Taxi Driver Online

Four more cab drivers fined for 'blagging' in Milton Keynes

Four more cab drivers have been prosecuted in Milton Keynes after being caught picking up passengers illegally, in a practice known as ‘blagging.' MK Magistrates’ heard the four cases on Friday (June1) which resulted from a joint enforcement operation carried out by Milton Keynes Council and South Northants District Council in October & December 2017.

Tharmalingham Manmathan of Percheron Place, Downs Barn pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance in October 2017. He was fined £60 for plying for hire and £180 for invalid insurance. He was also given 6 DVLA penalty points and has to pay costs of £100, with a victim surcharge of £30. Mr Manmathan is licensed by Aylesbury Vale District Council who will take appropriate action concerning his licence. At the time of the offence(s) he was operated by Speedline.

Jamal Hussain of Hartwell Drive, Kempston pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance in October 2017. He was fined £127 for plying for hire and £190 for invalid insurance. He was also given 6 DVLA penalty points and has to pay costs of £100, with a victim surcharge of £30. Mr Hussain is licensed by Bedford Borough Council who will take appropriate action concerning his licence. At the time of the offence(s) he was operated by Key Cars.

Kanapathipillai Jeyaranjan of Barnes Place, Oldbrook pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance in October 2017. ADVERTISING He was fined £300 for plying for hire and £350 for invalid insurance. He was also given 6 DVLA penalty points and has to pay costs of £200, with a victim surcharge of £35. Mr Jeyaranjan is licensed by Aylesbury Vale District Council who will take appropriate action concerning his licence. At the time of the offence(s) he was operated by Speedline.

Madhan Mylvaganam of Shorham Rise, Two Mile Ash pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance in October 2017. He was fined £130 for plying for hire and £195 for invalid insurance. He was also given 6 DVLA penalty points and has to pay costs of £100, with a victim surcharge of £30. Mr Mylvaganam is licensed by Aylesbury Vale District Council who will take appropriate action concerning his licence. At the time of the offence(s) he was operated by Speedline.

Three more drivers also attended court for similar offences and pleaded not guilty. They will face trial(s) in the coming weeks. The court heard how officers, acting as members of the public, engaged the drivers on journeys which had not been pre-booked from one location to another in Milton Keynes. Investigations by council officers showed that the vehicles were not lawfully pre-booked for these journeys.

Councillor Catriona Morris, chair of the council’s taxi licensing committee, said: “Milton Keynes Council takes passenger safety very seriously. The laws and licensing standards that we enforce are in place to ensure that passengers are safe. "People should be aware that if they use private hire vehicles without booking in advance then the vehicle will not be insured if an accident occurs. I would like to thank South Northants Council for their support in these joint operations”.

_________________
IDFIMH

How does this councillor KNOW their insurance will not be valid if they pick up an illegal hire?

I personally think this is as much to do with MK being annoyed that licensing revenue is being syphoned off by neighbouring councils they do seem to catch more at it than every other council in Britain

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

And long may it continue.

_________________
IDFIMH

Cross-border drivers fined for 'blagging' in MK

https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/tax ... -1-8555391

Two taxi drivers have been prosecuted after being caught picking up passengers illegally known as ‘blagging’ in Milton Keynes.

MK Magistrates heard the two cases on Friday after a joint enforcement operation carried out by MK Council and South Northants Council in December 2017.

Selvanayagam Jeevakumar of Turnmill Avenue, Springfield, Milton Keynes attended court and pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance in December 2017. He was fined £84 for plying for hire and £168 for invalid insurance. He was also given 6 DVLA penalty points and has to pay costs of £400, with a victim surcharge of £30. At the time of the offence(s) his vehicle was operated by Speedline.

Mr Jeevakumar was previously licensed by Aylesbury Vale District Council who revoked his licence in May 2018.

Muhammed Muddasar Zulfiqar of Windsor Street, Wolverton attended court and pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance in December 2017. He was fined £116 for plying for hire and £232 for invalid insurance. He was also given 6 DVLA penalty points and has to pay costs of £400, with a victim surcharge of £30.

At the time of the offence(s) his vehicle was operated by Speedline.

Mr Zulfiqar is licensed by South Northants Council who will take appropriate action concerning his licence. Four other licensed drivers also attended court for taxi licensing offences and their cases were adjourned.

The court heard how officers, acting as members of the public, engaged the drivers on journeys which had not been pre-booked from one location to another in Milton Keynes.

Investigations by council officers showed that the vehicles were not lawfully pre-booked for these journeys.

Coucillor Catriona Morris, chair of the council’s Taxi Licensing Committee, said: “The laws and licensing standards that we enforce are in place to ensure that passengers are safe. The public needs to be aware that if they use private hire vehicles without booking in advance then the vehicle will not be insured if an accident occurs. I would like to thank South Northants Council for their support in these joint operations.”

more drivers are probably caught in MK than in the rest of the country put together

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

Insurance certificates state you must be complying with licensing authority regulations or words to that effect,meaning private hire cannot pick up a non pre booked fare anywhere.

Aylesbury Vale-licensed PH driver caught with unbooked fare in Milton Keynes during random police stop

https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/tax ... -1-8570523

A private hire driver has been prosecuted after being caught picking up a passenger illegally - plying for hire - known as ‘blagging’ - in Milton Keynes.

