In message , Roland Perry
writes

So they can't take a commission to collect "Mr Perry's party" without
me first saying how many people it is? (Modulo less than a car full).

It's entirely up to the operator how they take the booking. Almost all
WWW booking forms ask for the number of passengers along with a mountain
of other details. Telephone operators may or may not ask for such
information.

However, if a company is willing to take a booking for just "a car to
Heathrow" without the knowledge that there are five passengers, two of
whom require child seats and one of whom is disabled, and that there is
a wheelchair, eight large suitcases, two pairs of skis, a double bass
and a guide dog among the party, everyone is going to be disappointed if
a Ford Escort turns up for the job.

So Paul Terry seems somewhat outvoted on this issue.

I don't mind being outvoted in the slightest, but it was not me that
wrote "PHV drivers who pick up passengers that have not been booked
through their PHV operators are plying for hire" ... it was TfL.

As I said, I think the driver concerned was just using this as an excuse
to bump up the fare. However, there is no regulation of the fares
charged for private hire - operators can set whatever conditions they
wish.

--
Paul Terry