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Original poster

Did I screw the taxi driver over?!

223 replies

DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou · 19/07/2020 09:31

A taxi driver flipped out at me yesterday. Over £1.
And I'm feeling guilty and cross about it.

I took a taxi to the train station yesterday, called a particular company who are reliable and asked if they had a card machine or do I need to organise cash?

They said they have card machines so that's fine.

The guy who took me was lovely, but said he's lucky if he makes £20 a day now. He used to make £200-£300 a day.

2 hours later I call a taxi to take us home.
We get home, I ask how much and it's £12something.
I get my card out but he says the card machine isn't working. So I say I'll run upstairs and get some cash. I have £3 in my wallet and a £10 upstairs.
I went to say "don't worry about the change" and
he then says it was £14something.

I was like, whaaaaat? He charged me for the time him and I took the bags out the boot, and for the matter or minutes it took me to run upstairs and grab the £10.

I said no sorry, I was ready to pay with my card. I'm not being charged extra while I ran upstairs and got cash, it was his card machine that was broken after all.

He starts shouting fuck you! Fuck you! You screwed me over, over £1.

I was thinking is this really happening?! He's shouting at me as he's driving away.

Now I'm thinking about what that guy said about only making £20 a day.

I feel like one of us was an arsehole and I'm not sure how it is.

Are taxi drivers furloughed??? Are things so desperate he's shouting at customers over a quid? I'm worried he flipped out because life is shit and he has no bloody food for his kids or something?!

Am I over thinking this?!

OP posts:
StuffThem · 19/07/2020 10:00

He was totally out of order.

I might, in a concession to understanding that the poor bloke is going through a very worrying time financially, consider not complaining to the company about him. Or I might complain anyway, because shouting and swearing at you was very badly not on, and I would want to ensure that there was a basic consequence to his behaviour so that he doesn't feel free to do it to the next person.

Original poster
DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou · 19/07/2020 10:03

I'm not going to complain.

But I do want to have the option of being able to use the company again.

Especially as I no longer live in walking distance of the train station now.

OP posts:
Hardbackwriter · 19/07/2020 10:04

You specifically asked if they took card payment and were told yes. If this man's card machine was broken, he should have informed the person who books the jobs that he can't do card only jobs at the moment. Or the person on the phone should inform drivers that the customer needs to pay card and then the driver can refuse the job.

To be absolutely scrupulously fair I think OP asked before booking the first taxi, but this was the second one - so she'd already been told that the whole fleet had card machines (and so definitely wasn't in the wrong) but the call handler for the return journey wouldn't have explicitly known that she was card only because they wouldn't have known it was the same person.

CodenameVillanelle · 19/07/2020 10:06

@reesewithoutaspoon

Taxis charge for time and mileage. The clock would have remained on while you went and got the cash. because time he is waiting for you is time that hes not doing another job. Its not your fault the machine wasnt working especially if you specifically asked for card machine. Maybe he should have stopped the clock when you arrived as a compromise. He was wrong to be abusive, but he also lost money because the card machine wasnt working
Obviously he should have stopped the clock when he caused the delay by not having a functioning card machine.
Original poster
DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou · 19/07/2020 10:06

That's correct, when I called the same company two hours before, I asked if they took card payments and they did.

When I called them a second time I wasn't going to ask the question which I knew the answer to.

OP posts:
SnuggyBuggy · 19/07/2020 10:06

Card machines are the future, tacindrivers need to suck it up.

WhatKatyDidNxt · 19/07/2020 10:08

YANBU you asked for a card machine and his allegedly wasn’t working. At least you had some cash on you.

If l shouted and screamed at people whenever l was underrated pressure and stressed, then it would be more than 50% of the time. People can’t carry on like that

Joebloggsss · 19/07/2020 10:09

I don’t think it would of been the fact of a £1 but it was probably the final straw and you got the brunt of it.... to be honest I would probably try to rectify the situation and pay the money to the taxi firm just as a good will gesture.
He did say he’s lucky enough to make £20 a day which is nothing so even though a £1 is a small amount he could be under finicial pressure. I would have offered to go to a cash point. Chances are the taxi driver would of told you not to worry anyway.

LadyFlumpalot · 19/07/2020 10:11

The taxi driver should not have yelled at you over £1. That's unreasonable. It's not your fault the card machine was broken and he should have stuck at the price he originally told you (or warned you that the price would go up whilst you were looking for cash).

However, it's a £1 so if you are feeling badly about it then how about taking a £1 to the taxi office and explaining you accidentally short changed your driver and could they pass it on?

slipperywhensparticus · 19/07/2020 10:11

Call the company tell them what happened ask them if your going to be blacklisted due to there malfunctioning equipment because you can bet he will tell them a different story

ChaoticCatling · 19/07/2020 10:13

Obviously he should have stopped the clock when he caused the delay by not having a functioning card machine. I agree.

Boohoohoohooho · 19/07/2020 10:13

YANBU.
I think I would complain. The taxi company won’t want their drivers swearing at people. Did they have a camera in the car?

Also, lol at the “oh please educate yourself” comment by a previous poster. How pompous can you get 😂

Saracen · 19/07/2020 10:13

You were in the right. You had been told you could use a card, and you were ready to do so. The taxi driver should have stopped the clock when it became clear that you were ready to pay the fare and you couldn't do so because his machine was broken.

I would contact the firm and see if you can get yourself taken off the blacklist, also maybe find out the driver's name so you can request a different one next time.

SlinkyStairs · 19/07/2020 10:16

Bet he wanted cash and lied about the machine. Dont use the company again.

JenandFlo · 19/07/2020 10:17

I think you need to tell the taxi company what happened. Both because he tried to fleece you and because he was rude, aggressive and bullying. Imagine that had happened to someone old or vulnerable.

You don’t have to ‘complain’, just let the company know what happened.

Joebloggsss · 19/07/2020 10:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Joebloggsss · 19/07/2020 10:20

Sorry wrong thread!

hunz · 19/07/2020 10:20

I work in this industry. If it was priced on the meter then yes he can charge for waiting for you to get the money. If he helps you load/upload shopping he can also charge for that, say you have 4 bags and the meter is set at 10p a bag there's an extra 40p, The meters are set according to local authorities.

Can your house be blacklisted? To an extent yes, we have customers that are banned for not paying etc but it would be unusual for the sake of £1. When these customers ring it pops up on their number that they are banned.

If he works for a company and not himself then they would also have had a card machine in the office if all the cars are fitted with them so you could have made payment over the phone.
The drivers do prefer cash as that way they are more likely to get tips, but the way the computer systems work for most companies now mean it's not easy to hide transactions as there is always a paper trail.

Regardless of all this he should not have spoken to you in that way and you should make the company aware of it!

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 19/07/2020 10:21

Oh please educate yourself.

God, such patronising bollocks.

853690525d · 19/07/2020 10:22

I also think you should describe what happened to the company. He could end up bullying someone who would be very distressed. Of course you shouldn't have to pay extra because his card machine wasn't working, what utter madness.

May09Bump · 19/07/2020 10:23

Not your fault - no card machine when you had asked for it. So the clock should have been stopped.

Quarantimespringclean · 19/07/2020 10:24

He was lucky you had the cash at all. All I have is the same £5 note I had when lockdown started.

I would even doubt that his card machine was broken? Presumably if the payment goes through the machine the bank and maybe his taxi firm take a cut, but cash can go straight in his pocket. I wouldn’t judge him for doing that in these difficult times but whether it was true or not he was in the wrong to yell at you.

SnuggyBuggy · 19/07/2020 10:25

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

Oh please educate yourself.

God, such patronising bollocks.

This, it's such a wanky thing to say
Apolloanddaphne · 19/07/2020 10:26

I wouldn't necessarily call to complain but I would call the company to explain what happened and to make sure you are not blacklisted. You were absolutely not at fault here.

Jeremyironsnothing · 19/07/2020 10:26

I think you need to call the company, not with an actual complaint as such, but with a concern that you will be blacklisted. If he hadn't made that threat, I wouldn't have bothered. His shouting might bite him in the bum.

Not your fault that the card reader didn't work.