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.

i think the 'Please Read!!!' in the title indicates the drama level the OP is functioning at, as if this is a big danger to the public who must be alerted... in case they're going to get this taxi without any normal means to pay for it and might have to pay a couple of quid extra at most for the time and aggro involved.

It depends on the local council who sets the rates. £4.40 here would get you into the taxi and 105 seconds of waiting time or an initial 451 metres or a combination of the two. Unless it was after 6pm and it’d be £5.60 for the same.

It’s really annoying - people wonder why uber took over but at least it’s upfront and unlikely to have rogue traders.

I pre-booked a local taxi home from a wedding once and he charged me £20 extra than the office had quoted when we got to the door. I tried to argue and he gave some bullshit answer about taxes. It was 2am and I was a on my own, so I felt I just had to suck it up. But it makes you feel vulnerable, I get it. Now I only use Uber and if there isn’t Uber I accept that maybe I have to pay more.

I agree with PP maybe to leave an online review to make you feel like you’ve done something about it and help others?

However, I do think your anxiety and mental health is amplifying this. There are always people trying to scam and it’s not worthy of letting it stop you leave the house. So please seek help about that.

Although it was only a four minute journey for you, the taxi driver may have had to travel ten minutes to get to you in the first place, then you might have spent another few minutes getting in and out of the car and paying, so it might have taken up say 20 minutes if his time in total (not to mention the guy in the head office spent his time too). So if we say he manages to do 3 journeys like this in an hour, that means his takings for an hour are £36. That is before he pays costs like petrol, wear and tear on his car, tax, national insurance etc. His net wage might be around £20 per hour and that is assuming he isn't sat around for a while with no jobs. So I think what he charged was reasonable.

I don't think you were scammed, but if you think uber are cheaper go with them in future.

The taxi driver was quite right to follow you to collect the cash. You had used the service, failed to pay, and expected him not ot make he got paid? A lot of drivers would have insisted that your family member came to the cab before letting you out. There are so many people willing to do a runner and not pay - and he had no idea you weren't one of these. Either stick to Uber where you pay in advance or take a cab with cash in your hand

OP I live in a small town in the North East where everything is cheap as chips and it's about £10 for a 4 minute taxi ride so it really doesn't sound like you have been overcharged at all.

OPs so in need of support they never came back 🙄

They’ll be back though

starting another similar kind of thread

Ah yes sorry it was pre agreed so OP is being unreasonable, I didn’t read it properly 🙄

If you think Uber took over because their drivers are full of integrity, then I suggest you dig a little deeper into their ethics.

The poster didn’t say anything about their ethics. Just pointed out that they offered one thing, reliable upfront pricing, that a lot of people want and the alternatives did not consistently offer (even though some of them were legally obliged to).

Thanks, I can absolutely read. The poster mentioned rouge traders. My post stands.

To stop them from turning the meter off, when there's been no pre-agreed price and therefore the meter should be on.
Not to stop the driver from being paid, no 😐

You may have good phonics, but your reading comprehension is not so strong. The poster mentioned lack of rogue traders relating to Uber drivers. She didn’t say the company was upstanding.

I’ve just logged on and seen an overwhelming amount of replies to this post I made.

Just to inform everyone my mum was the person who advised me that a taxi may be cheaper as she used a different firm before that was cheap and I can’t walk there due to anxiety and having to travel through a forest with no pathway to get to the location. I have no support system at all so couldn’t have asked anyone else to collect me.

The taxi firm manager had my number and was messaging me on WhatsApp saying I need to pay £15…I later got a phone call from the manager as I had made a complaint about the situation…when I got in the taxi the man made a phone call to somebody at the firm where they spoke in their language, so I had no idea what they were saying, the guy then turned the metre off and drove me to the location, when I was halfway there I got a text saying I need to pay £15 as I agreed to turn the metre off and I agreed to a set price of £15…this is incorrect as I never told the man to turn off the metre he did it automatically and I never confirmed a set price. This is what irritated me as they were lying. Being a woman who yes is “vulnerable” and being in a car with a random man who’s parked away from my family’s house, is sitting there huffing and puffing, constantly saying “have you paid yet” and has also locked the car is scary, yes I understand he wanted to make sure I paid but he could’ve pulled outside my destination, the situation was mentally overwhelming for me. If you don’t suffer with mental health then it’s very easy to judge and think I’m being ridiculous…but having mental health issues and being mentally challenged this was a big deal for me so yes it did make me cry.

