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£100,000 taxi bill blunder

ONE of North Wales' biggest taxi firms over-charged two health trusts by more than £100,000.

An audit investigation found Roberts Taxis, of Prestatyn, claimed individual journeys when taking two or three patients home together from Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

The company overcharged for around five years.

It has repaid all of the money in recent months.

The firm was contracted to the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust to carry patients.

It was also used to a lesser extent by the Conwy and Denbighshire NHS Trust to carry doctors and documents.

The massive overspending was uncovered by auditors checking the books of the St Asaph-based Ambulance Trust.

It is understood discrepancies totalling more than £100,000 were found.

The matter was drawn to the attention of hospital officials who found they had also been overcharged by several thousand pounds.

It was dealt with internally by both trusts.

Nigel Morris, director of finance for the Conwy and Denbighshire Trust, said yesterday: "Certain anomalies were detected over the charges raised by Roberts Taxis.

"A full investigation was carried out by the trust into anomalies recorded over a period of nearly five years which were brought to the attention of the company.

"Following further discussions agreement was reached between the parties with a view to the discrepancies being rectified, and the matter was closed."

Mik Webb, director of finance for the Ambulance Trust, issued a virtually identical statement which concluded: "An agreement was reached between the Trust and the organisation, the anomalies were rectified and the matter was closed."

Peter Roberts, head of the taxi company, last night declined to comment other than to say: "We have reached an amicable agreement."

His solicitor, Gary Morris, of Gamlins in Rhyl, said: "The contracts were extremely complicated and were misinterpreted by both parties over a long period.

"There was nothing sinister about it."

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IDFIMH

It was purely an administrative fault.

All 100 grand of it.

Alex

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ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

Simply the best taxi forum in the whole wide world. www.taxi-driver.co.uk

kin hell, the big suprise is that they COULD pay it back,
100,000