Milton Keynes Magistrates’ heard the case last Friday (13 July 2018) after a joint enforcement operation carried out by MK Council and Thames Valley Police in January 2018.

Mobeen Shabbir of Luton attended court and pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance in January 2018.

He was fined £40 for plying for hire and £120 for invalid insurance. He was also given 8 DVLA penalty points and has to pay costs of £300, with a victim surcharge of £30. At the time of the offence(s) his vehicle was operated by Royal Cabs.

Mr Shabbir is currently licensed by Aylesbury Vale District Council who will take appropriate action concerning his licence.

The court heard that on 28 January 2018 Council Taxi Licensing Officers and Thames Valley Police were in a marked police vehicle conducting roadside checks on licensed vehicles. At approximately 12:20am police stopped Mr Shabbir’s vehicle on Grafton Street, Bleak Hall and it was found that the vehicle was defective and that the passenger had not pre-booked the vehicle.

Councillor Catriona Morris, Chair of the council’s Taxi Licensing Committee, said: “This case further illustrates the problem of illegal plying for hire or ‘blagging’ that is going on in Milton Keynes - mainly by drivers licensed by other councils.

"This case was not a test purchase exercise but a routine police stop and compliance check which has uncovered a serious unlawful practice where the passenger was not covered by the vehicle’s insurance policy and who’s safety was therefore at risk.

"This case clearly supports the Council’s ongoing test purchase programme and zero tolerance approach to drivers who illegally ply for hire in Milton Keynes."

She added: "This result will hopefully send a strong message to all drivers who want to take un-booked journeys that they will be caught and prosecuted. I would like to commend Council Officers and Thames Valley Police for their excellent work in stopping this vehicle and putting this offender before the court.”

Very similar article to the one at the top of the thread.

In fact Sussex's title for the thread also neatly describes this latest piece.

Four more Private Hire drivers caught illegally ‘blagging’ in MK and successfully prosecuted at MK Magistrates’ Court

https://www.mkfm.com/news/local-news/fo ... tes-court/

All four drivers were also fined for invalid motor insurance

MK Magistrates’ heard these cases on Friday, 7 December 2018 which followed joint enforcement operations carried out by Milton Keynes, South Northants and Aylesbury Vale Councils earlier this year. These four drivers had accepted journeys from Council Officers, who were acting as member of the public, from one destination to another in Milton Keynes that were not pre-booked. Further investigations showed that the vehicles used by the drivers were not insured for these journeys.

Muhammad Babar Ali Chaudhry of Great Holm, Milton Keynes attended Court and pleaded guilty to plying for hire and no insurance offences committed on 1 July 2018. He was fined £65 for plying for hire, £200 for invalid motor insurance, given 6 points in his DVLA licence, and also has to pay costs of £735 with a victim surcharge £30.00

Imran Faisal of Warwick Road West, Luton attended Court and pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance committed on 1 July 2018. He was fined £115 for plying for hire, £350 for invalid motor insurance, given 6 points on his DVLA licence, and also has to pay costs of £735 with a victim surcharge of £35.

Shamraz Ali of Laburnum Avenue, Bedford attended Court and pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance committed on 12 July 2018. He was fined £85 for plying for hire, £250 for invalid motor insurance, given 6 points on his DVLA licence, and also has to pay costs of £735 with a victim surcharge of £30.

Mohammed Ajmal of Cavendish Road, Luton attended Court and pleaded guilty to plying for hire and driving without valid motor insurance committed on 1 July 2018. He was fined £185 for plying for hire, £556 for invalid motor insurance, given 6 points on his DVLA licence, and also has to pay costs of £605 with a victim surcharge of £55.

At the time of these offences the private hire vehicles were licensed by Aylesbury Vale and South Northants Councils. Both Councils will take appropriate action in regard to their Private Hire/Hackney Carriage driver licences.

Chair of MKC’s Taxi Licensing Committee, Cllr Catriona Morris, said: “Licensed drivers are in a position of trust and members of the public expect that anyone driving a licensed vehicle has the correct licence and insurance to do so.

“These four drivers must take personal responsibility for the safety of everyone they carry in their private hire vehicles. Illegally plying for hire and driving without appropriate insurance cover means that passengers have little or no legal protection whilst travelling in these vehicles.

“These cases will hopefully send a powerful message to the licensed trade and clearly show the consequences that await any licensed driver who fails to follow the law.

“We would urge members of the public not to get into private hire vehicles without a prearranged booking for their own safety.

“These operations by Milton Keynes, Aylesbury Vale and South Northants Councils will continue and shall hopefully minimise, if not eliminate, those drivers carrying out illegal activities within Milton Keynes.”

Most drivers in MK book the jobs in or tell customer to call office so the booking goes through.
if this is legal then i dont know why theirs such think as PH and HC if they both can basically do the same thing?
most people come out of the station, pubs clubs and walk directly to the PH even when theirs a HC rank in sight they rather just go to the PH as 99.9 think the HC will charge more but in reality blaggers often charge more.

BUT convince the punters en route that they aren't

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

If the drivers book the jobs in themselves a case of plying and/or illegal bookings could be made out. If the customer rings themselves having been told to do so by the driver, then a case of plying and/or touting could be made out.

_________________
IDFIMH