Taxi Driver Online

Quality Grumpy, you might want to send your letter to the Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini.

Good old Scottish name!

OK, first draft...............

Dear Sir or Madam,
I write with regard to a recent judgement made by Fiscal Neil Allan not to prosecute, as a criminal offence, a passenger who refused to pay his taxi fare, at his journey’s conclusion. I was always under the impression the Courts and Police Service in Scotland had the power to bring charges against any person deemed to have committed such an offence. It transpires that, in the circumstance when the customer knowingly did not have the means to pay his metered fare, at the onset of the hire he can, under present legislation, be criminally charged and prosecuted for Taxi Fraud.

However, if he has the money to pay, but for whatever reason, justified or not, he disputes the request to pay his fare, he can walk away with no fear of being taken to task for his actions, other than through the Civil Courts. Which I feel would be a long and prohibitively expensive process, with possibly countless charges having to be brought on a weekly basis.

As the present legislation stands there is no equivalent to the charge of Taxi Theft, as contained in the 1998 Theft Act (English Statutory Law). I feel that this is a matter requiring urgent action by both The Scottish Government and The Legal Profession.

A taxi driver should be no different in law to that of any other company or trade, who as far as I am aware have the right to press charges through the criminal courts if the service it has provided, is not subsequently paid for. If that is the case then surely there is nothing preventing our trade to be offered the same protection from those who would wish to steal from us.

I would urge you to support any motion placed before the Scottish Government to amend the legislation to adopt a similar statute to that mentioned above.

I am sure I need not go into how I feel our trade, or indeed any trade, would suffer if it were the practice for customers to forego any common decency, and put not only our, but that of our families, at greater financial risk than that we are presently experiencing.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and I trust that you will consider my request and allow my colleagues and myself the comfort that we are, in some way, able to go about our business with the knowledge that if we are wrongly denied our fare, someone is available, be it the police or the courts, to administer justice, in any legal action that may be deemed appropriate.

OK, first draft...............

Dear Sir or Madam,
I write with regard to a recent judgement made by Fiscal Neil Allan not to prosecute, as a criminal offence, a passenger who refused to pay his taxi fare, at his journey’s conclusion. I was always under the impression the Courts and Police Service in Scotland had the power to bring charges against any person deemed to have committed such an offence. It transpires that, in the circumstance when the customer knowingly did not have the means to pay his metered fare, at the onset of the hire he can, under present legislation, be criminally charged and prosecuted for Taxi Fraud.

However, if he has the money to pay, but for whatever reason, justified or not, he disputes the request to pay his fare, he can walk away with no fear of being taken to task for his actions, other than through the Civil Courts. Which I feel would be a long and prohibitively expensive process, with possibly countless charges having to be brought on a weekly basis.

As the present legislation stands there is no equivalent to the charge of Taxi Theft, as contained in the 1998 Theft Act (English Statutory Law). I feel that this is a matter requiring urgent action by both The Scottish Government and The Legal Profession.

A taxi driver should be no different in law to that of any other company or trade, who as far as I am aware have the right to press charges through the criminal courts if the service it has provided, is not subsequently paid for. If that is the case then surely there is nothing preventing our trade to be offered the same protection from those who would wish to steal from us.

I would urge you to support any motion placed before the Scottish Government to amend the legislation to adopt a similar statute to that mentioned above.

I am sure I need not go into how I feel our trade, or indeed any trade, would suffer if it were the practice for customers to forego any common decency, and put not only our, but that of our families, at greater financial risk than that we are presently experiencing.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and I trust that you will consider my request and allow my colleagues and myself the comfort that we are, in some way, able to go about our business with the knowledge that if we are wrongly denied our fare, someone is available, be it the police or the courts, to administer justice, in any legal action that may be deemed appropriate.

Following a decision by Fiscal Neil Allan not to prosecute a passenger who refused to pay the fare on the meter as a criminal offence, the only recourse for drivers who find themselves in this position is through a civil legal suit - a prohibitively expensive and protracted process.

