A court has backed Lichfield District Council’s decision to prevent a taxi driver from renewing his licence.
The decision by the local authority had come after a number of complaints had been received about Mohammed Chowdury.
The 48-year-old received a warning about his professional conduct, but ‘mystery shopper’ exercises carried out by the council found examples where receipts were not given, customers were overcharged and the meter was not on.
Further evidence also found that Chowdhury had been abusive to a woman making a journey on her own at night. He subsequently appealed to Lichfield District Council’s licensing committee, who upheld the decision. The driver then took his case to
Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates’ Court, which found in favour of the local authority on October 18.
Councillor Doug Pullen, Cabinet member for regulatory, housing and wellbeing, said: “The taxi drivers we licence must meet the professional standards we expect of them.
“We take any complaints into conduct very seriously and regularly carry out mystery shopper tests to make sure taxis that operate across the district are delivering the service we expect.
“We are pleased with the court’s ruling to uphold our decision not to renew Mr Chowdhury’s licence, as we do not want taxi drivers who do not have their customers’ best interests at heart to operate locally.”
Chowdhury has now been ordered to pay the council’s costs of £5,000.
