To think that taxi fare should not change en route for no apparent reason?

[redsun246]

Or is this standard these days? Just asking before I phone the company to ask them.

I booked a taxi for the exact same journey several times with the same taxi company. The drivers always have their phone up on display showing the final taxi fare amount. Today, just as we arrived at the destination he told me he had a text and now the fare was more than the amount quoted. This text came through on a different phone, which I think was his phone.

I asked him where that text come from and he gave me the name of the taxi company I had booked. I asked this because he had previously told me he was also an Uber driver. I asked him why the price had suddenly gone up and he just said sometimes it changes on route. No explanation.

I asked him for a written receipt and he said no, just take a photo of the phone screen of the text with the new price.

It was the same route, no detours, no change from all the previous times.

And added irony is that when I first got in the cab he asked me if I was paying with cash. I told him yes because every single time I tried to pay with card it was a time-consuming hassle that never worked properly. He said well you are best paying with cash because with card, you get charged an extra amount, usually 35p, taken by Google pay.

And not only that, customers had complained that when they had paid by card, they got another charge at the end of the month, could be anything from £5 or more, on top of amount already paid.

I thanked him for telling me and said I would definitely pay cash, then - and then the sudden price hike happened.

As I got out of the taxi I said so it really makes no difference whether I pay cash or card, I could end up paying more either way!

Has anyone else had this?

@MyKingdomForACat you are completely wrong about uber. I use both them and black cabs regularly. The uber price is fixed and you know what it will be when you book.

Uber is a fixed price before you start the journey.
You can get a price surge at certain times which means the journey costs more than usual but it is still a fixed price at the start.
There is also a pre booking fee if you pre booked but again it is a fixed price.
You Can invite others to track your journey for safety if you wish to.
some of their driving sucks and they use google maps to get about but the fare is always fixed.

Maybe you don't know what you are talking about because you haven't used one.

I have many times in differing countries and the fee is always fixed so the driver's route doesn't matter

A fucking black cab driver told my vulnerable aunt all about the poor taxi drivers who get charged card transaction fees so now she spends a fortune getting taxis to the fucking cash machine so she always has cash for them.

Rather than paying on her debit card or her taxi account.

If she does use her taxi account she always wants to tip them (meaning more trips to the bank to get £1 and £2 coins).

It makes me so cross. She is an immobile pensioner who due to her mobility needs can only use a black cab and she puts around £750 onto her taxi account monthly.

Anytime I get a taxi in her city all they do is moan about cyclists (I am one) and Uber. Quite frankly with the round about routes some of them have taken me on to jack the fare up and exploiting my aunt I'm about to move to uber.

I have encountered (maybe twice) in the years that I’ve frequently used Uber to get a further surcharge if there was a road closed and they had to go a much longer route but that’s a case of £2-3. 99% of the time though, the price is fixed and it’s always cheaper than jumping in a regular taxi. I often use uber as a benchmark to see if cabbies abroad are trying to fleece me as I consider uber to be very fair.

Complain to your local authority licensing team.

Your son is talking a load of shite.

The 35p transaction fee quoted sounds like the business banking transaction fees - many banks business debit cards have a transaction fee, some of which are 35p and the banks often try to advise businesses to opt for business credit cards rather than business debit cards.

Googlepay, Apple Pay etc do not charge a transaction fee to the customer

If a business uses their business banks card processing services then they get charged the transaction fees, but as long as they get the required turnover in card payments they get charged lower fees but a fixed monthly subscription charge on top

If card payment turnover is too low to make banking card processing viable then non subscription card processing such as SumUp is better value with a rate of 1.69%
To incur a 35p transaction fee the bill would be £20.71. (The driver would receive £20.36 after fees)
If they take cash then there is no fee at the point of sale - but they would get business account fees for depositing the cash
If they can spend the cash then there is no fee

In my experience, Uber is usually more expensive for a fixed price journey. It's also my experience that any fixed price journey I've ever taken sticks to the price set in advance. On the meter is a different matter

For the rate that the taxi/private hire are charging there is a key difference between private hire and taxis

Taxis are licenced by the council and must operate a taxi meter, and run it at the rates specified by the relevant council

Private hire cars are not taxis, they are licenced by the council but do not have meters. They must be pre-booked and must agree on the price in advance
If they are changing the price from that agreed then they are breaching their private hire licence and are to be reported to the local council

Uber etc is effectively a private hire, paid as per the price quoted by uber at the start of the journey (and paid to uber)

The drivers always have their phone up on display showing the final taxi fare amount. Today, just as we arrived at the destination he told me he had a text and now the fare was more than the amount quoted. This text came through on a different phone, which I think was his phone.

You've been robbed. Complain to the owner. The fare should be prominently displayed at all times.

Are you some kind of black cab conspiracy theorist?
I've never had a uber fare change from the quote - or take an unreasonable route - why would they, the price is agreed in advance?.
How are you so knowledgeable about supposed uber scams if you've never used one?

"CRB" checks ended more than a decade ago, replaced by DBS checks - but they clearly worked well for black cab driver Warboys.

I have used Uber many times in UK and various European countries. They are absolutely brilliant. The fayre never varies from what has been agreed in advance.

This. That is one of the reasons it became so popular because you knew the fare upfront. It's also very safe as you can track your ride and also send it to a friend

As others have said, this isn’t how Uber works- the prices for the same journeys vary, but when you book it tells you what the fixed price is and when you accept that price is locked in and doesn’t change.

I get it, my dad is a black cab driver who hates Uber too and is also misinformed about how they work, as he’s never used one. But your son is incorrect on that point.

its also quite ironic that you’re saying that as it’s black cabs, not Uber, who do precisely what you’re moaning about- ie don’t make the price clear until you get to your destination.

I much prefer ubers, the drivers can't rip you off by going the wrong way, you don't need to know the way to where you're going and you know which car. Pre-uber I had a lot more issues with black cabs, never use them now (Manchester).

uber is much better…. You can dispute the taxi charges with uber. It’s a much easier

But she has done same journey before and knows the price?

Uber can and does increase cost during rides. I take about 3 a week. They will usually refund if due to traffic and you ask them too.

They even say this on their website: https://help.uber.com/en/riders/article/my-upfront-fare-was-not-honored?nodeId=ff65490e-2ffb-41cf-a709-4611521c7b24

They also mention it here: https://help.uber.com/en-GB/riders/article/review-change-in-upfront-trip-price?nodeId=f5a6c432-2a21-431e-966d-623087cb24e2

However, I still prefer Uber because I can follow the car on its way to me, I can share the ride with someone else if I feel unsafe.

Re DBS checks, Google states that in London they need one, however the details for elsewhere are sketchy on Ubers website. This site does say you need one: https://www.employment.tools/faq-do-uber-drivers-require-dbs-checks.php

I got an Uber last week. Price doubled during the journey, only found out when I got the email receipt with the following wording:

“Your fare is different to the upfront price due to significant changes of route, destination, duration or due to extra stops since your initial booking.”

There wasn’t a change of route, destination or extra stops, I can’t be certain it took significantly longer than the original booking.

But Uber can and do change the price mid-trip and the first you’ll know about it is more money coming off your card than you anticipated when you booked.

Op i think you were done too.
He asked first if it was cash. Then the reluctance to give receipt.

I'd complain to the taxi company. You don't want a whole company get a bad name because of one dodgy driver

This is why Uber is miles better- fixed fare from the start. They tend not to talk either which is a massive plus. I don’t want to hear rants about road closures, cyclists, politics and Uber when I’m on my way somewhere.

This is interesting and I didn't know about it, thanks. I get about 6 Ubers a week. Not once has the price for me ever changed.