Now there's no point going to the cop shop, they're not interested.

Taxi drivers in Scotland, according to the Fiscal, alone of all traders, do not have the protection of criminal charges against those who refuse to pay - who steal from them.

This means that anyone can engage a taxi, trump up a dispute or not and just refuse to pay, knowing there's little prospect of the driver taking legal action. A free gratis taxi ride.

In England Statutory Law in the guise of the 1998 Theft Act stipulates that anyone who avails himself of a service, and walks away without paying, is committing an act of Theft. There is no such protection in Scotland.

Rather than Law by Statute as in England, Scots Law is based on Common Law and Case Law. There is therefore no equivalent Law of Theft in Scotland.

Fiscals will only prosecute those who engage a taxi without having the means to pay, and then only when it suits them. They construe this as intent to defraud - Taxi Fraud.

In the case above the individual had money, so according to Fiscal Neil Allan, no fraud had been committed.

The taxi driver believes that the crime was committed when the individual evacuated from the taxi (Actus Reus) and his intent to commit the crime (Mens Rea) was proven when both the police officer and the driver urged him to pay the fare, which he refused to do, so he knew exactly what he was doing.

If this was a shoplifter or someone handed a penalty notice by a police officer for not paying on a train, then criminal charges would be brought. But not for stealing from a taxi driver.

There is a customer complaints procedure through the local authority. Hoverr, the right to make formal complaint and seek redress should not include a right not to pay - of course it doesn't.

The Fiscal's decision has brought chaos to the working lives of cabbies, and represents a real danger to the public.

It's hard going in our economy just now. How long before a hard pressed cabbie, already struggling to make ends meet, decides that because the Law wont give him protection and justice he will therefore take Law into his own hands and mete out his own retribution, just to gain what is rightfully his in the first place?

The Fiscal's intransigent incompetence in this area has placed the public at risk.

An approach has been made to the political arena. Questions are to be asked of the Lord Advocate and the Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill.

The story has been given to the press by the MSP involved, both national and local. It will break soon, probably early next week.

Hopefully it will invoke a positive response and a sensible resolution to this problem from senior Law officers and politicians. Theft is theft. Theft is a criminal offence. The same rule should apply here.

The way forward here could be for the individual involved here to be charged, prosecuted, the case heard by a Sheriff and any conviction in the case, subject of course to any appeal process, resulting in the establishing of a new Case law.

In the meantime, the shecht is about to hit the fan. It will cause uproar.

Just remember that this has been a problem for cabbies for as long as we can remember. It needs to be sorted. Short term pain for long term gain. The Police, prosecutors, the council, the taxi trade and customers all need to know what the position is, and it has to offer drivers the same protection as every other trader.

Just remember, our trade can not condone violence. This is a time to keep a cool head and respond with outrage during the debate. Get onto your MSP and tell him what you think, write to the press expressing your disgust.

Let's get this sorted!

A cheap shot about someone who is at least trying to do something about it.

Your problem, like the rest of the Scottish numpties is that you're so hooked on personalities you would ignore the real issues.

Now this post was made on this forum because it allows real debate without attracting the boo boys. You want to behave like a child then please do so on the child site. I'll even supply the link -

http://www.thetaxiforum.com/

Leave this forum for the big boys.

No, the refusnik stealing the fare is a BANKER!

More reason IMO to pursue the civil route, as any judgement will effect his CV.

Yer a bleathering idiot who has nothing better to do with his time. Nothing more than a wee sweetie wife. On one hand you claim to stick up for your fellow drivers rights and on the other you call us all Scottish numties. You couldn't give two ***** about drivers rights, you only want to see your name in print. You want to be a somebody instead of the nobody that you are. Anyone who has the time to write over two hundred letters to a newspaper really needs to get a life. Yes the subject matter is a serious one but I'm sorry, coming from the likes of you how can we be expected not to giggle?