Car didn't turn up at airport as agreed

Justtheonethanks9099 · 2022-12-02T12:40:03+00:00

Landed in Milan this morning. Hotel arranged for a private car to meet me. €65 to city centre hotel. Waited at arrivals for 10/15 mins and saw no board with my name or hotel name. Picked up a taxi outside. €27! Arrive at hotel and two guys on reception immediately said "you had a car booked" to which I replied "he wasn't there". Guy #1: but you had his number Me: he also had my number but he wasn't there. Guy #2: they confirmed the car this morning. Me: well, not with me, and I waited 10 or 15 minutes. Half an hour later 3 or 4 calls from 2 local numbers which I didn't answer as it was probably demanding payment and blaming me for the confusion. I don't feel I should pay but would relent and pay 50% if they persist. WWYD?

Orangey25 · 02/12/2022 12:41

If you had his number did you actually ring them to see where they were?

Keyansier · 02/12/2022 12:42

You had his number and called a taxi after only 10 minutes and without even attempting to contact them to find out what was going on. Pay your own taxi fare.

Cornelious · 02/12/2022 12:43

You should've phoned the driver. 10-15 minutes is not very long to wait either.

Hidingawaytoday · 02/12/2022 12:44

10/15 minutes wasn't long to wait - they were probably delayed in traffic and trying to find somewhere to park. Or you might have landed a bit early and they were in the loo at the airport. Why didn't you just call them?

IamSmarticus · 02/12/2022 12:45

YABU - I agree with the others, you had his number so you should have called. 10-15 mins is not long, they could have bee stuck in traffic or anything.

CaptaNoctem · 02/12/2022 12:45

Calling a foreign number from a UK phone is not cheap. I had an £80 bill for one call trying to sort out my own car woes abroad. Only a short call at that.

The days of calls being included in the monthly plans are now gone.

I would probably have waited another 15 minutes though

Cheesuswithallama · 02/12/2022 12:46

Is this a reverse?

Whatsthestorytomorrow · 02/12/2022 12:46

You should have phoned.
You didn’t give the paid taxi opportunity to collect you, you chose an alternative instead, so you pay.

acornsarenottheonlyfruit · 02/12/2022 12:46

If you waited until the agreed time and he wasn't at arrivals Im with you, I would have a got a taxi. I certainly would not be paying for a service that didn't arrive.

If you ordered a take away and it never arrived would you still pay?

arranged cars are more expensive than taxis and thats fine because you are paying for the convenience of someone waiting for you and not having to go and find a taxi. You also shouldn't have had to start phoning and then trying to find him.

Claudia84 · 02/12/2022 12:47

I can't believe you chose to spend £27 on a taxi without calling the booked one to check they were on their way, or even calling the hotel?!

poefaced · 02/12/2022 12:47

I can’t believe you didn’t call if you didn’t have his number.

He should have texted you to say he was nearby.

Maybe there is a 15 minute pick up time limit?

LookItsMeAgain · 02/12/2022 12:50

I'm going to go with that you're not being unreasonable.

If you've arranged for a transfer from an airport, the onus is on the transfer to be there in time for your flight. You're paying above the public transport costs for that being part of the 'luxury' of being collected and delivered to your accommodation. Irrespective of whether you have their number or not.

They will also have yours and if they are running late (as others have suggested they may have been), again the onus is on them to phone you and let you know that they are running late, for whatever reason, so that you don't go and get public transport as an alternative.

I wouldn't pay and I wouldn't pay even 50% of the cost. Why should you? They weren't there.

Cheesuswithallama · 02/12/2022 12:51

acornsarenottheonlyfruit · 02/12/2022 12:46

If you waited until the agreed time and he wasn't at arrivals Im with you, I would have a got a taxi. I certainly would not be paying for a service that didn't arrive.

If you ordered a take away and it never arrived would you still pay?

arranged cars are more expensive than taxis and thats fine because you are paying for the convenience of someone waiting for you and not having to go and find a taxi. You also shouldn't have had to start phoning and then trying to find him.

Anything can happen like accident nearby etc.

It's pretty shitty to refuse to do a simple thing, wait only few min and bugger off when something is ordered. If the person called the driver, driver said they will be extra 45 min, then they would be absolutely in their right to cancel imho.

This is not aking to takeaway never arrived but takeaway arrived 20min later than expected...

maroonhaze · 02/12/2022 12:51

Another vote for you should have called. If you didn't have data roaming you could have asked at the airport or used WhatsApp.

Original poster

Justtheonethanks9099 · 02/12/2022 12:52

acornsarenottheonlyfruit · 02/12/2022 12:46

If you waited until the agreed time and he wasn't at arrivals Im with you, I would have a got a taxi. I certainly would not be paying for a service that didn't arrive.

