Boro Taxis considering further legal challenge over council overcharge THE North-East’s largest private hire taxi firm is planning a further legal challenge to Middlesbrough Council over licence fees.
It emerged earlier this year that the council had been overcharging licence holders – and it is now in the process of handing out refunds to the tune of about £700,000.
The refund came after Christine Bell, company secretary at Boro Taxis, complained to the Local Government Ombudsman, which said the council could not show how it calculated its fees.
The Ombudsman ruled the council should apologise for its failings, demonstrate how fees were calculated, and carry out a full review of the taxi fees it had charged.
Now the council is distributing letters to licence holders detailing refunds but Boro Taxis is planning on rejecting the council’s offer as it says it does not cover the entire period that the council was overcharging all operators and vehicle licence holders.
Ms Bell, said: “We have not received a letter yet, but have seen copies sent to other licence holders. We will not be accepting the Council’s offer because it only covers the last four years, and not the many years prior to that during which the Council unlawfully charged extortionate fees, which should be included.
“It’s very disappointing to note that the Council is only telling people how much it intends to refund and asking licence holders to sign accepting the restitution payment, but is not informing them of their right to seek independent legal advice. Boro Taxis is encouraging all members of the taxi trade to take legal advice.”
The council admitted last year it could not “fully evidence” its fees but had taken a similar approach to other local authorities.
Julia Rostron, executive member for adult health and social care, said at the time: “The work that has gone into its formulation will ensure that the fees charged accurately represent the costs involved in the licensing process, as well as reflecting the reduced cost of the taxi licensing service as a whole.”
source:
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1 ... vercharge/
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