Taxi offences- Touting for hire car services

Taxis, cabs and Hackneys are all vehicles which can be legally hired to carry passengers.
 
It is a criminal offence for other vehicles to display the word “taxi”, “cab” or “hire” or to solicit people in a public place to hire vehicles to carry them as passengers.  The law does not specify a list of vehicles this applies to and It can range from a car, to a van or even to a cycle pulled buggy. This of course excludes registered Taxi cabs that display a private hire sign as long as they are booked prior to undertaking the hired journey privately through their operators.
 
It is also worth noting that unlawfully "touting" in this way may invalidate any insurance policy that is in place and result in a further charge of driving without insurance being brought (carrying 6-8 penalty points.)
 
If charged with a touting offence then the facts of the case will be reviewed and it is the court’s interpretation of the defendant’s actions that would lead to either an acquittal or conviction.

Over recent years we have seen more and more attempts, by the Metropolitan Police in particular, to clamp down on touting. The Transport For London website explains that the primary concern for police is improving safety as they consider true taxi touts to often be engaged in more serious crime. In many cases, taxi touting clamp downs have involved police operations with officers working under cover, sometimes pretending to be lone females, pretending to be drunk or in distress. As unfair as it may seem, in such circumstances, private hire cabbies who have merely answered the question of, " how much to xyz?" with a price, can face a life changing prosecution for taxi touting.
 
What we can do to help

We have successfully defended drivers against touting prosecutions and persuaded the court that what our clients did could not amount to soliciting/touting by considering all of the evidence. Whilst the penalty for a taxi touting offence is financial only, a prosecution for taxi touting is often also combined with a no insurance prosecution and could spell the end of a private hire driver's ability to earn a living. 

Take a look at Harish's testimonial. He was successful in his appeal of a conviction when we got involved to help. You can even get in touch with Harish directly through our unique "Ref me" scheme and ask him about his experience of using the country's premier firm of motoring lawyers.
 
Penalty

A person charged and convicted of this offence is liable to a Level 4 fine which is anything up to £2500.
 
 

Not Sure What to Do?

Most people who get in touch with our team of motor offence expert solicitors are uncertain of their options. They are unaware of any legal defences that may be available and find it difficult to believe that it might be possible to defend the motoring offence charge they face by using loopholes that apply to the rich and famous! We do represent celebrities but we also represent many hardworking motorists like Brian and we want to help you make the right choice about what you do next.

We are always more than happy to chat things through with potential clients Free of Charge. Call us now on Freephone 0800 085 2784 to speak to one of our specialist motoring offence solicitors. It is only once you decide to instruct us that payment will become necessary and we can often arrange instalment plans to assist you. Many satisfied clients have thanked us for offering this free consultation service as it has prevented them from following inaccurate non-expert advice which could have led to them accepting a driving ban unnecessarily.

If you would like to spend more time browsing on the site before you get in touch, make sure you have a look at our specialist motor offence guidance features such as our penalty calculator which will help you to determine the penalty you may face if convicted and our money saving calculator which helps to outline some of the hidden costs of accepting a conviction.

We think we are simply the best in the business but if you are not satisfied in taking our word for it, our unique “ref me” testimonials scheme allows you to contact previous clients of the firm to seek a completely independent reference about us and what we might be able to do for you.