Taxi Driver Online

Fenland Council reads Wisbech taxi drivers their rights after overcharging claims

Friday, December 30, 2011, 10:25 AM

Taxi drivers accused of overcharging were formally cautioned by Fenland District Council, read their rights and called in for taped interviews to explain their actions.

But Councillor Dave Patrick, chairman of Wisbech and District Hackney Carriage Drivers Association, believes it was “strange that this should happen prior to a full council meeting where meters were to be ratified”.

And stranger still, he says, that once the vote was taken to install meters the “case was closed”.

Cllr Patrick said no action was taken against two of the three drivers “as no offence had been committed based on their evidence.

“The third was given words of advice as he is new to the trade and it was accepted a genuine mistake had taken place. Not in relation to the price but the fact he had not negotiated his fare.

“If you do not negotiate your fare prior to hiring then you must charge by the tariff. That was his only error.”

The council is adamant it was “not a sting by us nor was it a test purchase. The first that the licensing team knew of it was when a complaint was made by a member of the public.

“We followed up that complaint, as is our duty.”

The licensing team “was presented with evidence by a member of the public that three drivers had overcharged on three occasions”.

The council says receipts confirmed the journeys and identified the drivers and companies.

Two of the journeys came from the Horsefair and were less than 1.4 miles but on each occasion the passenger was charged more than the £3.31 tariff. The third journey, from Morrisons to Elm, was also too high.

The council says that all three admitted the charges under interview and “each driver was apologetic, saying they had made a genuine mistake. Each explained how they came to charge more than the £3.31.

“This incident highlights the fact that it is extremely difficult for a driver to work out a waiting charge or whether it is appropriate, without the use of a stopwatch or indeed a taximeter.”

Source; http://www.wisbechstandard.co.uk/news/f ... _1_1165477

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Brummie Cabbie.

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If there is no meters yet, they can charge what they like, as the fare is not regulated by the council

for crying out loud skippy just because there are no meters does NOT mean there isn't a prescribed rate per mile !!

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

And its taken 164 years to work that bugger out.

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IDFIMH

There is, and has been, a set rate. Just no meters to run on it.

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IDFIMH

[quote][/quote]The council says that all three admitted the charges under interview and “each driver was apologetic, saying they had made a genuine mistake. Each explained how they came to charge more than the £3.31


This is not true. No one admitted the charges as no overcharging took place. 2 Drivers charged £3.50 for a journey because both had one minutes accrued waiting time at lights and junctions and our tariff states 20p a minute or part thereoff waiting time. Thus they undercharged by 1p + the 3rd driver done an out of District (norfolk ) job and told the lady 100yards into the journey the fare and not before commencement as per our bylaws to which at least 75 drivers have never been given by the licensing authority. This was all done within 3 hours and it was the same lady each time.

Why not just join the 21st century and get meters installed?

Save all the confusion

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

So they crackdown on this but they leave those pesky polish unlicensed alone?

Coincidence these two things are reported on two seperate days?

hmmmmmm

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

And even stranger still that councillor cum taxi trade representative Mr Patrick once again makes it sound like he isn't a councillor.



So HTF did the council come up with a £3.31 tariff for the job?



Ah, I see now - the basic tariff was £3.31, but there was one minute's waiting time @ 20p, so the fare should have been £3.51, thus the passenger received a 1p discount because they were only charged £3.50.

So how does the driver calculate the £3.31 in the first place, and how does he decide how much time he's sat at lights and junctions to calculate the waiting time?

To Dusty, our tariff is £3.31 for the first mile and two fifths and then 31p for every0.2 of a mile thereafter so our minimum fee is £3.31. our council have given us waiting time on our tariff from 1 second thus when you stop at a red light and your car is travelling less than 12 miles an hour your waiting time can begin, so as these drivers go via traffic lights, if they are on red they can legally charge 20p a minute. Our tariff is really really confusing ie 50% of adult rates for a dog which is really just 10p as our adult rate is 20p for every extra passenger over 2 people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1f3zH-7DY4&feature=fvst

It will be so much easier with a meter 2 tariffs, 1 for up to 4 and 1 for 5 to 8

http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/downloads ... sh_borders
This is our tariff sheet no call outs and no extras
And your 356 Th in the tariff league
http://www.phtm.co.uk/league-table.asp

Thanks for the response, but how do you decide how much of the journey is spent below 12 mph?

http://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/camb ... ?qt=polish


link says it all.

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

well they are above us we are last but one in the list just above Bolsover But good old PHTm are using the wrong figures and by the way even though we are deregulated we are told by our council that we are NOT allowed to use a seperate tarriff for 5 to 8 passengers only extras per passenger over 4

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

To Dusty, normally if people are stuck in traffic the most they are charge is just 20p no more, we normally give people 5 minutes free waiting time but because the council have been on and on about meters being cheaper people are now getting charged the correct price on the meters (several drivers have got them already) and they are now finding out their fares are going up considerably. Thats why we got a petition done. As you can imagine the trade is now getting hit for hackney drivers and private hire drivers are getting more work.Thats why there is no way our drivers are going to charge the meter price we have got to be competive to survive.