Local Government Ombudsman

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Castle Point Borough Council (09 012 990)

Licensing                     Maladministration causing injustice

7 February 2011

Castle Point Borough Council double charged licensed taxi drivers for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. The Ombudsman said: “This complaint also raises the issue of injustice to every licensed taxi driver who has paid a CRB fee and a licence fee since 1 January 2004, who is likely to have been overcharged.”

‘Mr Hunter’ (not his real name for legal reasons) was a licensed taxi driver. He complained to the Ombudsman because he thought he had been overcharged for his licence since 2004, in particular that he had been charged twice for the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

In June 2003 the Council decided to charge licensed taxi drivers a separate fee for the CRB check, which had previously been included in the taxi licence fee. In July 2003 the drivers were notified that they would have to pay one fee for their licence and a separate fee for the CRB check.

In December 2003 the Council’s Licensing Committee agreed a percentage increase for licence fares. But the figure on which the percentage increase was based included an amount for the CRB fee which, since July 2003, had been charged separately. And all percentage increases agreed since December 2003 had been based on this baseline figure which wrongly included a CRB fee. This means that since 1 January 2004, when the increase came into account, all licensed drivers who paid for a CRB check and a licence had been overcharged.

The Ombudsman found that the Council was at fault for agreeing a fare increase that included an element for a CRB check which the Council had already decided to make a separate charge for. The Council said this was an informed decision to cover the administrative costs of processing the CRB checks; but there was no evidence that this was considered by the Licensing Committee.

The Ombudsman concluded that Mr Hunter, and other taxi drivers who had paid a licence fee since 1 January 2004, had been overcharged.

Remedy

In accordance with the Ombudsman's recommendations, the Council: 

  • reimbursed Mr Hunter with £99, the amount by which he had been overcharged
  • paid him £75 for his time and trouble in pursuing the complaint, and
  • took measures to remedy the injustice caused to other taxi drivers who had paid a licence fee and CRB fee since 1 January 2004. 

LGO satisfied with Council's response 28 July 2011 

Date Updated: 28/07/11