Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his taxi licence renewal. We found fault by the Council. The Council has already remedied the personal injustice to Mr X, and it has made service improvements.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council failed to respond properly to his enquiries about taxi and Hackney carriage licensing regarding:
• his vehicle inspection test and his renewal licence application,
• his vehicle licence transfer.
2. Mr X also complained the Council had failed to support licensed Hackney carriage licence holder in the area by taking enforcement action against non-licensed drivers.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended).

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

5. I have investigated the Council’s actions regarding Mr X’s vehicle test and licence application and his vehicle transfer.
6. I have not investigated Mr X’s complaint about the Council not taking enforcement action against non licensed drivers. This is because I consider the Council has provided a satisfactory response regarding this matter.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I have discussed the complaint with Mr X and considered the information he provided. I have made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents it provided. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

8. Mr X is a Hackney Carriage licence holder and was licensed by the Council in accordance with its Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy. Vehicle licence holders must renew their licences annually. Licence holders must take their vehicle for a test and inspection annually, or a shorter period for older vehicles.
9. Mr X emailed the Council in September 2022 that he believed his taxi test was due soon, but it had not sent a reminder. He asked how he could book a test.
10. The Council says it sent an automatic reminder the day after Mr X’s query. However, it did not respond to Mr X’s email. Mr X says he did not get the reminder.
11. Mr X bought a new vehicle in October 2022.
12. In early December 2022 Mr X sent a vehicle transfer application to the Council to transfer his Hackney carriage licence to the new vehicle. He paid £47.50 for this. The Council asked Mr X for the relevant insurance certificate for the new car. Mr X replied within four days.
13. The Council then requested that Mr X send an insurance certificate, but referred to his old vehicle registration plate. Mr X replied he did not own this vehicle and he had already advised the Council about his new vehicle. But he said the Council had not confirmed the transfer to his new vehicle.
14. In January 2023 Mr X wrote to the Council again about the transfer of the new vehicle to his name as it had not confirmed this. He also asked
• when it would send him a reminder about the taxi test which he believed was due in February.
• why he needed to supply a medical certificate as he had supplied one the previous year.
15. The Council replied regarding the medical certificate and regarding the transfer. It said that it had not received the insurance documents for the new vehicle. The Council did not respond to Mr X about the taxi test query.
16. On 14 January Mr X replied regarding the medical certificate and the insurance documents. He asked whether the Council would write to him about the taxi test.
17. Mr X chased the Council in late January 2023. He asked several questions about his transfer application, medical requirements, and his meter. He also asked about the taxi test. He said he had asked three times about the test, but the Council had not replied. Mr X wrote again asking for a response after four days because he had no reply.
18. On 28 January the Council replied regarding some issues. Mr X reminded the Council about his outstanding questions.
19. On 21 February Mr X asked the Council about a problem with his meter and also asked again about the taxi test. By this point Mr X’s licence had expired. The Council replied regarding the meter query, but not the test.
20. On 10 March 2023 the Council sent an email without a formal greeting or the sender’s name. It stated that Mr X should book a test if his meter had been sealed. It provided a link to booking the test.
21. Mr X tried to book a taxi test but could not do so because the online system did not recognise his new registration number. However, it did recognise his old registration number. He contacted the Council. It replied he should not enter any reference number. After some difficulty Mr X managed to book the taxi test. He paid £257.50 for the test, licence application and vehicle plates.
22. However, Mr X’s vehicle failed the test and he had to book a further test. This was at no charge. The test was successful. The Council sent Mr X an email advising he completed his application online and uploaded the required documents at the same time. It did not state a timescale for this.
23. Mr X says he completed his licence application in the online form, and he believed he uploaded the required documents. The Council says it sends an acknowledgement confirming receipt, but it does not send a reminder.
24. After three weeks, Mr X asked the Council why it had not confirmed his licence. The Council replied he had not uploaded the required documents within 10 working days. It said this was set out in its policy and he must book a further test at his own expense.
25. On 28 April 2023 Mr X booked another vehicle test. He paid a further £281.20 for the new application, including the test. The test was successful. Mr X then applied for the licence and uploaded the required documents.
26. The Council approved Mr X’s licence when it received his application and uploaded documents.
27. In June 2023 Mr X complained the Council had failed to respond to his queries about the date he must take his vehicle for testing. He said the Council did not confirm his vehicle transfer, despite him sending the required insurance document. As a result, his licence expired. Then, when he tried to take the test the Council did not respond clearly leading to further queries. He then had difficulty booking a test. When he passed the test, he completed the licence application and uploaded the requested documents. However, the Council said it did not receive these and insisted he must start the process again and pay for a new test and vehicle licence application fees. He asked the Council to at least refund the two vehicle test fees that he paid.
28. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaints. It partially upheld his complaint. In summary the Council said:
• It should have responded to his email in September 2022 about when his test was due. It apologised for this.
• There were multiple lines of enquiry from Mr X about the vehicle transfer, the meter issues, the requirement for a medical and other matters. This may have caused confusion.
• Its officer should have included a formal greeting and their name in their email. This was not the Council’s service standard and it had reminded staff about including their names.
• It had not seen evidence that Mr X had completed the application process and uploaded his documents.
• The Council’s policy set out the requirement to complete the licence application and upload the documents within 10 days.
• The Council sends an automated request to complete the application when a driver passes the vehicle test. But it does not send a reminder and is not required to do so.
• The Council said it had already refunded one of the licence application fees, the vehicle licence plates and bracket fees (£212). But it did not consider that it should refund the two vehicle test fees. The vehicle test fee is £65.
• The Council had not processed the vehicle transfer application before Mr X’s licence expired. Therefore, it agreed to refund the transfer fee if Mr X provided a receipt, or details of payment.
29. In response to my enquiries and a draft version of this statement the Council confirmed that
• The email it sent Mr X after he passed the vehicle test, did not state the period of time for the applicant to complete the application and upload the documents.
• It does send an automatic receipt once the documents are uploaded with the application.
• It does not send a reminder to applicants if it does not receive the documents.
• It had refunded the duplicate fees Mr X paid aside from the two vehicle test fees of £65.
• Although Mr X did not provide his payment details, the Council has now identified the transfer payment of £47.50 and has refunded it to Mr X.

