Taxi Driver Online

Earlier this year i asked our Council when they adopted the 1976 LGMP act. I received a reply showing the minutes of the meeting when the resolution was passed. the date was sometime in January or February 1981. With this information to hand I then went to our local library and searched every edition of our local newspaper for 6 months either side of the date given looking for the advert that is required by law to be published for 2 consecutive weeks in order for the resolution to become adopted in our area. I couldn't find the advert. Thinking that I must have missed the advert I then wrote to the Council asking for the dates that the advert were published and also a copy of the advert and a copy of the letters sent out to all the parish Councils, as required by law, informing them that the resolution had been passed.
I have received the reply this morning.

I regret we do not hold the records that you were seeking in this request.

So it would seem that the Council can't prove that in our area the act was adopted correctly.

With this in mind do I now send them a request asking them to return all the fees that they have collected unlawfully or does this require a court order?

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Grandad,

I think I'd say nowt until you sort out the other expired plate issue with them as there is no point in getting their backs up any more than you need to and prudence may be the order of the day.

If they did not adopt the act, they can't issue plates therfore no offence was committed.

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Grandad,

true

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

I am useless at finding past posts and topics on here. Can anyone remember the topic where a company was prosecuted for no licenses and they won the court case because the council did not adopt the 1976 act correctly?

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Grandad,

Bloody hell I found it.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21548

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Grandad,

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I hope you've got deep pockets granddad; look how the Aylesbury case ended up: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24651

The difference here is that the Council have confirmed that they have no records of the letters sent or the advert placed in the newspaper and our case is about the fees levied under the 1976 act being unlawful. The lapsed plate situation is not really relevant to our claim and that was brought under section 45 of the 1847 Town police clauses act..

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Grandad,

Statute of Limitations allows us to claim back up to six years of unlawfully charged fees. (Hyndburn £210,000)

An expired plate (which was not legally issued in the first place) is the same as no plate

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

Couple of things to consider.

1. If the 1976 act wasn't legally adopted then surely the 1847 provisions are still in place. Doubt the 1847 act allowed unlicensed taxis.

2. You may have a point re adoption, and the council will struggle to win in court on that issue, IMO.

In court the council will say they can prove the 1976 was adopted via the minutes. Grandad might well say the council adopted them, but not legally.

If Grandad gives evidence under oath that he has spent ages and ages checking all the local press from that time, yet can find no advert then the onus could well be on the council to prove otherwise. The only way they could do that is providing the evidence.

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IDFIMH

I have sent the following email.

Dear Mr XXXXXX,
I have received the reply to my questions regarding the records of how the council went about adopting the LGMP act 1976.
I have visited the library in Melton and I have searched the back issues of the Melton Times from 6 months prior to the resolution being passed to adopt the act, to 6 months after this date and I have to say that I could not find any public notice referring to the Council adopting the act.
With there being no records available I conclude that the Council did not adopt the act according to the wishes of parliament and therfore the act has not been adopted by the Council. Clearly this means that the Council has no legal right to collect the fees for the licenses that it has issued from 1981.
I would like to request that the Council pays back all the fees that have been collected illegally from drivers, owners and operators as a matter of urgency.
regards,

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Grandad,

Roy is correct - it would seem this is an expired route, although you should read Hull vs. Wilson

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

The difference is that Aylesbury were able to provide the details that they did in fact do the correct notifications. In our case the Council have stated that they don't have them and there is nothing in the paper.

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Grandad,