IT would appear that while Licensed Taxi driver have been thrown out of work, then charged unlawfully for temporary licenses, TfL have been renewing Private Hire licenses without first seeing results of DBS checks 

Letter obtained by Dads Defending Daughters 2016.

Over the weekend, Taxi Leaks receive an email from regular contributor Greenbadgejohn, stating that he has had to pay £13 for a temporary licence while waiting for his renewal to be issued by TfL. 

It is our belief that this charge was unnecessary and should be refunded immediately. Leon Daniels in a reply to Taxi Leaks editor on behalf of then commissioner Peter Hendy (Feb 16 2015) -regarding the Transport Act 1985 sec 17(7)- clearly states that no temporary licence in necessary, as the old license remains valid until the driver is in receipt of the new licence (as long as all procedures have been complied with).

Reading Johns email, it would appear he complied fully with the Transport Act terms and should not have been charged for a temporary licence but told to carry on with old licence that stays valid until he is in receipt of renewal.

Greenbadgejohn's Email:

In an email sent to Taxi Leaks a driver alleges that he complied with the 4 month advance time frames to necessitate any problems. He went on to say, they took his money almost immediately and yet his bill still ran out (Ive had no offences of any kind). 

John says he was forced to travel to the rear entrance of TFL's building at 230 Blackfriars Road, and aquire a two week temporary licence which also ran out before they finally issued his renewed bill.

Taxi Leaks Comment:

Why are drivers being forced to attend TfL and pick up a temporary licence, when we've already been informed by Leon Daniels, that in the case of Taxi renewals as regards the Transport Act 1985, your old licence is valid until you receive your renewal. (See Daniels letter below)

Leon Daniels Reply To Taxi Leaks Editor:

On 12th of May 2014, Taxi leaks published an open letter to Sir Peter Hendy. Amongst other issues, we bought his attention to the Transport Act 1985 sec 17(7), which appertained to licence renewal problems being experienced by some drivers.

Part of Sir Peters reply infered that he would have TfL's legal team look into the matter. 

5 months later, a reply came back from Leon Daniels.

After much deliberation from TfL's legal team, we received this reply below, signed by Leon Daniels and dated the 30 September 2014.

Dear Mr Thomas,

I refer to your email to Sir Peter Hendy regarding the provisions of section 17(7) of the Transport Act 1985 in relation to taxi drivers renewing their licences. Please accept my apologies for the delay in providing a reply.

As far as is possible we will issue a driver his or her new licence in advance of their old licence expiring.

However, this is dependent on the driver submitting a complete and timely application, which includes the result of the DBS check and any other information that is required, as we cannot make a licensing decision until this information is received. 

It is therefore imperative that drivers start the application process in good time to allow for all necessary checks to be completed before their licence expires.

Where we are provided with a complete application, including the results of the DBS check and any other necessary information, but have not yet made a licensing decision before the old one expires, the existing licence will remain in force until a decision is made in accordance with section 17(7). In these circumstances, a driver will not be issued with, nor require, a temporary licence pending a decision being made on their application.

Please note that contrary to the comment in your email, section 17 of the Transport Act 1985 only applies to London taxi driver and vehicle licences, not London private hire vehicle driver licences.

Kind regards

Leon Daniels | Managing Director  

Transport for London | Surface Transport | Palestra |

11th Floor - Zone R4| 197 Blackfriars Road|Southwark|SE1 8NJ

Ends:

Source, see full reply CLICK HERE