To insist on a refund for taxi?

[Livingtothefull]

My DH and DS were flying home from a family visit abroad. DS is disabled and in a wheelchair so I booked a wheelchair taxi via Computacab subsidised arrangement for disabled people, to meet us at Heathrow. The plan was that I would travel to the airport myself by bus, meet DS and DH at Arrivals and then we would all travel home together in the taxi.

We all met up and then looked for the taxi driver, who was supposed to meet us there with a name board - but nowhere to be seen. Called the taxi company who said the driver was there then put me in touch with him. He said he wasn't inside Arrivals hall but in the taxi rank where he had joined the queue of taxis instead.

We found the driver in the taxi queue, more than a dozen taxis back….each time someone took a taxi he moved forward in the queue. The problem was that there were very few people wanting taxis, so only happened every 10-15 minutes or so. There were barriers each side of a single lane so no way to get into the taxi with the wheelchair, or turn around and leave the queue even if we got in. So we might be stuck literally for hours.

I called the taxi company explaining what had happened and asked what we should do…that we needed to get home asap to give DS his medication on time (true). I was put on hold for a very long time, in the meantime our taxi driver told us to just take the taxi at the front of the queue. We asked if we would have to pay more and he said no.

Called the company again, was told as it wasn't a Computacab we would be charged the full fare, the driver was wrong. ….I got a receipt for the £40+ which we paid. AIBU to insist on a refund of the difference?

No YANBU.

If you book a taxi it doesn't join the taxi rank - it picks up where anyone can pick up.

He was an idiot.

Yanbu totally unacceptable! You pre booked a cab which should have been waiting for you in arrivals with a board, not joining a regular queue! The fact you had a disabled passenger hence booking the disabled cab makes it even more unacceptable!

That's true NannyOgg, and the taxi driver was supposed to meet us inside Arrivals holding a board with DS name, that was the plan. I think he joined the taxis queue which was a mistake. Mistakes happen but I think it was a shame that something wasn't sorted out for us instead of us having to call the company and in the end, get in the front taxi ( which we could have done without having to book anything)? It seems that the original taxi driver told us we wouldn't be charged the full amount, just to get rid of us.

I really think we are owed an explanation/apology/part refund.

YANBU taxi driver was an idiot. Tbh, if he was that dim and paying so little attention at the airport then you probably had a lucky escape not traveling with him!

Thanks all for your comments. I am steeling myself to call the company shortly and insist on my refund….am sure will work something out.

Yes Aeroflotgirl, I think it is an unacceptable way to handle a disabled passenger. Mistakes happen but there should be a contingency plan. THEY should have been contacting US to explain what had happen and what they proposed to do for us.

Sorry to go a bit off topic on this but DH came through Arrivals with DS wheelchair & 2 suitcases in tow…..I kind of took for granted that there would be someone with him to help with these but no, apparently nobody available. They had just travelled from central Europe where apparently they were offered loads of help at every connection and destination point. DH comment: 'Everything worked beautifully the whole journey, until we got back to Heathrow where it all fell apart'.

I'm afraid that this country is still nowhere near as disabled friendly as some people like to think.

YANBU.

Awful! I hope you get a FULL refund, you shouldn't have been treated like that.

YANBU - they totally screwed up and should refund you FULLY. Totally unacceptable.

Exactly living, this country is going downhill. We travelled to Italy to see dh parents, everything flowed perfectly, staff helpful. Got to loony Luton airport, once we stepped off the plane and went through the arrivals door, we were greeted with 2 big stair cases. We had to lug ds buggy up it and deal with dd ASD, absolutely unacceptable. What do disabled passengers do!

Thanks - hadn't thought about claiming a full refund because it is a service arranged via the local authority….if something like this happened in the context of my being a private customer, then yes I think that more than a refund of the would be called for.

What I would really like from them is an apology & some kind of commitment from them to improve their service & prevent this happening again. Eg the taxi driver should have been the one contacting them to explain what was happening, and the company should then have contacted me to explain & tell us what they would do to sort it out.

I agree the taxi driver was daft. When we found him in the queue he was beckoning to us to get in the taxi….it didn't occur to him a) we couldn't get the wheelchair in due to barriers/kerbs/no room for ramp, b) we would have to wait for hours in the queue anyway. Then he told us we wouldn't be charged the full amount?? He just wanted rid of us/the situation by then so basically lied to us to get shot. So - the wrong taxi driver to send on a job like that.

Yes Aeroflotgirl, services for the disabled in this country leave a lot to be desired. It is frankly embarrassing to see how far behind we are in comparison to elsewhere. I think is caused by lack of thought, and lack of first hand experience of how hard it is to get around in a wheelchair. It wouldn't take much in terms of provision and forethought to make things so much easier & more pleasant for us….but there are to many who just don't give a damn.

Sorry, this is turning into a rant isn't it?

Just to be clear what I meant…..as it is a local authority-funded subsidy I will chase just a refund of the difference, i.e. value of the subsidy, but would like an apology/commitment to improve.

Of course you should get a full refund. Hope you get it

Aeroflot - Disabled passengers can get assistance of course, and generally airlines will advise to book that if required. It's pretty common and not unique to Luton. Even where there are lifts there are often long distances, and even when people fail to advise of needing help in advance, the airport will have people who can be called. Do you work in travel? If so, I'm surprised that you ask.

I know living it is awful as you discovered. UncleT why out a huge staircase in arrivals, so tge first thing you do when you step in arrivals is walk up big flights of stairs, very badly though out, and puts a dampner on things.

No I don't UncleT,

UncleT - I have worked in travel in the past. Wheelchair assistance can be booked but it is actually for people who DON'T have wheelchairs of their own…who can walk but just need some help travelling the distances between terminals/connections etc.

'Meet and assist' services can be pre-booked but are not always guaranteed. And you would think that there could be provision such as lifts, escalators etc for passengers with small children, buggies, heavy luggage, elderly passengers etc as well as the disabled, rather than forcing them all to trudge up steps.

In our case we had already notified the airline that DS was wheelchair bound, arranged for him to travel to the aircraft door in his wheelchair etc so they were aware of it. That being the case I think that DH and DS should have been offered the appropriate support at Heathrow, it seems to have been offered at every other airport they travelled through.

Living, I saw no lifts on tge entrance to arrivals at Luton, unless there was another enterence. Anyhow they should have been position right near the stairs or within easy reach.