Two Private Hire drivers have been fined in separate hearings by North Shields Magistrates.
In February of this year North Tyneside Council carried out a series of ‘Mystery Shopper’ stings
Aimed at both Hackney Carriages and Private Hire.
Each driver was fined £100, £150 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Both drivers plead guilty to the charges.
The first driver, a 36 year old male, was approached as he sat on Whitley bay metro station Hackney Carriage Rank and was subsequently hired to
Take the Mystery Shoppers to the Magnesia Bank Public house in North Shields.
The second, a 43 year old male, was approached in Tynemouth Front Street and agreed to a hiring to take two passengers to an address in Whitley Bay.
These were not the only drivers caught during these Mystery Shopper exercises. They are merely the first to come before the courts.
