Taxi Driver Online

I came across this article from 2001 concerning "making off without payment". There are varying laws which allow for the prosecution of an indvidual who makes off without payment, not withstanding the act of 1847. I was somewhat surprised at the articles insitance that a prosecution could only be efective if the culprit was apprehended at the scene of the crime?

Anyone wishing to quote the law without going into detail with regards to laws that Police officers may not be familiar, I suggest you use section 3 of the 1978 theft act. I have appended the law at the end of the Bolton article. It should also be remembered that the Fraud Bill now going through Parliament will amend certain sections of the 1978 Theft act including parts of the sections I have posted below. There may even be other amendments to some parts of those sections I refer to which are already in force but have not come across. However the general tenure eminates from the 1978 act and any tinkering with threse sections will only make them easier to enforce.

"In respect of Individual postings on TDO the following advice is for both readers and subscribers".

"Readers of TDO should be minded that all legislative information or otherwise on this site is intended to assist and should not be substituted for professional legal advice. More often than not the law can change without warning and the content of any page on this site may at some future point in time be out of date or incomplete. You must not rely directly upon any material on this site and if in doubt always take professional legal advice which reflects your own particular situation".

JD
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Fare deal for cabbies

From the Bolton Evening News, first published Wednesday 9th Oct 2002.

TAXI drivers can no longer be taken for a ride by people looking for a free lift home. Thanks to a change in the law which makes fare-dodging an arrestable offence, cabbies can now call the police knowing they will take action.

Prior to the change they were left unprotected by the law as police officers had to catch a person as they dodged a fare which was almost impossible. The move has been welcomed by Councillor Ralph Snape, chairman of Chorley Borough Council's taxi liaison panel.

He said: "What was happening before was not fair on the taxi drivers. They had no protection at all. I hope the police respond immediately to any incident in the future. The change in the law, which came into force on October 1, means it is now an arrestable offence under the Theft Act to run off from a cab ride without paying.

Inspector Steve Stebbings, crime and disorder co-ordinator for Lancashire Police's southern division, said: "Before the change in the law it wasn't an arrestable offence. It was against the law, but a police officer would have to literally catch them at it, which was virtually impossible. But the change means a police officer may arrest for this offence without a warrant.

"And the person can be arrested on suspicion of committing the offence a couple of days later. This should hopefully make a big difference."
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Theft Act 1978 (-)

1:--

(1) A person who by any deception dishonestly obtains services from another shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) It is an obtaining of services where the other is induced to confer a benefit by doing some act, or causing or permitting some act to be done, on the understanding that the benefit has been or will be paid for.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-section (2) above, it is an obtaining of services where the other is induced to make a loan, or to cause or permit a loan to be made, on the understanding that any payment (whether by way of interest or otherwise) will be or has been made in respect of the loan.

Evasion of Liability by deception

2:--

(1) Subject to subection (2) below, where a person by any deception--


(a) dishonestly secures the remission of the whole or part of any existing liability to make a payment, whether his own liability or another's; or

(b) with intent to make permanent default in whole or in part on any existing liability to make a payment, or with intent to let another do so, dishonestly induces the creditor or any person claiming payment on behalf of the creditor to wait for payment (whether or not the due date for payment is deferred) or to forgo payment; or

(c) dishonestly obtains any exemption from or abatement of liability to make a payment;
he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) For purpose of this section "liabiliity" means legally enforceable liabiliity; and subsection (1) shall not apply in relation to a liability that has not been accepted or established to pay compensation for a wrongful act of admission.

(3) For purposes of subsection (1)(b) a person induced to take in payment a cheque or other security for money by way of conditional satisfaction of a pre-existing liability is to be treated not as being paid but as being induced to wait for payment.

(4) For purposes od subsection (1)(c) "obtains" includes obtaining for another or enabling another to obtain.

Making of without payment

3:--

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, a person who, knowing that payment on the spot for any goods supplied or service done is required or expected from him, dishonestly makes off without having paid as required or expected and with intent to avoid payment of the amount due shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) For purposes of this section "payment on the sport" includes payment at the time of collecting goods on which work has been done or in respect of which service has been provided.

(3) Subsection (1) above shall not apply where the supply of the goods or the doing of the service is contrary to law, or where the service done is such that payment is not legally enforceable.

(4) Any person may arrest without warrant anyone who is, or whom he, with reasonable cause, suspects to be, committing or attempting to commit an offence under this section.

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Fraud Bill 2005.

Clause 11: Obtaining services dishonestly

30. Clause 11 makes it an offence for any person, by any dishonest act, to obtain services for which payment is required, with intent to avoid payment. The person must know that the services are made available on the basis that they are chargeable, or that they might be. It is not possible to commit the offence by omission alone and it can be committed only where the dishonest act was done with the intent not to pay for the services as expected. This offence replaces the offence of obtaining services by deception in section 1 of the Theft Act 1978 and Article 3 of the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, though the new offence contains no deception element. Under subsection (3) the maximum custodial sentence for this offence is 5 years.

31. The offence is not inchoate; it requires the actual obtaining of the service. For example, data or software may be made available on the Internet to a certain category of person who has paid for access rights to that service. A person dishonestly using false credit card details or other false personal information to obtain the service would be committing an offence under this clause. The clause would also cover a situation where a person climbs over a wall and watches a football match without paying the entrance fee - such a person is not deceiving the provider of the service directly, but is obtaining a service which is provided on the basis that people will pay for it.

32. Clause 11 also covers the situation where a person attaches a decoder to her television to enable viewing access to cable / satellite television channels for which she has no intention of paying.


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