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.

Your mental health did not cause this - I would have been the same, something similar happened to me DP and I - the meter was switched off and £50 put on (very late at night) - the driver spoke to us but we didn’t think the conversation amounted to agreement (language barrier) and it took us a while to twig that it was a fixed fare. Learn the lesson and good of you to warn others to be very cautious about fixed fares.

This all sounds extremely dramatic. Bursting into tears because they attempted to overcharge you? It also, regardless of the taxi situation, is giving the impression that you’re using the “I’m vulnerable” & “first time I’ve been out in weeks” card to your advantage which if so, is deplorable.

Either way, I’m not sure what the taxi company did wrong tbh other than quote the wrong price and park in the wrong place? I used to work for a taxi company and my Dad was a taxi driver; Any electronic payments are processed in the office and the drivers get it in the form of credit against their weekly office payments. They HAVE to turn the meter off because it’s tracked on their central system and if left on, it is considered that the amount it reaches, is money he earnt.
All that happened was that the office staff got the quote wrong and the taxi driver got the address wrong! Also sounds like he escorted you to the door to save you walking back down to the car….!
🙄 *Edited to add that my late Dad did exactly this, many times. If people wanted to pop inside to get money or even say, a phone number of something they’re recommending to him for example, he would get out and walk either with them or behind them to save them coming all the way back to the car. He was considerate like that, especially with women.

@Shineonyoucrazy the OP was charged a reasonable fare, and also was a pain in the arse customer. If she had no cash and no card then why not use uber (or walk?!)

Taxis are very expensive. There are large costs in running a business which have increased dramatically recently due to new tax rules etc. You have to remember that even though your journey is short, a taxi driver still has to take time to get to you and then after dropping you off has to get to the next customer, so just charging a few pounds for a short journey isn't going to be viable for them, they need to make a living wage. I don't really think you were over charged, to be honest.

Oh yes, I bet the taxi firm is rubbing their hands together with glee that they've 'scammed' you out of .........£12?
There's got to be an underlying flat rate that makes it worth them taking your fare, they're a business and need to make money. Whilst you were faffing about wasting their time they were missing out on a more profitable job.

YABU. I don’t think £12 was excessive for a short ride in a taxi as they normally have a minimum charge and pay a lot more overheads than someone driving an Uber.

You also need to take some responsibility for being more organised with regards to payment. Why didn't you pay when you booked the ride?

It’s illegal for a licences cab to turn off the meter unless you have pre agreed a fare for the journey. You could report them to your council’s taxi licensing department.
But they have told you that you pre agreed the fare so it’s their word against yours. Personally I’d chalk it down to experience and review them online.

Also and I don’t think the general public realise this, but taxi drivers pay TENS of THOUSANDS of pounds per year to be a taxi driver, before they even begin earning money let alone profit.
In 2010 (my dad’s final year as a driver and the year he sadly passed), it was:

£11,500 per year for public liability insurance
£3,600 per year taxi-specific car insurance
£139 per week for office payments (rental of the meter & jobs data head thingy in his car and payment for the actual jobs that come through from the taxi company)
£300 per year licensing fee
£150 per year for his wheels to be ‘calibrated’ by the local council who make sure his meter is calibrated with his wheels correctly(!)
£30-60 per DAY in fuel costs
£6 per day car cleaning

15 years later, I can only imagine what these costs are now! Even back then, my Dad would come home with tears in eyes after only having had 2/3 jobs his entire shift and worrying how he was going to pay his office payment that week, never mind make any profit. He also frequently had people doing ‘a runner’ which would end up costing him money - all whilst knowing that the people doing the runner, likely believe it’s the taxi company they’re robbing from not the driver when that’s NOT the case at all, sadly and don’t even get me started on the amount of times he got beaten up! Even though he was an old man.

This is incorrect! It doesn’t need to be ‘agreed’ just quoted. They DID have a pre-quoted fare for the journey! Please don’t spread misinformation

Report them for what? There was an agreed fare

I witnessed this in Paris this summer as I was paying for my hotel, I was overhearing a young English girl telling the manager that she couldn't pay her her hotel room as she had no money, had mental health problems and then ultimately played the 'I'm autistic' card. The manager didn't understand autism and I translated it for him (I'm French) to which he replied in French something along the lines of 'but she's smart enough to try to get something for nothing!'

We did wonder why she'd gone on holiday and checked into a hotel if she had no money. She didn't offer any explanation why she had no money (been robbed, had to pay for an emergency, etc) but just kept repeating that she had mental health problems and was autistic. I left as I had the Eurostar to catch so I don't know how it played out. I imagine he would have called the police.

