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Posted on the 11th November 2024 in PHTM News
PAIR CONVICTED OF RUNNING SCAM PH OPERATION AFTER PROSECUTION BY LICHFIELD COUNCIL
Two Burntwood men have been prosecuted by Lichfield District Council after licensing officers caught them running a scam private hire operation.
In January 2024 licensing officers stopped a vehicle in Burntwood and, after finding a vulnerable passenger in the back of the car, discovered that both the passenger and the carer who had booked the journey had been duped into believing it was a genuine PHV.
The vehicle was uninsured, and neither the car nor the driver held private hire/vehicle licences. The subsequent investigation discovered that BP Cars, an operator licensed by the council, had knowingly passed jobs to the driver.
In order to protect the public, licensing officers immediately suspended the private hire operator licence held by BP Cars.
The operator was then called before the council’s licensing committee where councillors revoked the licence.
Cabinet Member Councillor Alex Farrell said: “Motivated by greed, two men put an unknown number of local people at risk through their disgraceful conduct.
"This scam saw passengers, including the vulnerable, being taken on journeys in an unlicensed and uninsured vehicle that had not met the safety standards required of a PHV, and by a driver who was unlicensed and had therefore not had criminal record or medical fitness checks.”
On 5 November 2024 both the driver and the operator appeared at Cannock Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to a range of licensing, fraud and driving offences.
The driver, Craig Matthews, 54, from Burntwood was given 6 points on his driving licence and a 12 month conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £26.
The operator, Brian Peasley, 77, also from Burntwood and trading as BP Cars, was also given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £26.
Councillor Farrell added: “Both men now have a criminal record and will not be able to obtain a taxi licence in the UK.
"Taxi drivers and operators hold considerable responsibility and we expect the very highest of standards from them.”
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