Guildford taxi drivers demand judicial review over licence fee charges The Guildford Hackney Association think that drivers have been 'overcharged' for years
Angry cabbies are demanding a judicial review into what they regard as historic overcharging over their licence fees.
The Guildford Hackney Association (GHA) has been involved in a long and bitter dispute with Guildford Borough Council, making applications to the ombudsman and threatening to strike, over what it sees as the ‘injustice’ of charges set by the licensing department, going back more than 20 years.
The charges for 2015-16 were agreed by the borough executive last month, but the council last week accepted recommendations by officials to reduce the figures – some by more than 50%.
The charges vary, depending on whether the application is a renewal, replacement or a new licence.
Mark Rostron, secretary of the GHA, said: “That’s some dip, from £100 to £48, so they are quite a big lowering in things such as the changing of plates per vehicle.
“Unfortunately, these fees and issues are really infrequent and when they come about have to be paid.
“We are concerned about the annual taxing, which has gone up by 12.9%, and drivers’ licences have gone up by 14.9%.
“This situation is so bad and has been on going for so long we are going to apply for a judicial review.
“If you just change your car that has gone down by more than 52% so blatantly they were overcharging and for what? Just a plastic plate, a piece of paper, and 10 minutes of a clerk’s time.
“We welcome some of the fees going down, but it seems like they have partially relieved an injustice which has been in place for more than 20 years.”
The charges were approved on February 11 but Councillor David Goodwin predicted that questions would be raised.
He said: “I welcome the reduction to taxi charges, which is up to 58% in some cases, and think it is good for taxis drivers and their customers.
“However, it goes to prove that Guildford Borough Council has been overcharging the taxis for many years.
“Some of the changes are only 50p one way or the other. However, some are up to 58% reductions.
“While I welcome reductions and I am quite sure the taxi trade will welcome reductions, it does beg the question what has been going on for all this time?
“Because the only explanation here is that the review was led into the mechanisms and recordings of charges.”
Cllr Paul Spooner, the lead councillor for licensing and governance, explained: “Each year we calculate the cost of processing and issuing different types of licences, and these costs are used to set fees and charges.
“We have been working hard to streamline the processes we use for licensing taxis, private hire vehicles and drivers.
“As a result we have reduced some of the fees for 2015-16.
“This will certainly benefit drivers, who can choose to pass on these savings to their customers.
“We set the maximum fares that can be charged, but drivers can agree lower fares with their customers.”
source:
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey- ... al-8682902
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FAQ
. I submitted a claim of 5% interest for the years that they had my money - the result was an extra £63 costing them the LA overall another 30/35K for the rest of the drivers.
