Taxi Driver Online

Can you tek us to (place about 5 miles away) and drop me off on the way?

Yes.

How much will it be?

I don’t know exactly, it’s on the meter.

Ok, thanks. Can we stop at a cash-point on the way? I need to get some money out.

Yes.

[STOP AT CASH-POINT]

Here’s ten quid.

Why?

That’s for the taxi, when you drop me - off take my mate home.

Ten quid won’t be enough…

Ten quid’s enough for another five miles.

No it’s not, it’s night-time rate and it’s already on £4.30.

It only cost us £10 to come up here.

That’s because (I assume) you pre-booked a private cab and travelled at day-rates. (Not to mention the cash-point waiting and the time you’re wasting now)

Don’t wind me up, don’t start winding me up.

I’m just explaining why it’ll cost more than £10…

[MATE GETS OUT]

That’s ok, my mate’d had a lot to drink that’s all, it’s fine.

[ARRIVE AT DESTINATION – METER IS ON £16.14]

Thank you.

[PUNTER GETS OUT – I GET OUT]

Excuse me, it’s £16.14.

We’ve paid.

You’ve paid £10, you owe another £6.14.

We agreed £10, and we’ve paid you. It’s not £16 to here.

[FARE STRUCTURE IS EXPLAINED]

…and, as I said ‘It’s on the meter, I don’t set the rates, I don’t set the meter…I’m calling the Police. Do you really want to be arrested over £6.14?’

You’re illegal. You’re flying, you’re not allowed to pick people up in the street.

I’m a Hackney Carriage, that’s one of the reasons I’m more expensive than your earlier ‘taxi’. Check the plate on the rear of the vehicle.

You’re illegal, you’re not allowed to pick up people in the street.

I am within the boundaries of the Borough with which I’m licensed.

I’m not paying it….



I called the Police, got an incident number, and shoved a note through said punter’s door ‘To the thief, (incident number, phone number of relevant Police Station) …I am deciding whether or not to press charges. Also, you may wish to contact the Licensing Authority at the Borough Council…
Got a ‘blocked’ call this morning, surprise surprise she ‘didn’t want any trouble’ (she must’ve called the Police, and they’d have told her I was 100% correct (I assume)) and didn’t want to see me, but would drop the £6 in to ‘the office’. I told her there isn’t ‘an office’ and to give the £6 to charity, Oxfam ideally. She said she was “scared”, though, obviously not £6.14 worth of scared, otherwise she’d have just paid up in the first place. She went on about ‘thinking they’d paid’ about ‘it only cost a tenner to come up there’ and similar repetitive nonsense that held no water.

I’m sure everyone has experienced something similar, and wondered what folks usually do. I didn’t want to waste everyone’s time getting my £6.14, I spent fifteen minutes talking to the Police, missed at least one fare (it was nearly midnight) and woke up early worrying about the right thing to do. I probably should’ve just let it go initially.
Equally annoying was the attitude of ‘the friend’, the whole ‘Don’t wind me up’ rubbish. Had I been a chef explaining the make-up of a signature main course I doubt she’d have acted that way, but try to explain the night-time Hackney fare structure and she assumes; 1. I’m taking the mick, 2. She’s far too wise to be taken in by wacky tales of taxi pricing.

The most annoying thing is there was no proper apology, no ‘I’m sorry I haven’t a clue about council set fare structures, I appreciate you do a difficult job and we were both bang out of order.’ None of that. Not even a coherent argument, just the same ‘we agreed a tenner’ rubbish augmented with nonsense about ‘being scared’.

Anyway, I’m on a rant when I should be on a rank. So, as general rule, if there can be such a thing, what do folks do when punters fall short paying fares? Just forget it, or, maybe if it’s over a certain amount, get the Police involved and spend ages going down that route? Advice, the old-as-the-hills, life-worn experience only TDO can offer type advice and experiences please, because, as always, I’m sure you lot know best. Oh yes.

Or maybe just examples of 'Punter Logic' fullstop?

Thanks.

a £40 late payment fee, VAT and a CCJ woulda woken her brain cell up a bit

on the flip side

if i agree a return fare for 6 to a party and back, and 2 drop out coming back resulting in a (slightly) shorter (but still 1am) return, should i knock money off (no meter, agreed fare remember)

i say sod em, if i buy 3 ryanair tickets and 1 dont go i dont get a refund...

Whilst your anger is justified time is money and it will cost you a lot more to peruse things.

I'm not saying that you are wrong but I would have just taken the tenner and wrote the £6 off to experience.

I have averaged about 1 non payer for every year I have been driving a Ph/taxi and it is rare for me to ask for money up front, some people are scumbags, I don't let it eat me up. most folk are decent.

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There's no excuse for animal abuse. If you ain't vegan you are an animal abuser.

I would have made her pop it into one of the cab offices, or even to the LO. But she would have paid me.

But the best way to stop all this is for folks to get CCTV, and if the scum don't pay, then bung it up on YouTube, under pis**d slag wont pay.

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IDFIMH

i can guarantee if i steal out of tescos and get caught they WILL call the cops...

well we did one friday night to Nottingham and back 8 seater booking quoted £170 round trip i agreed they could pay on the night. The driver dropped them off at their houses as agreed the boss of the firm who had the money refused to pay walked into her house and shut the door apparently they aren't happy with the service even though we were bang on time there and back the vehicle was spotless inside but like they do in restaurants apparently its considered perfectly acceptable to refuse to pay if the service isn't up to expectations so I have now got to give the driver the money and now have to negotiate a massive discount to get anything out of them largely because things went wrong at the casino and they got back into the taxi in a p****d off mood

I never do long fares without payment up front, it isn't worth it nowadays, if they're honest they'll understand, if not . . . no loss to you.

Take them to the small claims court.

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IDFIMH

Go round and ask him politely if his windows are part of his house and contents insurance.

I imagine a call out in two days time would be rather expensive.

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Here's a better one for you Phil.

http://www.dac-callsign.com/08/Dec08/page19.html

At least your window was intact.

The driver needs prosecuted....shorts at his age! ffs

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

He's a junior member of DAC!

Returns always paid at dropping off outward, on airport runs it means no worries for travellers about holding GBP and for the parties/nightclubs it means i dont have to worry theyve pulled/got a lift/got arrested/forgotten to hold money and spent it on sambuca

I know a man who will glue their door locks up - you still lose your six quid , but the loss to them is probably a lot more with second thoughts on doing that again. Oh and it does give you immense satisfaction

On a similar slant a mate of mine asked this group of youngsters not to bring takeaway food into his cab, they told him that they had binned it so he let them in. During the course of the journey he thought he could smell food but put it down to some of the pungent crap that some had already eaten, at the journeys end there was food and cartons all over the floor and some snide remarks as they walked away.

Anyway being the good citizen that he is, he returned their lost property through their letter box wasn't that nice of him.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

When I do round trips, always money up front.
TBH phil, I would have told your punter you will go round and collect the money and it will be £25 for the trouble!

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stressed controller!!!