If you ordered a take away and it never arrived would you still pay?

arranged cars are more expensive than taxis and thats fine because you are paying for the convenience of someone waiting for you and not having to go and find a taxi. You also shouldn't have had to start phoning and then trying to find him.

Yes this is my feeling too.
I often use a private car because the driver is in arrivals and I don't have to navigate an airport.
Curious why they confirmed with the hotel but not with me.

OP posts:

IhearyouClemFandango · 02/12/2022 12:53

LookItsMeAgain · 02/12/2022 12:50

I'm going to go with that you're not being unreasonable.

If you've arranged for a transfer from an airport, the onus is on the transfer to be there in time for your flight. You're paying above the public transport costs for that being part of the 'luxury' of being collected and delivered to your accommodation. Irrespective of whether you have their number or not.

They will also have yours and if they are running late (as others have suggested they may have been), again the onus is on them to phone you and let you know that they are running late, for whatever reason, so that you don't go and get public transport as an alternative.

I wouldn't pay and I wouldn't pay even 50% of the cost. Why should you? They weren't there.

I agree. Yanbu.

AdInfinitum12 · 02/12/2022 12:53

I'm torn on this one because I think (phone contract allowing..I have SIM only and can't phone abroad) I'd have phoned when I turned up and he wasn't there. However you usually pay an increased fee with private cars compared to just jumping in a taxi because the premium is having someone there ready and waiting for you.

When you booked did you have to give them your flight number?

The only time I've hired a private car I had to give them my flight number. Our flight was delayed by an hour or so. I got a text through (presumably from when we were supposed to land but I only got it when I turned my phone on after landing late) saying they're tracking the flight and can see it's delayed, they'd be waiting outside the lounge for me whenever I'm ready rather than just outside the arrivals. If you had to give the flight number I'd be annoyed at the service you booked and we're ready to pay for not being ready when expected.

LookItsMeAgain · 02/12/2022 12:54

As both I and @acornsarenottheonlyfruit are clearly in the minority on this I have a follow up question that I'd be interested in finding out the answer to.

To those of you who say that the OP should have contacted the transfer company, can I ask you if you have ever used a transfer company when travelling overseas and if you have, were they at the airport waiting for you or not?

Original poster

Justtheonethanks9099 · 02/12/2022 12:58

AdInfinitum12 · 02/12/2022 12:53

I'm torn on this one because I think (phone contract allowing..I have SIM only and can't phone abroad) I'd have phoned when I turned up and he wasn't there. However you usually pay an increased fee with private cars compared to just jumping in a taxi because the premium is having someone there ready and waiting for you.

When you booked did you have to give them your flight number?

The only time I've hired a private car I had to give them my flight number. Our flight was delayed by an hour or so. I got a text through (presumably from when we were supposed to land but I only got it when I turned my phone on after landing late) saying they're tracking the flight and can see it's delayed, they'd be waiting outside the lounge for me whenever I'm ready rather than just outside the arrivals. If you had to give the flight number I'd be annoyed at the service you booked and we're ready to pay for not being ready when expected.

Yes they had flight number, airline, timings, my departure airport, everything.
Flight landed on time and I was out fairly pronto as I only had hand luggage.

OP posts:

Keyansier · 02/12/2022 13:01

LookItsMeAgain · 02/12/2022 12:54

As both I and @acornsarenottheonlyfruit are clearly in the minority on this I have a follow up question that I'd be interested in finding out the answer to.

To those of you who say that the OP should have contacted the transfer company, can I ask you if you have ever used a transfer company when travelling overseas and if you have, were they at the airport waiting for you or not?

Yes, I have and yes they were.
If they weren't, I would have called them to find out where they were and then decide what course of action I would take depending on the answer given.
Not just jump in and pay for a taxi

ErrolTheDragon · 02/12/2022 13:02

YANBU.
It would have been nice if you'd rung, but the onus is on the provider of a service to do what's agreed, or to contact the customer if there's a hiccup.

Original poster

Justtheonethanks9099 · 02/12/2022 13:03

The only reason I gave the cost of private car vs public taxi was to illustrate the premium paid for the convenience of a pre-booked car: €65 as against €27.

OP posts:

KrisAkabusi · 02/12/2022 13:06

To those of you who say that the OP should have contacted the transfer company, can I ask you if you have ever used a transfer company when travelling overseas and if you have, were they at the airport waiting for you or not?

Yes, and one time when they were not there I phoned. It turned out I was standing in the wrong place. Easily sorted. Why wouldn't you phone?!

GasPanic · 02/12/2022 13:06

Normally I find they are really good at keeping in touch - they text you and you text them.

I prefer to text rather than phone, because interference/language barriers is often difficult to interpret.

Pugdogmom · 02/12/2022 13:09

Milan traffic can be horrendous. You could have WhatsApped him with WiFi at airport to see where he was. I've had a car being late, and a simple message would have been the thing to do, just to check.
I would have checked first before jumping in a taxi.