Protest by Tonbridge taxi firm owner at 'rip-off' by drivers A TONBRIDGE taxi firm owner is calling for action to combat unscrupulous cab drivers he says are plaguing the town.
Terry Hill, proprietor of Castle Cars for 17 years, was incensed with the "obscene" overcharging by a handful of independent drivers over the holiday period.
Mr Hill, 51, of Gorham Drive, said: "A few independents are blatantly ripping people off.
"It has been going on for a long time, but it got a lot worse over Christmas," he added.
Mr Hill said he had heard reports of £40 fares being charged from Tonbridge railway station to Hildenborough, a journey that should cost no more than £10.
Another alleged incident saw an abusive driver take a couple back to the cab rank from their destination in Brook Street when they refused to pay an inflated fare.
Mr Hill added: "As a company we are getting a lot of complaints from the public about it, probably because they couldn't get hold of the council over Christmas to report it. People have told our drivers that they have got taxis off the ranks and been overcharged. There have been some pretty obscene amounts of money that people have been charged."
Mr Hill was so angered by recent developments he even put up posters displaying Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's official fare tariff in a bid to stop overcharging.
He is now calling on passengers who believe they have been overcharged to report incidents to the council's licensing department.
"There is a small number of people on the Tonbridge taxi rank that are refusing to take people without payment up front, refusing to take minimum fares, seriously overcharging or refusing to give change," he said.
"Legitimate companies want something done about it as it is giving the trade as a whole a diabolical name.
"I have been driving for 28 years and it saddens me to see what could be a reasonable business for everybody destroyed by a few individuals. There's a lot of honest guys on that rank losing their sole income to people who are messing on their own doorstep."
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's chief solicitor Adrian Stanfield said: "The council takes the enforcement of taxi matters seriously and thoroughly investigates any complaints.
"We have not received any complaints over the holiday period in relation to overcharging. All taxi meters are subject to external testing and calibration to ensure that all charges are in accordance with those set by the borough council.
"We do undertake enforcement at all of our ranks on a random basis and follow up any concerns we have with the drivers concerned. We have recently introduced a penalty point system to assist us in managing taxi operations in the borough to ensure the highest quality."
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