A Birmingham taxi driver has lost an appeal to regain his private hire licence after the council revoked it.
Adeel Javed, 38, of William Street, Brierley Hill, Dudley, was stripped of his licence after being the subject of more than two-dozen complaints since he took up the role in 2015.
The Uber driver attended Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday, 17th June 2021, to appeal Birmingham City Council's decision.
The relevant legislation pertaining to the revocation of taxi licences and appeals thereof is section 61 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
The straw that broke the camel's back was a complaint from a customer that Mr Javed had charged £12 for a journey of just over one mile in Birmingham city centre.
Matthew Cullen, acting for Birmingham City Council, said "The complainant described him charging an extortionate price of £12 from Broad Street to New Street station. He was not pre-booked and simply flagged the taxi down. Private hire drivers cannot accept unbooked journeys. It is a criminal offence."
Mr Javed denied the incident when he was quizzed by council officers, saying that he had been heading to the National Indoor Arena to collect friends. He said that the complainant had approached the taxi, but he had refused the fare. According to Mr Javed, this had annoyed the complainant, who responded by taking a photo of the taxi and making a vexatious complaint.
Mr Cullen disputed Mr Javed's account, saying that ANPR had recorded the taxi leaving the city centre 15 minutes before he claimed to have collected his friends.
The court heard details of some of the other complaints, although it is not clear to what extend these have been investigated or substantiated:
- October 2015: Speaking on his phone in Bengali whilst driving (presumably using a hand-held mobile);
- April 2016: Sending pictures of cars to people during a journey;
- September 2017: Not moving for a police vehicle with flashing blue lights; making a derogatory comment to a female passenger; checking sports results on his mobile phone (presumably when driving);
- June 2018: Driving dangerously, swerving and performing an emergency stop in front of another motorist who had "cut him up" before getting out and grabbing him by the throat;
- July 2019: Asking passengers to pay £40 in cash for a journey;
- July 2020: Not wearing a face covering and telling passengers the guidance had changed that day;
- December 2020: Charging a passenger extra for taking a different route when an ambulance blocked the road;
- March 2021: Refusing a booking on arrival due to the customers' ethnicity.
Magistrates' rejected Mr Javed's appeal.
The Presiding Justice said: "We believe the decision by the council was the correct one.
"The information we heard from Birmingham City Council about the ANPR check and the Uber statement is credible. Your explanation, we didn't find credible.
"We have heard further information from your employer listing 25 complaints from your customers. Some are very serious. Your response is they are all making it up to get refunds.
"The complainants are not connected to one another. We find it not credible they are all making a complaint so they can all have a refund.
"A taxi driver's role has a specific requirement much higher than other public services. Birmingham City Council's decision that you are not a fit and proper person was correct on the balance of probabilities.
"The evidence heard today strengthened this decision."
In a statement, Uber said that the accounts of any taxi driver that lost their licence would be deleted and they would no longer be able to accept work via the app.
The company added: "Uber takes all complaints made against drivers and riders very seriously, and we have a robust investigation process."
It is believed that Mr Javed still holds a private hire licence issued by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council.
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