Man fined over £700 after pleading guilty to a number of offences including using a car as a private

A Carlisle man has pleaded guilty to five offences including using a vehicle as a private hire vehicle without a licence and acting as a driver of a taxi without a licence. 52-year-old Dariusz Kowalczyk was ordered to pay a total of £735 for his combined offences which also included acting as a private hire operator without a licence, plying for hire without having first obtained a licence, and waiting at an appointed hackney carriage stand in a prohibited vehicle.

As reported in the News and Star, a magistrates at north Cumbria Magistrates Court fined Kowalczyk £200 for each of the two offences of driving without a licence and an additional £55 fine for each of the four remaining offences. There was also an order of £85 for costs and a victim surcharge of £30, rounding up the total to £735.

A spokeswoman for Carlisle City Council said:

“All cases of alleged illegal taxi and private hire operations are being investigated and where information is obtained to evidence an illegal operation action will be taken. “Don’t be tempted by convenience, availability or a cheap fare - the vehicle you get into may not be safe, you may not be covered by insurance and the driver may not be a safe and fit person. “Properly authorised taxi and private hire drivers have all these safeguards.”