Analysis

30. The Council has already accepted it was at fault in its communications with Mr X. I consider its apology for its failure to reply and reminder to staff to ensure they use the correct greeting and provide the sender’s name is a suitable remedy.
31. Following my enquiries the Council refunded the transfer application fee to Mr X. This together with its apology, is a suitable remedy regarding the Council’s delay in dealing with his transfer application.
32. Mr X believes that he applied and uploaded documents for his licence renewal. However, I have not seen sufficient evidence that he did. This was the reason he had to start the process again and take a further vehicle test. I do not consider there is a direct causal link between the Council’s delays in advising Mr X of the vehicle test date and Mr X needing to take the second vehicle test and complete the licence application.
33. However, I considered the Council should make it clear to applicants applying for a new or renewal licence that they have 10 days to apply and upload documents. The Council’s email requesting that the applicant should apply and provide documents did not state the timescale. While I note the Council says that applicants should refer to its policy, it is not reasonable to expect an applicant to do this. This lack of clarity is fault.
34. In response to my draft decision, the Council confirms it had already recognised it needed to improve to its taxi licensing process. It has identified some key areas including communication, its online information and customer access which it has already changed or will change shortly. It is developing a new customer portal which it will release soon.
35. The Council has now added information to its website regarding the need to complete the licence application process within 10 days of passing the vehicle test, and that the driver will have to undergo a further test at their own expense if this is not done within the time.
36. The Council has already taken appropriate steps to address the fault

Back to top

Final decision

37. There was fault by the Council. It has already provided a suitable remedy. I have completed my investigation and closed the complaint.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman