Private hire driver loses licence for overcharging passenger after illegal pick-up
A Wolverhampton private hire driver who overcharged a customer, while taking her on an uninsured journey that wasn't pre-booked, has had her licence revoked.
Magistrates dismissed Sahrish Rahat Ayub’s appeal against Wolverhampton Council’s decision to revoke her private hire driver licence.
On April 29, 2020, council officers received a complaint that Ayub, aged 25, had picked up a passenger who had not pre-booked, which is a requirement of both her private hire licence and car insurance policy.
She then more than doubled the price for the uninsured journey. The customer was charged £15 for a trip to Russells Hall Hospital from her home in Dudley, which is typically priced at £7.
When questioned by council officers, Ayub, of Broadway, in Shirley, Solihull, said the increased cost was a result of coronavirus.
The customer had been provided with a business card containing Ayub’s personal phone number and she told him she had set up her own business.
The court heard that Ayub frequently carried the passenger without their journeys being pre-booked through a licensed private hire vehicle operator – which is illegal and contrary to Section 45 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847.
Councillor Philip Page, chairman of the council’s regulatory committee, said: “We take public safety very seriously at Wolverhampton. Placing members of the public at unnecessary risk by taking a booking without valid insurance is unacceptable.”
Wolverhampton Council currently operates a ‘Get Home Safe’ campaign which seeks to make sure the public are aware of the differences between hiring hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.
The campaign also highlights the risks involved in taking an unlicensed vehicle and how to identify a legitimate taxi or private hire driver.
