Scammed By Taxi Driver Please Read!!!

[LilyLily1999]

Hi all, I had a rather stressful experience today with a taxi company and it’s left me quite shaken up…even thinking about it now I feel like I’m gonna cry. Please read as I’m in need of some support right now.

I booked a taxi today to a family members house, I normally get uber but thought a taxi would be cheaper, I phoned a taxi company and explained I don’t have cash and I’ve currently lost my card and the guy said that’s fine I can pay by bank transfer. I got into the taxi and straight away the guy called his manager up and they spoke in their language…he then turned the metre off and I stupidly thought nothing of it (I suffer from mental health and am considered vulnerable).

The journey was only a 4 minute drive, halfway through the guy said his manager has messaged me the bank account details so I can transfer the money…I looked at my messages and saw the manager had told me it would cost £15 and I need to send a screenshot to prove I’ve sent the money. I may be vulnerable but I instantly knew £15 for a 4minute journey wasn’t right as even on uber it’s cheaper then that…I realised that must’ve been why the guy turned the metre off as if they charged me by the metre it would’ve been too cheap for them and they wanted to try and get more money out of me. To make things worse the taxi driver drove past my family members house and pulled up further down the road to wait for me to send the money…I felt extremely uncomfortable and due to the bad signal my bank app was frozen so I was unable to send the money, I continued to message the manager and told him £15 is a lot and how the metre should’ve been on and he said he can lower it to £12 and I agreed feeling like I had no other choice. I called my family member and they said they have cash and if I get the driver to pull up outside their house then I can collect the cash from them and pay him…I told the driver and he took me to the house and then followed me to the front door to collect the money, which again was rather uncomfortable, I assume he thought I’d run off.

I bursted into tears when I got inside my family members house as I felt so uncomfortable in the car with the driver and feel like they were tryna scam me into paying more then I should’ve. I’m now back home and have messaged the company letting them know how I feel and that they should’ve had the metre on…the company is saying I chose to not have the metre on and I agreed to a set price of £12 which is bullshit (excuse my language) but who in their right mind would “agree” to pay more then they need to…I didn’t get a choice regarding the metre as the guy turned it off the minute I got in and I had to agree to £12 as I was in this random man’s car down the road from my family members house and he was sitting their huffing and puffing and constantly asking me if I’ve paid…they told me the “fixed price” once I got to my location yet they’re acting like I got in the car, told the man to turn the metre off and agreed to pay £12.

I feel like they’re taking the mick and it’s just their way of tryna scam people and make more money. Not sure what action I can take, it’s only £12 but I’m really really not happy with their service and want to do something. As mentioned I suffer from mental health and am vulnerable and this has messed with my anxiety quite a lot. I feel so stupid I barely get out the house due to anxiety etc this is the first time I’ve been out in weeks and it’s made me feel even more scared to go outside. Would really like to do something about this.

”tryna” is not a word (spellcheck was having none of it). Also if you are mentally ill just say so - there’s no such thing as “suffering from mental health”. You sound very young and very naive. Perhaps learn from this experience rather than moan about being “scammed” (you weren’t).

it doesn’t sound like a scam. They named the price, you stayed in the cab so that’s an agreement. I’m guessing g they’re charging for the bank transfer. Why didn’t you say you could pay by cash from your family before you left?

I would not dream of asking a taxi company if I could pay by bank transfer. I bet they get loads of customers trying to get away without paying so walking to the door to get the money is reasonable. Asking for a screenshot is reasonable and 12 quid sounds about right. When your bank app froze they probably thought this was an excuse.
Stick with Uber next time.

Sorry but how is this a scam? I expect there’s a minimum charge and as yours was such a short journey they didn’t need the meter. I would expect a taxi to cost more than an uber. I think they were generous in allowing you to do a bank transfer. They parked down the road to stop you doing a runner.

I’ve had 2 attempted scams on me by black cabs in London. On both separate occasions they said payment had not gone through and to try again. On checking my banking app in the cab I could see it had gone through.

