A private hire driver who made bookings to collect people from a popular music festival without being licensed to do so, has appeared in court.
Durham County Council took legal action against Jagdeep Mahil, of Oakfield Gardens in Peterlee, for collecting fares for Hardwick Live without a private hire operator’s licence.
Peterlee Magistrates Court heard that Mahil had a private hire licence but did not have a private hire operator’s licence. He was self-employed and took bookings through licensed operator Stanley Travel.
However, council officers were informed by the travel company that Mahil had been personally contacting Stanley Travel to make his own bookings for Hardwick Live.
On investigating the bookings for the event, only two of the ten included the required customer name, telephone number and destination address.
Phone records captured Mahil asking staff to remove his number from the records and list the fare as zero. He also failed to provide details of customer contacts and drop off destinations.
Stanley Travel confirmed that its terms and conditions require customers to make bookings themselves, and that the company will not accept bookings made by drivers who do not possess a private hire operator’s licence.
In an interview with the council, Mahil told officers that he thought he could make phone bookings himself and had asked the call handler to list the fare as zero as he did not want to pay commission to Stanley Travel.
Mahil, 37, was found guilty of operating a private hire vehicle without a private hire operator’s licen
He was ordered to pay a £660 fine, £380 costs and a £264 victim surcharge, totalling £1,304.
Tracey Johnson, Durham County Council’s consumer protection strategic manager, said:
“Licensed drivers must respond to bookings received from properly licensed operators. Operator‑controlled bookings create a verified audit trail which ensures the safety of passengers, complies with insurance, and provides clear accountability if an incident or complaint arises.
“We’d like to express our thanks to Stanley Travel for following its legal obligation as a private hire operator and doing its due diligence by checking booking records and bringing Mr Mahil’s activity to our attention.
“We’d also like to remind the public of how important it is that people make bookings themselves and directly with an operator. This strives to ensure public safety by creating a record of the booking.”
