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KembaraXtra-Case Law-Troughton v Metropolitan Police (1987)
Case Summary: A taxi passenger, intoxicated and unable to provide his address, was driven to a police station after a dispute with the driver. He was then charged with making off without payment.
I. Legal Issue:
Case Summary: A taxi passenger, intoxicated and unable to provide his address, was driven to a police station after a dispute with the driver. He was then charged with making off without payment.
I. Legal Issue:
- Was the passenger (D) liable to pay the taxi fare when he was driven to a police station instead of his requested destination?
- Could he be convicted under s 3 of the Theft Act 1978 (making off without payment)?
- Taxi driver agreed to take D home.
- D was intoxicated and did not provide an address.
- Driver stopped for directions; D accused him of unnecessary diversion.
- Driver drove to the nearest police station instead of continuing to find the passenger's destination.
- The court held that the journey was not completed and the taxi driver had breached the contract.
- The taxi driver was unable to demand the fare because he had diverted from the proper route to D's destination.
- Because payment was not required due to the breached contract, D could not have committed the offence of making off without payment. The obligation to pay never arose.
- A contractual breach by the service provider (taxi driver) can affect the liability of the customer (D) to pay.
- Liability for making off without payment depends on whether a payment was legally required.
- Diversion from the agreed route can invalidate a taxi driver's right to demand payment.
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