Articles
This site contains a substantial collection of writing on credit hire law and practice, developed over the past decade. The emphasis is practical: what the authorities mean, how the rules operate and where the real risks lie.
The latest specialist analysis appears below. If you are looking for a particular issue, the four gateways provide a quicker route into the archive.
Older articles should be read in the context of the law at the date of publication.
Damages
Impecuniosity, basic hire rates, need, period, mitigation and the recoverable measure of loss.
Agreements & Regulation
Enforceability, contractual liability, misrepresentation, credit hire and credit repair agreements, illegality and regulatory issues.
Evidence & Commercial Vehicles
Witness and documentary evidence, procedure, dishonesty, taxis, private hire vehicles, fleets and profit-earning chattels.
Evidence & procedure · Dishonesty & fraud · Taxi, fleet & commercial
Appeals & Costs
Appellate principles, QOCS, non-party costs orders and the procedural and costs consequences of credit hire litigation.
Recent analysis
-
The Cemetery of Forgotten Books
Credit Hire Barrister has been rebuilt. The purpose is not simply a fresher website, but a new programme of articles and papers on a rapidly changing area of law and practice.
-
Fundamental dishonesty and credit hire
Personal injury claims and credit hire claims used to go hand in hand. Since the whiplash reforms, personal injury claims seem to be less prominent in credit hire litigation, which now seems to predominantly relate to vehicle damage claims, with consequential loss including the cost of credit hire charges. Yet, when a personal injury claim…
-
Twelfth Night
Christmas is almost here. This is the last working week I will enjoy before the Christmas break. It has been a long and busy Michaelmas Term. It is now exactly 2 months since I moved chambers to Hailsham Chambers in the Temple in London. 2026 is already shaping up to be a very busy year,…
-
On the road again
This week I made the trip to Birmingham to defend a High Court credit hire appeal. The trial had taken place on 30th June 2023, and it had taken 2.5 years for the case to grind through the court system, to reach an appeal hearing on the 2nd December 2025. The judgment was essentially an…
-
The end of the road
The Supreme Court website records in relation to the Court of Appeal decision in Tescher v Direct Accident Management Limited: Permission to Appeal Justices Lord Lloyd-Jones Lord Leggatt Lady Rose Permission to Appeal decision date 8 October 2025 Permission to Appeal decision Refused The issues raised are procedural matters better addressed at the level of…
-
Silver medals
On Friday the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in two very important conjoined appeals about the potential liability of credit hire companies for non party costs orders. A copy of the judgment can be found here: Tescher v DAML and AXA v Spectra [2025] EWCA Civ 733. I am considering the judgment at the…
-
In the back of my cab
I am grateful to Liam Davidson of Winn Solicitors for sending me the case of Hussain v EUI Limited [2024] EWCC 16. In this 2024 Bradford County Court decision, HHJ Malek valiantly grappled with one of the more challenging areas of credit hire law – the treatment of profit-earning chattels. Mr Hussain, a private hire…
-
Knight Rider
When I was a boy, Saturday evening had a rhythm of its own. The ritual was simple. First, dinner: one poached egg, gently set upon a golden platform of cheese on toast. Then, a moment of television glory, an American television series, of which a particularly memorable one was — Knight Rider. There it was.…
Researching an issue in a current case?
If the point arises in substantial litigation or an appeal and you would like specialist advice, please contact my clerks at Hailsham Chambers.