For those saying I’m using my mental health as an excuse to not pay or anyone judging my mental state…I’ve been through a hell of a lot those people who are quick to say things about my health have no idea how much it can effect someone struggling…not to go into too much detail but I don’t go out my house at all due to anxiety and paranoia, I can’t even get out to put the bins out at times so this was a big step for me. Ive been suffering with depression for a long time and wont mention too much anything else…I understand I may have overreacted a bit and yes maybe the word scam was wrong to use but it’s also the way they accused me of saying u want the metre off and saying I’ll pay them £15 for the journey that’s incorrect.

Please be kind as you never know what someone’s going through, even if you don’t agree with what someone’s saying there’s no need to get rude or say some of the things that have been said as it could tip people over the edge.

Honestly reading through the comments…the amount of people who’ve commented just to mock me…knowing I’ve stated I suffer with severe mental health yet still mocking me…clearly don’t understand how delicate someone’s mental health can be and how much of an impact words can have…I’m not talking about the people who’ve disagreed with my post I’m talking about the people who’ve mocked me for crying over this or have made me out to be a drama queen or have said I’m using my mental health to try and get things for free…clearly you don’t understand the struggles of having mental health and how much of an impact your words have had on me 🙂. Yes you can disagree with what I’m saying but there’s no need to be rude or make remarks on my mental state.

@PollyBell I’m not sure how you’ve come up with this from the post I’ve made…I never said “I have mental health I’m vulnerable so I shouldn’t have to pay”. You’ve clearly picked out bits and pieces from my post and made an assumption.

I stated in my post I have mental health and that I’m vulnerable to try and give an understanding of why the situation was overwhelming for me and to just make others aware. I don’t expect to get things for “free” due to my health conditions, I’ve had to work for everything I’ve ever had in life thank you very much.

I’m not just “labelling” myself as vulnerable I’ve been classed as a vulnerable person who needs and does get extra support from doctors, carer etc. You've said people using mental health to get stuff for free is what’s “wrong with society”, I wasn’t trying to use anything to get something for free and wasn’t expecting a free ride.

As I’ve mentioned, I didn’t agree to a price before my trip, there was no initial “set price” the man took a phone call then switched the metre off and it was only when I was nearly at my destination that I got a message saying I’ve agreed to a set price of £15 and I told the man to turn off the metre which isn’t true. If the company had told me they don’t accept bank transfer I would’ve settled for an uber, or if I was aware of this “set price” I apparently agreed to then again I would’ve got an uber as it would’ve been a bit cheaper. I only got a taxi as I was told it may be cheaper. I never asked to do a bank transfer the man told me they allow it, I asked if they do contactless payment as I thought some taxis do and he told me to do a bank transfer.

Yes I was a bit shocked when I was halfway on my journey and found out it’d be £15 but it’s also the fact they lied and said they had told me the price prior and I had agreed to pay the £15 and that I agreed to turn the metre off, they also said if I had the metre on it probably would’ve been cheaper!

The people saying I’m overreacting well this may seem like a small thing to you, but for someone with mental health and who’s mentally challenged little things like this can blow up and mean a lot and effect us differently. I’ve had a few bad experiences with uber previously where the drivers have “tried it on” with me…one example is a driver who asked for my number, he then offered to help me carry my shopping to my door and when we got to my door he said “are you not gonna invite me inside for some “tea” and if any of you witnessed it I’m pretty sure you’d realise this man wanted to come inside for “other” reasons. So with those type of experiences in consideration and my anxiety etc, yes it can be overwhelming getting transport and yes when the man took me away from my destination and locked the doors etc it was a bit too much for me.

I only mentioned about my mental health to try and make people aware and understand how a situation like this may effect me but that’s clearly gone over peoples heads and they think I’m using it to my advantage.

@LilyLily1999 lim sorry you've had do many horrible replies x. Try to just ignore the nasty & unhelpful posts.

contact the council on Monday & report them.

in our borough they are not allowed to turn the meter off & have to charged the metered amount within the borough. The council would come down on them like a tin of bricks. & again for msking you feel intimidated & scared.

Not all councils are as strict, but it's definitely where you need to start.

private hire is a different kettle of fish.

if would have vist you about £7.50 here, but that's a double edged sword. As it's skid shy many drivers refuse jobs, it's just not worth their time.

its awful being vulnerable & taken advantage of xx.

take care of yourself 🌷

It doesn't sound like a great experience and I think you should have just stuck with Uber or asked your mum to pay the taxi when you arrived and tou could have transferred her the money. It seems like the situation was over complicated by arranging to transfer them the money.

Thanks, not sure why you need to be insulting, however, it is good to know I have mastered my phonics. Maybe you are an Uber driver. You seem very supportive and invested which is great.