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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Taxi journey - was I BU

69 replies

Bingowashisnameo · 08/12/2017 17:24

Got a taxi from local train station as I felt really unwell and couldn’t face the bus. It was 1.15 pm and the roads were quiet and there were no roadworks etc. It wasn’t booked I just got it in the taxi tank there.

The driver was going at 26 mph and the majority of the journey was through 40 mph zones. It was painfully slow. And for no apparent reason. There was a queue of traffic behind us. I’d had a crap journey both to the station at the start of my trip home And the train was late. I was in a shit mood so don’t know if what I did was plain unreasonable.

I asked the driver if he could speed up. He muttered and did for a bit and then went back to under 30:again. When we got to my street I commented that I’d never had such a slow journey and that I could only pay him £10 ( fair was £10.65 so not far off) as I’d never ever had to pay more for the same journey by the same firm and because (truthfully) I’d only got that much cash on me as I’d taken £10 out the atm to pay for the taxi. I sort of feel I was taking my irritability out on him now.

OP posts:
thetigerthatcamefortea · 08/12/2017 17:27

Frustrating.
But I've never made an offer to a taxi driver.
You should of paid the fare.

ThisLittleKitty · 08/12/2017 17:35

I don't think you were unreasonable.

Original poster
Bingowashisnameo · 08/12/2017 17:40

thetiger it wasn’t an offer. I said that’s all I could pay. Which was true.

OP posts:
mumonashoestring · 08/12/2017 17:44

Tbh if he didn't kick off when you told him you were only paying £10 he probably thought he'd been taking the mickey too.

JoJoSM2 · 08/12/2017 17:47

He used a meter so refusing to pay and having a go at him is horrible of you.

FlouncyDoves · 08/12/2017 17:49

I think that’s fair play to be honest. If he was dragging it out you were fine to offer less.

cloudchasing · 08/12/2017 17:50

Ok I might get on my high horse here..

Would you go into Asda, get goods worth £10.65 and only pay a tenner...? Would you get on the bus and pay a quid for a £1.25 fare?

I'm a taxi radio op and I hear this sort of thing day and night. Nobody forced you to get a taxi. This is the driver's livelihood. Just pay the fare. Thank you Smile

Original poster
Bingowashisnameo · 08/12/2017 17:50

He didn’t kick off at all mumonashoestring. He seemed a pretty poor driver and was slowing the traffic down unnecessarily for most of the journey. But yes, I am sure if I’d not felt ill and pissed off id have apologised for not having the full amount of the fare and have sent it to the company JoJo.

OP posts:
Migraleve · 08/12/2017 17:51

WTAF

Why do you think it's acceptable to pay him less than the metered fare??

AfunaMbatata · 08/12/2017 17:52

He used a meter so refusing to pay and having a go at him is horrible of you

Those meters go up by about 20 per min so the longer he takes the higher fare he charges.

shakeyourcaboose · 08/12/2017 17:52

I thought its distance travelled not time in cab? (rarely get one so would be good to be aware!)

Mumof56 · 08/12/2017 17:53

Why didn't you tell him you only had a tenner at the start of the journey? He could have dropped you off when the meter hit that?

YABU to get a service and them decide you couldn't afford it

ForalltheSaints · 08/12/2017 17:53

We should know who the company that has a taxi driver who travels at a sensible and safe speed is. He is possibly unique amongst taxi drivers.

YABU not to pay the full amount on the meter.

EggysMom · 08/12/2017 17:53

I thought most taxi fares were based on mileage, not duration? If so, the mileage wouldn't change no matter what speed he drove ...

CougheeBean · 08/12/2017 17:53

Obviously the meter payment was higher because he took his sweet time with the journey, YANBU at all. If traffic was the problem it would be a different story.

Taxis do this, on purpose I’m sure. I once got a taxi home from the station (one mile) because I’d twisted my ankle in London. The driver took every available back street and even went in a circle at one point. When questioned he said he was lost but wouldn’t take my directions. The fare ended up around £8 and I was fuming.

CougheeBean · 08/12/2017 17:54

I thought taxi meters were a combination of time and mileage tbh

Original poster
Bingowashisnameo · 08/12/2017 17:54

cloudchasing no I wouldn’t. If I had a problem with supermarket service I’d phone their customer service dept and complain. Though again say it had been poor service in a restaurant with not great food, I think it would be fair to refuse to pay the whole bill.

OP posts:
cloudchasing · 08/12/2017 17:55

At the company I work for, it's based on mileage. Makes no difference how fast they drive.

Original poster
Bingowashisnameo · 08/12/2017 17:55

Mumof56 because the journey has never been over £10.

OP posts:
AfunaMbatata · 08/12/2017 17:57

Just sit in a black cab and you’ll see the meter go up every minute by the same about even when still.

You should have said at the beginning you only had £10 though.

Migraleve · 08/12/2017 17:57

Obviously the meter payment was higher because he took his sweet time with the journey

Incorrect..

Taxi meters work on a combiof time OR distance. So if the wheels are mining the meter works on distance. Its only when you are stationary that it works on time.

Drinking slowly has absolutely no bearing on the fare whatsoever.

DontTouchTheMoustache · 08/12/2017 17:57

I dont think you were unreasonable op, you are paying for a service and it was not satisfactory so you offered a lower price. If you had a bad meal in a restaurant that was burnt and you complained you would expect money off the bill and if you bought faulty goods you would ecpect a refund.
You told him you werent happy with the service and gave him opportunity to correct it but he did not so giving slightky less money i think is perfectly reasonable. Had you waited until the end of the journey to say anything i think you would have been unreasonable

Mumof56 · 08/12/2017 17:57

Roughly how many miles was the journey?

Migraleve · 08/12/2017 17:58

thought taxi meters were a combination of time and mileage tbh

They are a combination or time OR distance. Not both at the same time.

Amber0685 · 08/12/2017 17:59

Why didn't you get out once the fare had got to £10