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The facts, NOT lies…
I believe it fair to say that Mr Davis, Chairman of the LCDC is not a fan of
Dial-a-Cab, neither is he an admirer of mine since he was expelled from
Dial-a-Cab by three of his fellow subscribers. At every opportunity, he
denigrates both mine and Dial-a-Cab’s name, whether that be in their
newspaper The Badge or on internet sites where he likes to write anonymous
pieces - or as he sometimes likes to be called, Beccy or indeed sometimes
Lulu!
The latest escapade performed by Mr Davis was to report Dial-a-Cab
to the Licensed Taxi and Private Hire (LTPH or PCO to you and me) stating
that Dial-a-Cab were running a Private Hire operation, which is quite
ludicrous. Such is his paranoia with me and Dial-a-Cab that he will clutch
at anything in an attempt to discredit us with the rest of the trade.
Consequently, a piece appeared in the September edition of The Badge, with
the headline: COULD THIS BE THE END
OF DIAL-A-CAB’S MUTUAL STATUS?
The article went on to state (the typos are theirs and not mine):
The Badge has learnt that Dial a
Cab have been Informed that they must apply for a Private Hire Operators
licence for their six year old Concierge booking system. The decision comes
from Taxi and Private Hire following a detailed investigation into Dial A
Cabs business activities.
Well, that was quite amazing as it would appear that the LCDC knew
more about the situation than we did at Dial-a-Cab! How could that be? Well
the obvious answer was that the LCDC reported us to the LTPH in order to
endeavour to discredit Dial-a-Cab. At the time we just supposed that was the
case, we now know for a fact that it WAS the case. I just find it
incomprehensible that one man’s - well two really - paranoia can lead them
to try and discredit an organisation within their own industry just to
satisfy their own over inflated ego. More was to follow in the October
edition of The Badge under the heading of:
DIAL-A-CAB ADMIT TO PH
OPERATORS LICENSE |
REQUEST
The article went on to say (again, any typos are theirs and not
mine):
London Taxi and Private Hire stated that after their investigations into the
Concierge booking system, it has " positively identified that Dial A Cab are
making provisions for Private Hire bookings through their call centre
operations. As a result they will know be Required to become as an Operator
under the provisions of the Private Hire Act."
Once again, what complete and utter rubbish and lies the above
piece was. This is what really happened.
Before the second article appeared, LTPH did in fact get in touch
with me and stated that we required a PH Licence. I disagreed with them and
we proceeded to have some extremely amicable meetings where the topic was
discussed. I also furnished LTPH with some legal advice that agreed with my
point of view. LTPH deliberated over the situation; then on the 11 January,
I together with the LCDC received a letter from LTPH. My letter stated:
After careful consideration of all the information you have
provided, Transport for London is satisfied that Dial-a-Cab does not need to
be licensed as a private hire vehicle operator in order to deliver the
service as described.
So there you have it, the truth
as NOT told by the hierarchy of the LCDC!
Although they did report us to LTPH, they then quite categorically
stated in The Badge that we required a PH licence. Such is their dislike and
paranoia about Dial-a-Cab and myself, they invented facts that they would
like to be the truth!
Mr Davis has attempted to
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discredit me and Dial-a-Cab on
several occasions and each time he has had to go away with his tail between
his legs, sporting a bloody nose. When will he ever learn? I know he likes
to tell anyone that will listen that he used to be a boxer and trainer,
well, I just hope he won more bouts then than he has done against
Dial-a-Cab.
More importantly, I am sad that at a time when there are so many
problems facing our industry, that Mr Davis squanders his time and member’s
money on a crusade to discredit me and Dial-a-Cab and pander to his own ego.
I believe he is actually a Narcissist, although he is the only person that
does not recognise that fact!
Anyway, fighting with Mr Davis is boring as there is not any
competition, so I am quite prepared to bury the past in order to enhance the
future of our trade. I just hope Grant, Beccy or Lulu - or whatever he likes
to be called today - can do the same. I won’t hold my breath though!
Tenders
I know many people become a little nervous - me included - when a large
account goes out to tender. We had our largest and third largest go to
tender last year and I am pleased to say we have retained them both. The
second account that went to tender, I did not receive notification that we
had retained it until the day before Christmas Eve – which was a nice
present!
Some of our larger accounts like to become modest when it comes to
publicity, so I shall not say any more other than please ensure you service
the client in Canada Square as well as you have during the past four and a
half years.
AGM
Don’t forget the AGM is on 6 February at the HAC in City Road, beginning at
11am. Please remember that if you do not vote by post then you should
attend. If you do not attend or vote by post, you will be fined £50.
I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the 6th.
Brian Rice
Chairman
Dial-a-Cab |
