Passengers in Rossendale have been hit with unexpected surcharges just for paying their taxi fare by card — and now the council has had enough.
Rossendale Borough Council has launched a formal crackdown after receiving a number of complaints from residents who were being charged extra on top of their agreed fares when they chose to pay by card. In most of the reported cases, that extra charge sat at around 10%, although some passengers said they had been stung for even more than that.
The practice is illegal. Adding a surcharge for card payments is a direct breach of the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations, and the council has made very clear it intends to enforce the law. Licensing enforcement procedures have already been started, and the matter has been passed to Trading Standards for potential further action.
In a firm warning to the trade, the council confirmed that any driver found adding card surcharges from Friday 1st May 2026 could face prosecution. That’s not a vague threat — it’s a hard deadline.
What Passengers Should Do
The council has issued some straightforward advice to anyone using a taxi in the area:
- Agree the fare before you set off wherever possible
- Keep an eye on the card machine to make sure nothing extra has been added
- Hold on to your receipt if you think you’ve been overcharged
If you do get hit with an unlawful surcharge, report it to Rossendale Borough Council’s Licensing Team. They’ve said all reported breaches will be investigated through the proper channels and shared with Trading Standards where needed.
Why This Matters for Drivers
This isn’t just a local issue. As the UK has shifted increasingly away from cash, card acceptance in the taxi and private hire sector has become standard — and with that comes the temptation for some drivers to try and claw back card processing fees by passing them onto passengers. That’s simply not allowed.
For those of us in the trade who do things properly, this kind of enforcement is welcome. It protects the reputation of taxi and private hire drivers as a whole, and ensures passengers aren’t put off booking a cab because they’re worried about being stung at the end of a journey.
The council has previously shown it means business on passenger protection — back in December 2024, a taxi firm manager was prosecuted for overcharging a wheelchair user and ended up with a £636 penalty from Blackburn Magistrates Court. The message from Rossendale is consistent: treat your passengers fairly, or face the consequences.
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