and then inform them of the offence that they have committed. You can then use reasonable force to hold the person before handing them over to the police.

Be aware, this action is frought with danger because it isn't inconceivable that you may find yourself open to charges of false imprisonment or assault.

Curiously, if the passenger offers part payment for the fare, this then becomes a civil matter and not a criminal one. This only applies if the perpetrator also provides their name and address.

It is always wise to switch on the record function on your phone and record the incident in its entirety, so that the police or any other authority can see that you have acted legally.

Regardless as to whether you are able to hold the person or have to let them leave, always report the incident to the police. If you feel that the police are not carrying out their duty then always take the officers name and number and make an official complaint or inform your org or union of the situation.

Be smart and be safe.



details from taxipoint news letter