Make a complaint about a taxi or private hire service

Please complete the form on this page if you have a complaint about a Hackney carriage (black cab) or Private hire (mini cab) vehicle or driver, or an operator.

What we can investigate

We can investigate complaints such as:

  • Overcharging (Hackney carriage only)
  • Refusal to hire
  • Rudeness/verbal abuse
  • Journey routes
  • Physical makeup of vehicle (for example cleanliness)
  • Safety of vehicle (for example seat belts in working order)

Other complaints such as dangerous driving, assault or theft should be reported to the Police.

Information you need to supply

Where possible you should include:

  • A description of the incident
  • The driver's badge number (if possible)
  • The plate number, registration number, make and colour of the vehicle (if possible)
  • The date and time of the incident and journey details (to and from)
  • The private hire operator name
  • Your contact details

For those complaints which may end up in court, we will require witness statements from all those present during the incident. If you do not wish to complete a witness statement, the complaint cannot go to court and will be dealt with in a less formal manner.

What happens next

We will try and trace the driver/operator concerned and they will be allowed to respond to the complaint. Your contact details are never divulged to members of the trade without your permission. We will consider all the evidence to determine what/if further action should be taken. 

The outcome

With all complaints, there must be sufficient evidence in order to take further action. Often this may mean there are witnesses, or some other form of evidence such as CCTV, video or audio evidence.

Where we have sufficient evidence to prove the complaint we can either; prosecute the driver if it is a criminal offence, present the driver to our Licensing Regulatory Panel for them to take action against the driver's licence or warn the driver as to their future conduct or issue internal penalty points to the driver.

The action depends on a number of factors; for example, some matters of complaint are not criminal offences and therefore cannot result in prosecution. Where there is insufficient evidence, it is unlikely we will be able to take further action. We may record the details on the driver's file and consider the matter if we receive further complaints of a similar nature.

Make a complaint about a taxi

This page was last updated on 9 February 2022

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