I'm not sure why so many are saying the fare was reasonable . I live in the South East which is notoriously expensive , but taxi fares aren't this expensive for a 4/5 minute trip.

I get taxis here a couple of times a week , not always the same company , and a 4/5 minute trip is £4.40-£4.80 depending on the traffic.

Similarly my DD and her friend were in 6th form and at a debating club at another school.

The other mum booked a taxi for them and agreed a fare (I think something like £5), but when the girls got in the driver started hassling them and asking how much money they had instead of taking the agreed price and they were obviously upset by this.

I did call and complain and they were faux outraged but I have heard of others with the same story-tends to be "weak targets" so we don't use them anymore.

I think it is a live and learn but upsetting and I am sorry it happened to you @LilyLily1999

You need to look at this from the taxi drivers point of view to rationalize aome of your extreme anxiety for the situation

They will frequently get people trying not to pay

You took up time by saying you had no signal, which was how you had agreed to pay the fare

im not surprised that he followed you to the door...you could have just walked in the house and refused to come out had he not.

I don't know if £12-15 is a lot for the journey or not, but taxi's are generally more expensive than uber

I think you were fortunate they allowed you to pay bamk transfer at all as, like they found, they are at the mercy of you having phone signal to do the transfer

Stick to uber in future since you are so unsatisfied with the taxi firm.

They shouldn't have turned the meter off and if it was a fixed price it shoukd have been decided before hand. But....

Assuming you have payment details set up in uber it would make sense to use them on this occasion.

You were asking the taxi company to give you a service without reliable means of payment. Its understandable they are suspicious when you cant pay using your banking app. You not only had the driver service but another member of staff texting you and checking their bank, this is all extra hassle for the taxi company.

Lesson learnt, if you want special treatment you might have to pay extra.

Did this happen after dark? I'm wondering why, if it was only a 4-5 minute journey, you didn't walk it given your cashflow problems. If it was at night, I can understand why you'd get a taxi for safety reasons, though. The fare seems high to me but taxis are extremely cheap where I live, wouldn't expect to pay more than a fiver for that journey.

Agree with consensus here -

price sounds right for taxi - more expensive than uber

they we’re taking reasonable steps to make sure YOU were not the scammer -

chalk it up to experience and keep travelling !!
the more u do, the more confident you will get

Uber definitely brought the standards down hundred fold. They drive off while charging you hoping you wouldn't ask for a refund. Creepy drivers. It's no different to getting a taxi in a third world country.
Stop using those dodgy taxi companies and uber too. I know it wasn't uber on this occassion.

You weren’t scammed.

This is harsh and there was no need for that!

Yes it's £20 for a 5 min drive when I get off at the airport and grab one of their taxis. User is much cheaper.

It’s been a while but it was £4.40 last time I got in a taxi then it was £3.00 per mile. They also charge per minute of waiting. In my younger days, you had to leave your coat / bag and leg it in to grab cash and it’d be a couple of quid more than the meter as they’d leave it running. I don’t think £15 sounds unreasonable taxi drivers have to deal with a lot of non payers which is why they are wary.

You say that you have anxiety, so was it the turning the meter off that made you so worried? In hindsight, you should maybe have questioned this, because the charge of £12 or £15 doesnt sound that bad to me. And I don't blame them for walking you to the door etc because a LOT of drivers have people just running off without paying.
With your anxiety being as extreme as you say, next time, stick to what you know and what feels safest to manage it. Ie uber.

Our local mini cab company sends a confirmation text with the amount due before the journey.

Always ask for the amount to be confirmed before the ride.

How many miles was your journey?

I used to take a lot of taxis. I recently had a chat with an Uber driver who was a hijabi - she said her first few days were tough because of passengers' behaviour. A couple of them sensed she was new and figuring things out, and exploited that. She was great, actually.

Others have mentioned that passengers can be aggressive, racist, drunk to the point of throwing up, or attempt to run off without paying. One driver talked about their feeling of responsibility to young women who were clearly very vulnerable, in the early hours.

They see a whole slice of life that most of us don't tend to see, and it's now very hard to make a living as a taxi driver - costs are so high, Uber has made it extraordinarily competitive, and people are going out less.

OP - this doesn't sound like you were scammed. It's risky for them for you to promise to pay by bank transfer. Are you out of money at the moment?

If it were a 5-minute journey, could you have walked instead? If you're physically able, and have a waterproof coat, some gentle exercise would really help your anxiety.