The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is enclosed.

The Hearing Panel considered the content of the report and the written and oral representations made by the Licensing Unit officer and AMA.

The Licensing Unit officer addressed the Hearing Panel, stating that AMA had appeared before a panel on several previous occasions relating to their conduct. This came with various actions, including warnings and suspensions, ultimately culminating in the revocation of AMA’s Licence. AMA had previously re-applied for their Licence, being refused twice, and regaining their Licence in June 2022. Since then, a further complaint had been received regarding AMA’s conduct. This related to a journey whereby two passengers requested to pay by card and AMA wanted cash payment. Following a debate about this, AMA was accused of using foul and abusive language towards the passengers. Statements had been received from both passengers.

The applicant addressed the Hearing Panel, stating that 99 per cent of their passengers ask at the beginning of a journey if they can pay by card. At the end of the journey in question, when AMA stated there was no card reader, the passengers had become aggressive. AMA stated they had been scared to argue back due to the number of previous complaints on their record. They noted they had been without their Licence for several years and knew they could not make more mistakes. AMA did not believe they had used foul and abusive language.

The Licensing Unit officer questioned AMA further on the events related to the complaint. AMA stated they had a card reader but sometimes the 3G network required did not work. AMA stated they had not refused to use the card reader but had tried it and it had not worked. AMA refuted the claim that they had suggested paying most of the fare in cash and some by card. AMA also refuted the claim that they had used foul and abusive language towards the customers.

The panel then sought further clarity on events. AMA stated they had told the customers the card reader was not working when arriving at their destination and it was at this point the customers offered to pay cash. AMA stated they had not then said to pay most of the fare by card and the rest by cash. AMA felt they had not argued and that the customers walked away.

The Licensing Unit officer summed up by stating that AMA had appeared before a Hearing Panel on multiple occasions, with warnings, suspensions, and an eventual revoking of their Licence. Their Licence was reissued in June 2022 and this complaint had been received in September 2022. They noted a theme in the complaints made against AMA relating to aggressive and argumentative behaviour. The Licensing Unit officer felt AMA had not learnt lessons and had failed to modify their behaviour.

AMA summed up by stating that this had been an unfortunate situation and they were attempting to learn from the past.

In their deliberations, the panel accepted that AMA had shown no sign of learning from their previous mistakes. They felt that AMA did not want to improve and noted their appalling record. There had been a gap of a few years where AMA did not hold a Licence and it was evident to the panel that nothing had changed.

Decision

To revoke AMA’s licence.