https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouths-rudest-taxi-driver-slapped-3947825I'm sure this chap featured before but I'm too lazy to search for it
Plymouth’s rudest taxi driver has lost his legal battle to win back his licence.A court has ruled that 32-year-old Servet Bayar had been rude and aggressive to a string of passengers.
Hackney carriage driver Bayar denied allegations brought by 12 separate fares over two years – including that he had sworn and even kicked one man.
Plymouth City Council’s licensing chiefs said that the number of complaints against him was “unique”.
Bayar appealed that decision first to the magistrates and then to the Crown Court.
He accepted that at the time he could have unknowingly “upset someone” while doing his job.
The appeal panel ordered that Bayar should pay another £1,300 towards the costs of the case –
adding up to just under £4,000 with the magistrates' case costs.Judge Townsend announced that he would have two years to settle the costs after hearing that Bayar had lost his livelihood.
But a judge and Justices fresh to the case have now thrown out his latest appeal.
Judge James Townsend, summing up the bench’s decision, said: “We are satisfied that this appellant demonstrates a tendency to behave rudely and aggressively when challenged.
“These traits are inconsistent with the standards of behaviour rightly expected
But he added that the they had found the six passengers who gave evidence to the two-day hearing “essentially credible”.
Judge Townsend said some of the incidents were “relatively trivial” - but said that eight involved complaints of rudeness or aggression.
He added that there had been “room for misunderstanding” over complaints about overcharging of passengers. The judge made no ruling about complaints of poor driving.
The judge said that both an officer and the chairman of the authority’s Taxi Licensing Committee, Cllr Chris Mavin, had said the number of complaints was “unique in their experience”.
The council’s licensing committee revoked his licence in August 2018.
A meeting ruled that he was no longer a "safe and suitable" person and tore up his Hackney Carriage licence.
Bayar appealed that decision to Plymouth Magistrates’ Court. But a hearing there in February 2019 upheld the councillors’ decision and ordered him to pay costs of £2,696.98.
The driver then appealed the ruling of the magistrates to Plymouth Crown Court.
The court also heard that even after Mr Bayar’s revocation in August 2018, further complaints were received by the council between September 2018 and February 2019.
Bayar disputed details of all 12 complaints, saying that he could not recall some of the incidents and denying any wrongdoing in the others. The first complaint came within weeks of Bayar getting his licence.
Asked whether he had kicked the man in the back, he said: “No, that’s not true.”
Bayar said that through 2017 and 2018 he was under stress because his wife had been seriously ill and his brother had been recruited to the army in their native Turkey.
He added that his brother had then died at a military base in Ankara.
Bayar, who said as a Kurd he was treated as “nothing” in Turkey, added that he was still fighting a legal battle to find out how it happened.
Login
Register
FAQ