Taxis are always more expensive. I live 6 miles out of town and I can pay £40 to get home after a night out as they charge more at night…..was your journey in the evening? My journey takes 10 mins. So £12 for a 4 min journey could be quite normal.

but they’re meant to keep the meter on.

You haven't been scammed.

I don’t think it’s an excessive charge or their behaviour was out of the realm of normal, given the unusual circumstances.

As PP said Uber often cheaper unless they have a price surge.

I always ask for the price in advance when booking.

So you didn’t have a way to pay them and then argued about the price? You weren’t scammed and I think you were lucky they took you.

Please read, you haven’t been scammed.

You haven't been scammed, and you are over reacting. Taxi drivers get constantly scammed by non payers and your not having usual means to pay etc put him on guard that he was not going to get paid. There is also an immediate charge for getting in the taxi in the first place and even a short journey where I am includes this and even a trip a few mins will never be less than £10.

Absolutely! I thought she was going to say she had been charged over £100! The word scammed in this situation is ridiculous and to end up crying is madness!

I don’t think we’re going to hear back from the OP.

Is this post real ? What a load of drama over £15 reduced to £12.

That fare wouldn’t have been excessive around here. Perhaps a family member should have booked it for you if you had no cash or card?

I understand that you are feeling vulnerable and anxious OP, but you need to find a way to move on from this.
I imagine they (understandably) saw you as a scam /flight risk.
Taxi fares have rocketed, like everything else.
I was shocked to hear the bus fare into town, which is 10 minutes away.

Doesn’t sound like a scam.
Sounds like driver was worried he wouldn’t get paid by his fare.
Use Uber in future.
Get help/more help for your mental health.

Where I live you could easily pay around £15 taxi fare for 4 minutes. That's why I hardly use a taxi.

I think you are massively over reacting. You didn't have any of the conventional means to pay so they may have charged extra but at £12 for a 4 minute journey it wasn't much extra. Why book a taxi when you have no proper method of paying it? A 4 minute drive is a close distance so walk. Maybe you should thank the taxi company for taking the risk of not getting paid.

Yes, like grow up! Play times over, time to get back in for maths…

Hello OP,

I don’t think they were hugely expensive tbh, and from their POV first you had said you had no bank card, then no phone signal for transfer (but could message), then wanted to get out and walk into your destination to get cash, which could easily have been a way to dodge paying. Customers probably try and default without paying all the time and ultimately they’re a small local business who need payment to stay afloat.

I hope that makes you feel less scammed. Next time just make sure price is quoted and agreed when you ring. Or is walking an option, for such a short journey? I hope you feel a little less overwhelmed today and can move on.

Sorry, this is a bit ridiculous. The taxi company should have taken payment over the phone when you called to say you had no cash so the ride was pre-booked/paid for. I would never get in a taxi when I have no cash or card as it would make me feel vulnerable (incase taxi driver locked me in cab demanding payment or something). It would have made much more sense to get an Uber in the circumstances so I'm not really sure why you didn't? Also taxis are expensive so £12 sounds about right, it sounds like they genuinely really tried to accommodate you. I'm sorry it was upsetting though. Could you not have walked a 4 minute journey or relative to come and pick you up?

Don't we all have better things to do? Isn't that the whole point of Mumsnet/The Internet in general? It's all just pissing about wasting time instead of doing 'better' things

If they’re a private firm they can set their own prices can’t they? And they set it at £15 for that journey, possibly because they deemed it a faff due to you not having cash or a bank card on you and needing to do a bank transfer. I don’t necessarily think they were going out of their way to scam you, more like charging extra due to the complications caused by you.

What a huge over reaction to something so small. What does mental health issues have to do with this.

You could have walked
You could have asked a family member to pick you up
You could have cycled
You could have paid the fare in advance
You could have told them calmly that the app wasn’t working which I find hard to believe and you needed to be dropped off right outside the door and of course he could come with you to collect the money from relative

All of this could be avoidable by you I am afraid