IN THE
NEWS...IN THE NEWS..
BENFLEET CABBIE FORCED TO HAND BACK PLATES AFTER HUSBAND DIES
A grieving cab driver has attacked council bureaucrats because she was forced to hand back her taxi licence after her hus- band - and fellow driver - died sudden- ly. Supee Juachan, 50, from Benfleet, and her late husband Phillip, were both ABC taxi drivers for the Castle Point area. Phillip owned both the cars and the licences but Supee was allowed to use them to carry passengers herself. Phillip died last month having suf- fered from an un- detected cancer and Supee says she was
left shocked at how she was treated by Castle Point Coun- cil’s licensing dep- artment when she informed them of the death. She told the Echo: “I went down there straight away to inform them and they waited until I had left, then called me 20 minutes later to say they need to take the plates back and I’m no longer allowed to be a taxi driver. It’s dreadful. “The council never said sorry for my loss or offered any extra time. We owe the bank thousands now and even they have been under-
Phil & Supee Juachan
standing and given me some time to get things together after Phillip’s death. “The council has not been understanding at all. They don’t care about my loss or my job. They don’t care about how I earn my living,
it’s ridiculous.” Supee described Phillip - who had worked as a taxi driver for ten years - as the heart of the community and a man who would do anything for his cus- tomers and for someone in need of his help. The widow added: “I became a taxi driver around three years ago because of Phil. I still have a valid badge. I [have] put a complaint into the council to just be told the same thing. I’ve even been told to just sign on to Universal Credit. It’s just cold-hearted.” A spokesman for
Castle Point Council said: “The council recognises that cir- cumstances are ex- tremely distressing but as notified to the lady’s solicitor the council must act in accordance with the approved conditions and regulations which relate to hack- ney carriages and private hire vehicles and is unable to make exceptions in individual cases not- withstanding the particular and per- sonal loss which has been suffered.” Mmmm…The actions of Castle Point Coun- cil are nothing short of despicable… and by the way, unlawful.
Did they issue Mrs Juachan with any written notices? Why did they instruct her to bring the vehicle plates back to the council; is this a reg- ulated area so the plates would be assigned to someone else… Why, when Mrs Juachan holds a taxi licence? And why is she “no longer allow- ed to be a taxi driver”??? She hasn’t committed any of- fence under the legi- slation; they can’t just stop her working if she’s not a risk to the public. And then they advise her to go onto Universal Cred- it. Absolutely un- believable.- Ed.
14
MARCH 2020
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