Taxi Driver Online

Hartlepool people warned not to use illegal 'Facebook taxis' - as council says it will prosecute unlicensed drivers

https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/h ... -1-9547292

Council chiefs in Hartlepool have issued a warning about using ‘Facebook Taxis’ following a huge increase in the number of people offering lifts for money on social media.


Image: Hartlepool Borough Council

Ian Harrison, Hartlepool Borough Council’s trading standards and licensing manager, said: “The council carries out rigorous checks on its taxi trade so that the public can have confidence that both the driver and the vehicle are safe and reliable and that the vehicles are correctly insured.

"When a private individual offers themselves as a taxi service, they have not been subjected to any checks and their vehicle will not be correctly insured. This places each and every passenger at risk.

“We are aware of one recent incident where a young woman was offering ‘cheap taxi runs’ on Facebook, but when the driver actually turned up, it was a middle aged man. These types of incidents seriously concern me.

"I fully appreciate that there may be a shortage of taxis at busy times and that the public will always be tempted to look for a ‘good deal’, but I would urge everyone to only use properly licensed taxis and private hire companies.

“For anyone who is, or is thinking of, providing ‘cheap taxi runs’, I would remind them that to do so is a criminal offence, and Hartlepool Borough Council will not hesitate to prosecute in order to protect the public and retain public confidence in the taxi licensing system.

“Offering unlicensed taxi services may also void their car insurance and make it extremely difficult and expensive to be re-insured.

"Again, in order to protect the public, the council will not hesitate to notify insurance companies where it finds someone offering unlicensed taxi services.”

Anyone wanting to report an unlicensed taxi can report it to Hartlepool Borough Council’s licensing team on (01429) 523354 or email licensing@hartlepool.gov.uk

Unlicensed Hartlepool taxi driver fined after cheap lifts advertised on Facebook

https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/c ... ook-492424

An unlicensed taxi driver was caught operating in Hartlepool after cheap lifts were advertised on Facebook.

Licensing chiefs at Hartlepool Borough Council are warning of the dangers of accepting rides from unlicensed cabbies after the conviction of Raymond Cann.

Cann, 46, of Arch Court, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty at Teesside Magistrates Court to driving without a private hire driver’s licence, driving a vehicle that was not licensed as a private hire vehicle and driving without insurance.

He was fined £480, ordered to pay £300 costs and given eight penalty points.

The court was told that a Facebook post appeared on December 31 last year from a young female offering lifts for £5.

A local man accepted the offer and was subsequently picked up by Cann, who also carried out a return journey later that same evening.

Hartlepool Borough Council’s Licensing Team investigated after a complaint and found that Cann did not have a licence to act as a taxi driver, his vehicle was not licensed as a private hire vehicle and therefore was not insured.

Ian Harrison, Hartlepool Trading Standards and Licensing Manager, said: “There is an inherent risk in accepting lifts from strangers.

“This is one of the reasons why taxi drivers must undergo rigorous checks including Enhanced Criminal Records checks, thorough medical examinations and training on issues such as Child Sexual Exploitation. Regular vehicle checks also take place.

“This is to ensure that they are safe and suitable to transport members of the public. Unlicensed drivers have not undergone these checks and therefore members of the public have no reassurances about their safety and, when a driver is unlicensed, the car they are driving will be uninsured.

“I am aware that Facebook and other social media platforms are being used to offer ‘cheap lifts’ but I would urge everyone to not accept these regardless of how attractive the offer may sound.

“In order to protect the public, Hartlepool Council will not hesitate in taking enforcement action against any other person it finds to be acting as an unlicensed taxi driver.”

For further information or to report a similar incident, contact the council’s licensing team on (01429) 523354.

Well done to the council for following up their good words.

At least that council understands some of the act.

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IDFIMH

So the customer complained only when he realised it wasn’t ‘a young female’ picking him up ? Sounds a bit creepy to me.

advertising standards

I think there was a case in the 70's in America where a bar was advertising topless bar staff and someone filed a complaint because the majority were male and the owners were fined

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